WaterBird Lakeside Inn — Hotel in Chesterton

I do not normally write reviews for hotels, but I felt the need to write this obe.

I was coming to town for my best friend's baby shower. The hotel I stayed at for her wedding was booked, so I made a reservation here instead. The location was close to the church where the shower was being held. In the future, I will make a reservation elsewhere.

This hotel was priced higher than the one I originally wanted. They do not have a continental breakfast; however, there are several fast food restaurants and coffee shops nearby.

This hotel does not have an elevator, which could be a problem for many. I had my four children with me, so thankfully, they gave me a room on the main floor. They only have one luggage cart, so I didn't even bother tracking it down. I just made several trips to the car to bring all our things in/out.

The day we arrived for our short trip was hot (90 degrees). As soon as I got in the room, I turned the AC down to cool the room. The AC unit is old and doesn't work well. Even though the temp outside dropped, I left the temperature on 67 degrees the whole weekend to attempt to maintain a comfortable temperature in the room.

One of the lamps inside the room was missing the lightbulb, so it didn't work. They do not have enough housekeeping staff to clean rooms on a daily basis. This didn't bother me, but if you are expecting your room to be cleaned daily, it will not happen.

They do not have a pool either. I did not notice this when I booked my reservation, so I packed swimsuits and gear for my children. They were very disappointed when I told them we couldn't go swimming (after they chose to go swimming instead of putt-putt) because there was no pool. The map on the back of the room door does show a pool, so that needs to be updated.

The room was large, which was nice because I brought a pack-n-play with and there was plenty of room for it.

I believe they are working on updating things as the patio door looking over the lake appeared to be new. There is evidence of painter's tape and the patio door being shimmed. While its nice to know they're trying to update things, there is still a lot of work to be done. The bathroom counter is falling off, and the ice bucket is so dirty that my children thought it was a trash can. The two trash cans provided were very small, and one was broken. If they offered slightly larger trash cans, maybe it wouldn't get broken.

The room is spacious and has a nice view of the lake. The carpet, desk chair, entertainment center, table, and chairs appear to be newer. There is a small refrigerator and microwave, which is nice because you could bring something small for breakfast if you would like or reheat leftovers.

Overall, I am very disappointed in the experience I had while staying here. If you are traveling alone and have no need for an elevator, luggage cart, pool, continental breakfast, and you don't mind staying in a room that is half updated, this may be worth it for you. If you're traveling with family or any of the things listed above bother you, I would recommend...

My recent overnight stay at WaterBird Inn was a complete nightmare, and I am compelled to share my experience to warn others. I wouldn't wish this ordeal upon my worst enemy, especially if they have children.||Upon entering the room, it became immediately apparent that the property was in a state of utter disrepair. The room's condition was shockingly poor, with a missing mirror, stained carpets, broken counter, door that would not lock and an overall uncleanliness that left a lasting impression. It felt more like a forgotten storage room than a welcoming hotel room. Our hopes for a relaxing stay were dashed by the realization that we were essentially staying in a rundown dump.||The most alarming aspect, however, was the presence of exposed electrical outlets throughout the room. With our two toddlers in tow, this was an absolute nightmare waiting to happen. It is absolutely inexcusable for a hotel to neglect such a basic safety precaution. We had to scramble to find ways to shield our children from the hazardous outlets, which was an unnecessary burden during what was supposed to be a relaxing getaway.||But the pinnacle of the disaster came when I went to the front desk to voice my concerns. I was met with a scene straight out of a surreal nightmare – the front desk attendant was fast asleep at their post. I tried everything to rouse them, but it was as if they were in a coma. It was clear that customer service was not a priority for them, nor for the establishment as a whole. It's a disheartening experience when you're desperately seeking help, only to be confronted with such blatant indifference.||I have asked for a full refund for my rooms and still have not received any reply. ||In sum, my one-night stay at WaterBird Inn was nothing short of a catastrophe. From the dilapidated room conditions to the dangerously exposed electrical outlets, and the fact that the front desk attendant was unreachable due to their slumber, I implore anyone reading this review to steer clear of this place. Your safety and comfort should be a given when staying at any hotel, and WaterBird Inn failed on every...

Absolutely the worst service I have ever received possibly anywhere—ever. Such a shame as this hotel used to be a great location a decade+ ago, and has now fallen into ill repair, staffed by a maximum of three people who have no idea what they are doing.

I stayed for two nights. Day two, my door lock began to malfunction, and had to approach the front desk [4] times to get new cards just to get in and out of the building. On the forth attempt, the front desk manager came back to my room and attempted to open the door with refreshed cards. Whether the cards worked or not — as she saw — was a complete crapshoot due to the broken lock, but I was told by her that my keys keep malfunctioning because of me keeping them close to my phone (?)(was told the magnets in my phone — what?) and then had the audacity to grab my phone while it was in my hand. Advice for service staff — don’t touch someone else without consent. Once I got in the room I just stayed put for the night since I did not want to get locked out of my space (the front desk closes at 10pm…). The manager told me she couldn’t help me past activating new cards again and again because she’s “not a mechanic”. Duh. I don’t expect you to be. I just want to be able to uh…enter and exit my own room that I’m paying for? This could have all been resolved by staff getting me to a different room with a working lock.

It gets worse.

So this morning, I thought I had booked another night and stayed a few minutes past check out (my bad). The same manager came pounding on my door three times ordering me to get out. I got out 15 after only to see her and the janitor standing by the exit shit talking me. Incredible stuff.

The worst customer service ever. On top of that half of the lights in the room didn’t work and there were dead bugs smashed against the wall. Get what you pay for, I guess.

It’s one thing to be a discount hotel, it’s completely another thing to treat your customers like garbage.

highly suggest paying a bit more for best western next to waterbird. A much better experience with far cleaner rooms. And locks that work. Do...