Savannah Suites-Arvada — Hotel in Arvada

BEDBUGS!!!!!!! We checked in late after midnight on July 4th 2014 b/c we were working that night shooting a wedding. There is noone at the front desk, so we had to call the number on the front door to get someone to let us in. The maintenance man opened the door for us, wrote down my husbands license info on paper, and gave us to the key to our room. We got to room 208 and promptly noticed that it was 2 full size beds, when we were promised a queen on Orbitz. So fine, not the end of the world, we can sleep in separate beds. Then we realized the air conditioner was broken and the window was opened, so they obviously knew this. It was hot, probably 85 degrees in the room, had been 96 in Denver that day. So we called back the maintenance man that had let us in, and he said no other rooms were available. So we were miserable and decided to just make due, we were exhausted after working all day in Vail. So we stripped down to nothing b/c it was so hot, and here came the bedbugs from out behind the metal on the wall that was holding the lamp cord. I almost died. I took a picture and quickly googled bedbug pictures to make sure it was the real thing, and it was. We got dressed and packed our stuff in record speed and got the heck outta there. We then called Orbitz to tell them what happened and to get another room, and they were unable to find us ANYTHING b/c at this point it was 1:30am. So I began calling hotels on my own, everything was booked b/c it was a holiday. So we drove home to Colorado Springs and arrived there after 3am, and had to turn around and shoot another wedding the next day in Denver, which is why we planned to stay in Arvada in the first place. I cannot begin to tell you the exhaustion, frustration, and disgust this whole experience brought us. So I called Orbitz the next day, and spent an hour on the phone with them talking to someone from another country trying to get a refund. I had to send pictures of the bugs to the hotel for them to believe me, and 2 days later I was issued a refund that is supposed to be here in 3-5 days. Such a nightmare. So gross. Bottom line, this hotel is a flophouse, run by foreigners who barely speak English, and is substandard in every way, bedbugs and all. Take your...

DO NOT STAY HERE.

If I could leave negative stars, I would. This was truly the most off-putting, unsanitary, and unsafe hotel I have ever been at. I looked at pictures of the outside of the building and thought it appeared fine enough, but everything changed when we arrived. In the FIRST 45 MINUTES of our being there, here is everything we observed:

An actual drug deal happening out of the side-door At least 10-15 homeless/clearly drug-affected people hanging around the lobby and the parking lot. Several of them were living out of their cars in the parking lot. The hotel claims to be smoke-free, but the thick scent of both cigarette and marijuana smoke permeated every hallway and our room. An individual was clearly doing drugs in the stairwell (and not the legal kind, either) People were freely crawling in-and-out of the 1st floor windows We took the comforter off the bed only to reveal a box spring that was stained brown and yellow with who knows what The two people that were checking-in in front of us had no form of ID, but were admitted anyway

We left after those 45 minutes. Sleeping in our car in the Walmart parking lot would have been a cleaner, safer, and more relaxing option. In hindsight, I wish we had taken pictures of it all, but we were so desperate to get out of the VERY sketchy environment, that we left as fast as we could (to book one of the last remaining rooms at Holiday Inn).

The ONLY positive note I can think of is that the front desk attendant was very nice, and was clearly trying to do the best with what he had. From what I see, the only positive reviews highlight the friendly staff. That's great and all, but I'd trade that for a clean and safe place to stay for the night. The desk attendant at Holiday Inn could have punched me in the face and I still would have stayed there over Savannah Suites.

I'm telling you, DO NOT stay here. Avoid the Savannah Suites in Arvada...

Ivan, who checked me in, was pleasant and seemed to try to be very accommodating with my early check in. A tad standoffish, but ok. He did say he didn't have a quiet, smoking room ready yet and I did mention that I would wait, gladly for that. He did get me in quickly, but the room faced the busy street, which is obviously, not going to be quiet, but it was a smoking room, so I said ok. I didn't complain as I thought, well I don't want to come across as a B*&$%. Upon entry to my room, it was about 86 + degrees, all exhaust fans on (which makes sense for a smoking room), but had an odor, other than smoke, in it. I immediately opened the window, thankful I could, to help air-out the "other than smoke" smell and proceeded to check out the linens (bed) The sheets seemed fine and did smell clean, however, the blanket had some stains on it. Stains that I know wash out. I decided I can make this work as I was exhausted and didn't feel like putting up a battle. I did bring my own pillow, so it was doable. After settling in a bit, I wanted to take a shower, well, there was no hot water....the WiFi was extremely spotty, so I ended up using my HotSpot on my phone for the entire stay. The outlets in the kitchen (one old and regular, alongside a GFCI) were not up to code in my book. I had brought my own Keurig, as I'm particular with my coffee, plugged it in and within 1 minute, it shorted out my Keurig, rendering it unusable as the GFCI tripped. After resetting the GFCI outlet, I figured, ok, I'll just use the "Mr. Coffee", well, it didn't work either. Went downstairs at 8 a.m. the next morning to ask for a working coffee pot, with minimal push back except some rude comment made by her to her co-worker as I'm getting into the elevator. She actually got me one that worked though. Got my coffee at least. I will not be staying here again. I do think it's a great stop for some, just not...