When we made arrangements to attend a function at the nearby Smart Center, the business manager suggested this hotel as convenient to their location (and all the other dealerships on 96th). It was also very reasonably priced. So I called to verify vacancies for the date we would need a room, and the room rate. I was disappointed to hear that there were no king sized beds- (so we booked a full/queen), and there was no room service available. I was pleased that the room rate was so low (I haven't stayed in a hotel for less than $40 since people were break dancing in parachute pants!) and I was happy to hear that there was a pizza place that delivered to the hotel and there were several nice restaurants nearby, so I made the reservation.

A few days later, I realized I had not received my confirmation email. So, to be "on the safe side" (read, because my other half insisted), I called to make sure we had a room reserved. It was a good thing I did (read, yes, she was right) because there was no record of my reservation in their computer, and we did not have a room reserved, despite my phone reservation. The hotel manager was apologetic, and quickly booked our room for the original quoted rate and sent me an email confirmation.

The night we checked in, the GPS eventually got us to the hotel, but using the GPS we had to drive through a residential subdivision. Ordinarily, this would not be a big deal, but this particular neighborhood has the largest speed bumps running across the road that I have ever seen. Seriously, who needs speed bumps nearly a foot high? Who needs speed bumps a foot high every 20 feet for a quarter of a mile? After slowly dragging the underside of our car over the third or fourth speed bump, and gritting our teeth to the sound of metal and plastic grinding against these asphalt speed humps from hell, I decided to turn back and find an alternate route. The GPS found one- by going only one block further, and it took us directly to the hotel parking lot- without any speed bumps...

We arrived at 10:30pm (we had changed time zones on the drive), and the clerk quickly got us checked in. We were disappointed to learn however, that all of the nearby restaurants, bar and grill places, even the fast food joints, cater specifically to the nearby businesses and as a result, all of them, and I mean all of them, closed at 9 or 10pm. Because it was a week night, even the pizza place closed early. In short, there are only 2 places within several miles to get any sort of food in this area after 10pm- Mc D's, or BurgerK. So, after hours of driving, we had to get back in the car and head out for a paper sack full of drive-thru, deep fried, greasy grub, and a couple of "cokes."

As for the room, the room itself was small, but not as small as some of the hotel rooms I've stayed in, our room was probably around 12 x 12. The kitchenette is open to the room and there is a small table separating the spaces. There is not enough room for a sofa, but there was a recliner parked in the corner. There was nothing in the room that wasn't functional or appeared to be heavily used or dirty. The ac appeared to be newer, and worked fine. The room was very clean, but appeared somewhat dated. We did not use the appliances, except for the refrigerator and the coffee maker- both of which worked fine (the coffee was awful however-bring your own if you can). The bathroom was very clean and it had a full size tub with a shower. The water pressure was good, and there were no problems with temp fluctuations during bathing. Oddly, there was no shampoo in the shower, and when we noticed this the next morning we remembered that a guest came down while we were checking in to get shampoo. Maybe shampoo is provided upon request or something like ketchup at the McD's drive thru?... The bed was very firm (I had no problem, but the wife didn't sleep well because it was too firm for her). The pillows were the typical synthetic, non-allergic spun polyester type (which should make all of the asthmatics in your party giggle with glee) but if you use just one pillow, your head will sink to the mattress, (which I suppose could also be an issue for stomach sleepers...)

The next morning, We looked out the window to find the parking lot nearly completely empty, and commented on the fact that we never heard any sounds from outside of our room. With the exception of the repeated, high pitched, angry screaming and squeals of someone's precious little darling outside our door "No!, I want the ...(something or other)" as we packed up to check out, we never heard anything from the adjoining rooms or the hallway. So noise was generally not a problem.

Checkout was easy, and took all of twenty seconds. We were not disappointed with the hotel for the amount it cost for us to stay there. We probably will not stay there again, because we honestly don't really have a reason to return to the area. I think for a business professional who doesn't have an expense account, and isn't reimbursed by his or her crooked employer for overnight stays in this area however, it would be a good, inexpensive option, as long as you are able to hit the nearby restaurants before 9pm, you double check your reservation, bring your own pillow, coffee and shampoo and you don't expect the four seasons or the fairmont for $40.