Lions Gate Hotel — Hotel in Citrus Heights

First of all, the location of this hotel is right smack in the middle of the ghetto. That alone should discourage people from staying there. However, in our case, we didn’t have a lot of choice because we were attending a cat show, also at the McClellan facility, and the hotel was somewhat convenient to that location. After spending a horribly hot long day in their conference hall facility where people and pets alike were miserable from the heat, we headed over to check in to our room, the room I had reserved weeks prior, just to find out that they had given it to someone else. I very specifically reserved this room where I had stayed the year prior, AND at the special group rate. When I called to reserve this same room again this year, they told me I could not have it for the group rate, but I wanted this room so agreed to pay their normal rate. They seem to change their rates as they see fit. There were several reasons for wanting this same room. We had been told by several people that many of their rooms were tiny, not nice accommodations at all, and Room 5120 was a decent room for us last year. It was also close to our friends so that we could all walk together back and forth to their restaurant for drinks and dinner and feel a little bit safer about being together in this sketchy neighborhood. At least the hotel room was sort of within the same parking lot as the restaurant. We were really going to attempt to use the awful “upstairs” room that they gave us (by the way, this place is NOT ADA compliant), but there was a screaming baby across the hall and the room was HOT, HOT, HOT and the A/C didn’t work, and we both have knee problems and just couldn’t haul all of our stuff up the stairs. When we went back to the office to demand the room we had reserved weeks prior, the girl was more concerned about the fact that it wasn’t her fault than to solve the problem. All we wanted to do was talk to a manager, and she just kept repeating that there was no manager, that there would be no manager there until Monday (this was Saturday), that there was absolutely no way to contact a manager until Monday. We told her that this needed to be corrected and they needed to give us our discount for whatever room they would give us. She then tells us she’s going to put us in a “cottage” and starts to direct us to the location, telling us to get in our car, go out of the parking lot…and I stopped right there. First I asked her if she was going to give us any discount for the room, and she said, “No,” the rate was still the same, and there was no way we were going to walk from some other location to their restaurant to have dinner with our friends, so we simply left. This is really unfortunate for us, because not only will we never stay at this facility again, we will no longer be attending cat shows at this facility because of this experience. And about the conference hall where they held the cat show, as I mentioned before, it was horribly hot and miserable. In addition, unlike our other venues where we hold cat shows and people have the option of bringing their own lunch, NO outside food or drink was allowed, so they gouged everyone for food and drink…$11 for a hamburger, basic salad, or chicken sandwich (those were the only lunch choices), $2.50 for a soda, $2 for bottled water. Did I mention how hot this building was? If you wanted to stay hydrated all day, it would cost you a LOT of money! Everything about this place is awful. Customer service is horrid. They do not care about their customers at all. I do have to say, on the one hand, this may have been a blessing in disguise after reading the other reviews posted by people who were “eaten alive” by bed bugs and/or ticks in their rooms. So glad we did not sleep there last night. My recommendation to anyone even thinking about staying at this place…RUN FAST...

I recently booked a room with this hotel. Not only did I make the reservation over a week in advance, I also prepaid for the entire room. I purchased a 2 Queen bed with separate rooms. We checked in 2 hours after check-in time and upon entering the room we were welcomed by the smell of weed, and multiple toddlers running around without supervision around the parking lot. We noticed the carpets were very dirty throughout the halls. When we entered the room we were greeted with a living room area with two lounge chairs and 1 queen bed in a separate room. We searched for a second bed and could not find one. Due to my phone being dead after a long day of traveling and watching my daughter play softball at the park for almost 12 hours, I struggled to look up my reservation to make sure it was correct. We were frustrated, dirty, tired, and hungry. I finally was able to get a copy of my reservation and a phone call was made to the front desk informing them that they had made a mistake. They then informed us that there was a “glitch” in Expedia’s system that had allowed over booking to occur and they could offer us a roll away bed free of charge. I explained that it was very inconvenient for them to take it upon themselves to make the decision to downgrade our room without informing us, and that I had prepaid for the room. I requested that they refund me my money AND offer me a roll away bed free of charge, considering I paid $200+ for a two bed separated room…and this room was only half of what I paid for. Also explained that I was very intentional with booking a room with two beds, considering I would not prefer putting my daughter in a roll away bed after traveling 2 hours at 4a and playing 3 softball games, with more games set to occur for her on the following day. They said they would need to speak to the manager to issue a refund, I informed them I would be heading back to the front desk. Upon returning to the front desk they then gave me the run around about being able to contact a manager after requesting multiple times to speak to one. He then told me that the manager was not on site, not answering and was “recovering from surgery” so he wasn’t allowed to contact him…and would not make an attempt to contact one. I insisted I needed my money back and would not be leaving until the money was credited back to me, or until another room equivalent to what I paid for was offered. He then notified Expedia to issue a refund and passed us along to them. While waiting one hour on the phone with Expedia on the lobby stairs we encountered another set of individuals experiencing the same overbooking issue. However, they booked through the hotel website and Expedia was not to blame this time! Expedia was able to assist with getting us into another hotel equivalent to what we had paid for and they even covered the difference, considering it was very hard to find a room after check-in time on a very busy weekend. Thank you Expedia!!!! However, the Lions Gate Hotel never once apologized for the inconvenience, or the deceit and lies they attempted to use to cover up the fact that they intentionally overbook to cheat people out of money while causing a huge inconvenience for travelers with children!!! The least they could have done was offer us some water! Upon check-in with our new hotel and speaking about our experience, they were not surprised by the encounter we had with Lions Gate. Would not recommend! Only gets a 4 for location because of convenience of being right next to the park we were having our...

Unacceptable Experience – Avoid This Hotel

I recently stayed at Lion Gates Hotel with my family while we were in Sacramento for a funeral. After driving six hours with nine children, we were exhausted and hoped for a comfortable, peaceful stay. Unfortunately, our experience was anything but.

Upon checking in, the host was initially unfriendly, though she warmed up after we had a polite conversation. After getting into our rooms, we immediately noticed issues. The first room was dusty, but otherwise, it seemed okay. The second room was a different story. The window was cracked and couldn’t open for ventilation, and the room had a strong, overpowering scent of what seemed like perfume—likely an attempt to mask another odor. It was clear this room hadn’t been properly aired out or cleaned.

Things only got worse when we went to the pool. There were spiderwebs everywhere—on the entry gate, around the chairs, and even on the handicap lift. It looked as if no one had bothered to clean the pool area in quite some time. The Jacuzzi was also in poor condition—filled with leaves and bugs, and the jets barely worked.

Later, while unpacking, my husband found a clear glass container with a powdery substance in the room. We had no idea what it was, but upon closer inspection, he concluded that it was cocaine. We were horrified and immediately called the front desk. The staff offered to move us to a different room, but it was already late, and the kids were asleep, so we didn’t feel safe packing them up and relocating.

To make matters worse, as my husband continued to tidy up the room, he found more evidence that it hadn’t been cleaned properly—dust, used lipstick containers, and even half-finished bottled water. It was clear this room had not been cleaned in a long time. My husband and I were so unsettled that we couldn’t sleep, and spent the night fully dressed, too afraid to even get into bed.

The next day, my husband tried to speak with the hotel manager, but we were told she had to take her child to the doctor and never received a follow-up or apology. It’s been 30 days since our stay, and we’ve heard nothing from the hotel.

Given the unsafe conditions, lack of cleanliness, and the discovery of drugs in our room, I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. Our stay was a nightmare, and I hope the management takes this seriously and addresses the numerous issues we...