I live about 5 minutes away from this hotel so I’m a little bit of an unusual guest. :) Our water at home had to be turned off overnight for plumbing work so I booked a room here after reading the reviews. I was a little nervous after reading comments about smells, renovation work and room shabbiness, but I also saw some good reviews about service and the breakfast buffet. I shouldn’t have worried!
Before booking, I drove along the strip of hotels near this location and I liked this one best, especially for the very reasonable price. It’s well lit, and very safe with parking just a few steps away from the main entrance. There’s no reparking or “pulling around to the back” needed to get close to your room. You can walk right in with your luggage, check in and go up the main elevator right off the lobby. Love that!
It’s situated in a great area right off a business park (Indian Wood Circle) where I used to work, so I’m familiar with the area. It’s close to so many restaurants! Toledo is known for having a ton of restaurants anyway, chain and local, but this area is one of the best. This hotel shares a parking lot (practically) with Applebees next door, but it gets better. It’s in walking distance of an Outback Steakhouse, Longhorn Steakhouse, local Don Juan Mexican restaurant, Cracker Barrel down the street, local fancy Mancy’s Bluewater Grill seafood restaurant, Smokeybones BBQ, Scramblers breakfast and brunch, local treasure diner Sam’s Diner, fantastic La Fiesta local Mexican restaurant within 5 minutes, amazing Thai restaurant Bangkok Kitchen for takeout, simple but excellent local Mediterranean diner Zane’s, BW3s, Carabbas, gourmet local pizza Gino’s, Barry Bagels, amazing cookie shop Cookie Lady, and all the usual fast casuals like Panera, Chick Fila, Chipotle plus fast food Wendy’s, Arby’s, Taco Bell, McDonalds. I know I’m forgetting others. It’s a perfect storm of restaurants within 5 minutes of here in 3 different directions. There are also mega grocery stores like Meijer, Kroger, Wal-mart, etc. within 5 minutes.
Back to the hotel. :) The front desk is small and immediately inside the entrance. There wasn’t anyone at the desk when I checked in at 8:30 pm and no bell to ring which was a little odd, but after a few minutes someone appeared, friendly, and I was helped. The desk area was empty still as I went out to my car later and came back after an errand. Maybe it was a fluke evening, but I was uncomfortable with no entrance supervision like that. The hotel is in a busy but safe area but I’m extra cautious. The next morning someone was at the front desk the entire time I was eating in the lobby.
The check in was quick. I reserved it online in the parking lot and walked right in and it was ready. I got a room on the top (3rd) floor. Room 302, king bed. I didn’t see any shabbiness in the room, hallways or lobby and no smells at all (and I’m picky about smells!) in the room or hallway. The elevator was a little chemical smelling.
It looks like a brand new hotel inside, very clean, modern with nice furniture and nice artwork. Very upscale. If they were renovating in the past, it looks done to me! All but your most absolutely picky out of town guests would be more than happy here. This is a steal for the rate they charge.
Inside the room, I had both a microwave and a mini fridge. I didn’t have to request it. There was a desk, chair, plenty of drawer space, true blackout drapes with sheers as an option, too. There’s a reasonable closet with nice wooden hangers, good lighting, a nice big TV, a huge shower, pretty bathroom, a huge full length mirror and a great bed. I was glad in-room air conditioning was still an available option in November for hot flashes. I was perfectly comfortable and it was easy to adjust the controls.
No room is perfect. The bathroom door lock wasn’t working (didn’t matter because I was alone), and there was a stained area on the tub where the water doesn’t drain, the shower head was a little calcified, the bathroom towel rack had a mild case of surface rust and there’s a spot where the bathroom wallpaper buckled a little. But the big things like a dirty tub, dirty carpet, unwashed bedding, leftover trash from previous guest, etc. that can break a stay were non-existent.
I felt perfectly comfortable and clean and it was so quiet in my room and hallway that I almost felt apologetic about running a hairdryer near the door. They’re doing so many things “right” here.
They are a lot of nice room touches, too. I loved the sealed bleach wipe for optional use on the tv remote, phone or door handles. There are good coffee supplies, plenty of sealed drinking glasses, a sealed makeup wipe, and nice shampoo, conditioner and body wash mounted in the shower (I used all 3 and loved them). FYI, there are no mini toothpastes or hand lotions in the bathroom so pack your own. There were probably some at the front desk, l’d bet.
Finally, the breakfast buffet in the morning (always important to me) was really nice. Only two of the other 11 tables were occupied there at 8:30 am (the buffet is 6-9 am) and then I was alone except for one straggler at 8:45. The buffet is wonderful: very clean and full with a super friendly attendant.
I don’t eat meat so I really appreciated the homemade oatmeal and such a big variety of fun toppings. I wasn’t brave enough to try the waffle iron and batter but it looked deluxe. There was coffee, orange and apple juice and water. Cups for juice and water are kind of comically small for such a generous buffet but it’s easy to keep refilling them.
Away from home I like to eat a lot of fruit, too, so I’d have loved cut fruit on the buffet, but they did have bananas and full oranges. Everything was kept full and I didn’t feel like I was getting “the last of” anything even though I was at the tail end of the buffet’s timeframe. Tip: I missed a whole extra side of the buffet that is a little off to the right. I only noticed it as I was leaving. Make sure you look along the whole buffet wall.
The only suggestion I’d have for the buffet is silence or soft music instead of TV. I understand a lot of people like TV with their breakfast but having the tv on during the buffet felt like a doctor’s waiting room and there was no area in the room to escape it. It was hard to think straight. Silence (we’re all on our phones anyway) would’ve been beautiful.
After breakfast, I was grateful to get an hour late checkout (noon) at no extra cost. There were no checkout instructions on the tv or in an email or text but I asked a friendly associate in the hallway who directed me to the front desk for an old school, in-person checkout.
Sorry for the long-winded review but I was happy as a clam to find just what I was looking for in this hotel for a good price for my unintended plumbing emergency staycation. I wanted to make sure to give them credit where it’s well deserved. If they’ve had problems in the past as suggested by some of the older reviews, it seems to me that they’ve fixed them. I’m pretty picky but I was very happy with my stay! I’d definitely stay here again or recommend it.
US