The Best Western Plus AKA "Lakewood Inn" in Hebron, Ohio, is a strange hotel. It isn't bad but it's strange.
The first clue was the sneaky upcharge on the reservation. I was there as part of a wedding and the couple had negotiated a special rate of $99 per night. However, the reservation clerk insisted that "the best I can do is $101.15" plus tax. He wore me down. What's another $2.15 in the grand scheme of things? I should've taken it as an omen.
The second clue was the "No Guns" sign on the door. Amusingly, the hotel is next to a sporting good store that sells hunting rifles. It's well within rifle range. But you can't take a gun into the hotel. A hunting crossbow that will shoot through a wall is OK, however.
The third clue was the draconian usage-policy sign posted above the lobby computer provided for the guests. No game-playing is allowed, and mis-use of the computer is punished by a whopping $100 fine. Yeah, if it was my hotel, and if a customer absent-mindedly played a game of solitaire while waiting for a business file to download, and I then hit that customer with a $100 charge, I'd ban guns in my hotel too.
On one of the back outside doors, the security card reader wasn't working. Judging by the battered condition of the taped-up sign announcing that fact, it had been broken for...The Best Western Plus AKA "Lakewood Inn" in Hebron, Ohio, is a strange hotel. It isn't bad but it's strange.
The first clue was the sneaky upcharge on the reservation. I was there as part of a wedding and the couple had negotiated a special rate of $99 per night. However, the reservation clerk insisted that "the best I can do is $101.15" plus tax. He wore me down. What's another $2.15 in the grand scheme of things? I should've taken it as an omen.
The second clue was the "No Guns" sign on the door. Amusingly, the hotel is next to a sporting good store that sells hunting rifles. It's well within rifle range. But you can't take a gun into the hotel. A hunting crossbow that will shoot through a wall is OK, however.
The third clue was the draconian usage-policy sign posted above the lobby computer provided for the guests. No game-playing is allowed, and mis-use of the computer is punished by a whopping $100 fine. Yeah, if it was my hotel, and if a customer absent-mindedly played a game of solitaire while waiting for a business file to download, and I then hit that customer with a $100 charge, I'd ban guns in my hotel too.
On one of the back outside doors, the security card reader wasn't working. Judging by the battered condition of the taped-up sign announcing that fact, it had been broken for a while. Fortunately, that door didn't close properly. You had to pull it closed and the person before us hadn't. So anyone could get in without scanning a key card.
One of the lights in our room didn't work. No big deal. Overall, I got the feeling that the hotel manager waits for guests to report problems instead of pro-actively looking for problems.
On the plus side: The room itself was clean enough. The mini-refrigerator in the room was nice and quiet. Usually I have to unplug a rattling refrigerator in order to sleep, but this one was OK. The beds were comfortable although the pillows were a little lumpy and the hotel skimped on blankets. Despite earlier Tripadvisor reports, the pool looked clean.
This hotel charges about as much as a Hampton Inn, but you don't get the Hampton Inn quality. Next time I'll drive a few miles north on 79 to the Hampton Inn in Heath/Newark.More
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