I'll start by saying that I'm a pretty easygoing person, and when it comes to hotels, I can put up with a lot. This time, I can't hold my tongue. I feel that the Ramada Inn went to extraordinary lengths to make me and my family feel like stowaways rather than paying guests.
My husband had an unexpected business appointment scheduled for the day we were to be driving home from a weeklong vacation, so he decided to have myself and our two kids tag along. His office booked, through their online booking agent, one night at the Ramada. They originally booked 2 double beds. After further consideration, we decided it would make more sense to have a king sized bed for me and my husband and our 2 year old and a cot for my 4 year old. My husband's assistant called to make the change, everything was confirmed, and we drove 7 hours to the Ramada. When we arrived, the woman at the desk told us that the reservation didn't say anything about a cot. She was the only person working that night and there wouldn't be anyone to go and fetch the cot anyway. When we asked where my son was supposed to sleep, she suggested the floor (which was filthy, by the way) and she handed my husband a pillow and some sheets to bring to the room. When I returned to the desk to ask if there was any way I could fetch the cot or if we could change to a room with 2 double beds, she complained that my husband had made a scene in front of another guest (a total fabrication). She also claimed that because our reservation had been made over the internet, there was absolutely no way it could be changed in any way. I tried to impress upon her what an absurd statement that was as the reservation had already been changed and hotels change people's rooms all the time for a myriad of reasons regardless of how the reservation had been made (broken fixtures, noise, bad smells, etc.). She wouldn't budge. She printed out a copy of our reservation to prove that she wasn't "lying." I told her that I wasn't accusing her of lying. All that the printed reservation proved was that the reservation had somehow been made in error, either ours or theirs. Nevertheless, in the interest of customer service, I felt that they should try to accomodate us with a cot or a room with 2 beds so to not force one member of the family to sleep on the floor, which was stinky and visibly dirty. Then she told me that they had run out of cots, which I highly doubt, as the parking lot was basically empty. She did offer to book us a second room for $65, which was a little insulting. If I was going to pay for another room, it would have been at the Best Western down the street, where I'm sure they would have been able to track down a cot for my son. As for the hotel itself, the appearance and upkeep does not say "3 stars," I'd give it 2 at best. There is an enclosed corridor that leads to the room entrances. It is climate controlled with air conditioning units that were running, but all the doors were propped open, probably to remedy the terrible musty smell. The roof of the corridor was leaking all over the place. Inside the room, there were huge cobwebs in every corner, the carpet was filthy with dust. The coffeemaker in the room had barely been cleaned, and the tub would not drain. The mattress was comfortable... until all four of us were in it together. Nobody slept much.
For what they charge for a room, the Ramada should offer a higher level of service. If I ever return to the Hazleton area, I will probably try to stay in Jim Thorpe, PA instead, which was beautiful and scenic and had some adorable looking bed and breakfasts. To save a few dollars at the Ramada was not worth all the aggravation.