Best Western Airport Albuquerque Inn Suites Hotel & Suites — Hotel in Albuquerque

This was my go-to hotel for years, in fact I was a VIP there. Never mind there is no elevator, it was close to the airport and had Jacuzzi rooms. Best Westerns also have reliably comfortable beds, and as a Platinum member I got free upgrades. Why one star? I observed this location as it slid downhill slowly. A change in management could be the reason. Some people should not work in hospitality. After each stay, I received an email requesting my opinion, to which I responded with my concerns: I noticed the employees, who cleaned the rooms were doing laundry in a room that was hotter than the outside temperature of 102 degrees. They had the door open to cool the room down! Why do they no have air conditioning, I asked? One of the last times I was there, mold came out of the hot tub jets. Another time, there were cockroaches in the room, I took a photo and showed the front desk. They said they'd tell the manager. I also tried to call and reserve the shuttle to the airport. They told me I had to be there in person, even though I had booked my room. I arrived late and requested the shuttle, and was told it was full, and to find an alternative ride to the airport. I thought my concerns were valid and should be taken seriously, and trusted they would. I was so sure, that I booked again, two weeks ahead of my late night flight back to NM. I have now come to the conclusion that they want to attract a different kind of clientele, who don't care about quality. A few hours before I was to arrive at the hotel for hat I thought might be my last stay, Jace, an assistant manager, sent me an email. In it he stated: I have tried you on your cell phone a couple times. (He didn't.) I am attempting to contact you regarding your reservation with us this evening. The reservation you have booked with us this evening will not be honored, nor will any future reservation at this particular property. I would have preferred to reach you before you arrived so alternate accommodations could be made. I called customer service. They told me Jace's reasoning for not honoring my reservation was that my private reviews to them had too many complaints. True, I thought, because I was requesting cleanliness, integrity, and respect. It was blatantly obvious that the management at this hotel chose retaliation rather than responsibility. I booked a room at Embassy Suites, and from the moment I walked in, their hospitality was one of pride. The room was beautiful, clean, the employees happy, and the breakfast was delicious! What took me so long, I thought? I deserve this! On another note, other Best Westerns have been over the top with their professional hospitality, and cleanliness, just...

This Best Western hotel was the bright spot on our brief visit to an otherwise dismal city ( yes Albuquerque, that means you!)

But wait, isn't this an older, budget type hotel?..that doesn't even boast a pool? Yes, let me explain:

We were at this Best Western on two separate nights of our trip, a Sunday and a Thursday. The Sunday night stay was in the Miller In suite, Thursday's was in the Grant In suite. Grant In suite was definitely an upgrade, with a balcony and a decent view. It was also bigger and noticeably nicer-- but we'd booked them as the same standard two queen room types. I don't know how to account for the upgrade, but Grant inn suite improved my overall impression of the quality of this hotel. I decided to bump it up from an initial four stars, to five.

Staff were quite helpful and friendly during both our stays. There were little extras such as free bottled waters at the front desk, and a "nacho social" on Thursday night (very cute, and novel idea). But of course, my favorite thing about our visit was the free breakfast at 6 am.

Let me emphasize, this is a full spread kind of breakfast buffet, with two types of scrambled eggs, bacon or diced ham, and two large do it yourself waffle irons and a batter dispenser; breads, bagels, cereal dispensers, a yogurt machine, and hot, old fashioned oatmeal at the ready. All the fixings of course. Plus more that I'm sure I forgot to mention. But the staff didn't forget anything. Also note, there are two restaurants in the same parking lot as this hotel, both of which are open 24 hours, serve breakfast any time, and one of them is a waffle house! But we didn't bother with them because we had a great breakfast right next to the lobby. ( I do feel a bit sorry for those restaurants and all the business they must lose to BW.)

Now you may be telling yourself, what's the big deal? Isn't that standard nowadays? Well, sadly, no. No, this is becoming the exception and not the rule, especially with newer hotels. You book a room , noting the claim of "breakfast included" and you may find out that it's actually a sideboard with bagels, donuts, a bowl of fruit, packaged cereal and maybe packs of oatmeal, a pot of coffee, cartons of juice...you get the picture. More often than not, that would be the sad reality of your "free breakfast".

Okay, rant over. I suspect the older, humbler hotels like this airport Best Western simply try harder. They know their service and extras are what set them apart from the hipster hotels. And for that, this Best Western has earned my approval.

I'm unlikely to be in Albuquerque again, but if I ever am, I won't even bother with...

Check-in was a nightmare; the hotel staff did not have all of the necessary information from Priceline for me to be able to check-in upon arrival. I spent over 30 minutes on the phone with a Priceline representative who had to contact the hotel to assist with providing booking information so I could be checked in (unsure if this was a hotel issue or a Priceline issue, so I tried to give the hotel the benefit of the doubt). Then a little after midnight, my husband and I were woken up by a male knocking, opening the door, turning the lights on, and entering our room. My husband went to the front desk to notify them and apparently it was a staff member who had entered because they were verifying to see if the room was vacant. Upon check-out, the front desk staff member informed us that another guest was checking out of another room around midnight and told the male staff member our room number, instead of his actual room number. The dayshift front desk member informed us that the male staff member (night shift) did not follow protocol in verifying the other guests room number. We were also informed that since we prepaid, there was no compensation that could be provided. The front desk staff told us that the manager would be contacting us, but if we did not hear anything we could call the manager. After two days of no response from the manager, I called-no response, but I left a voicemail requesting a return call. The next day, I still had not received a call so I called the hotel again. Finally, I was able to reach the manager who informed us that since I prepaid there was nothing he could do. I also called Priceline, who stated that the hotel manager would have to approve a refund (which he did not). I also called Best Western corporate, who stated there was nothing they could do, it is at the discretion of the hotel-level only. This was my absolute worst hotel experience of my life; it was truly horrifying!!! If I could rate my stay for 0 stars, I would solely based on the lack of customer service. There was no effort by the hotel or hotel chain to build my confidence in the hotel or hotel...