Rodeway Inn Clearwater - Central — Hotel in Clearwater

Non-Refundable Policy for many reasons! AVOID AT ALL COSTS! While Magnuson Hotels Int. has a good reputation, the Magnuson Clearwater, Central is hurting the company as a whole.

We booked online at last minute when we arrived in Tampa, FL. Our reservation was made at 9:32 PM EST, we then drove to the hotel and arrived at nearly 10 PM EST. Upon arrival, I was uncomfortable. I explained to the girl at the front desk window, that my wife could not do stairs, due to her disabilities. She told me we she could put us in a ground floor unit. I was still uncomfortable as the place was not as it had been represented online, but it was late, we had just driven 18 hours straight, but I specifically asked if the room was non-smoking ( wife has asthma ), and that it was handicap accessible. The night clerk told me it was.

I went to the room, there were people outside smoking and the odor was in the room. Furthermore, the room was not clean, nor sanitized for COVID. I checked the bathroom, there were no grab bars to assist those with disabilities, the shower had black mold growing and was the room was just all around substandard.

I went back to the front, as my wife contacted the reservation company about the situation and our concerns with COVID-19 and the condition of the rooms and building, as well as mentioning previous reviewers having complained of bed bugs, and that was a concern as well.. She spoke to a representative, while I had to wait to speak to the clerk.

While I waited, I called my credit card company to explain the situation and asked what my options were if the hotel refused to cancel and refund the three night reservation. This was at 10:25 PM EST. I went up to the night window when others cleared away, at approximately 10:50 PM EST, but we were in front of the hotel, in view of the security cameras from 10:20 PM EST onward.

Meanwhile, the representative at reservation company said he had spoken to the manager and they were going to issue a full refund. When I got up to the window, I handed the girl the keys and receipt and told her that we could not take the room, due to the smokers and COVID concerns, as nothing was indicated saying the room had been sanitized, as every other hotel we have stayed in during the past 6 months has done.

The clerk said she spoke to the representative, but that she never agreed to refund the room and we would have to come in and talk to the GM the following day. By this time it was shortly after 11 PM EST and we left and after driving around found a place to eat at 11:40 PM.

My wife called the reservation company again in the morning to tell them I was going to go by the property after a job interview, but wanted to alert them, since it would be later in the day. The representative told my wife, the hotel GM was refusing to refund anything because, the room was non-refundable and that we had stayed in it for two hours.

My wife then called Magnuson Clearwater Central to speak with the manager. She spoke with the GM and the woman was very rude and claimed my wife had said the place had bed bugs. My wife told her no, she didn't say that, others had, and we were concerned about it on top of the lack of handicap accessibility and the condition of the room. The GM continued to be rude, was laughing at my wife, who, by now was very upset, and refused to do anything.

I stopped by the hotel after an interview. The GM Julia (Not Kelly) was rude and refused to do anything. She still claimed we had been there for two hours even though I proved we hadn't been. I offered to pay for one night, if they would cancel the other two. She refused and claimed I was lying about the room and such. I told her no one lied, except for them about the room and how long we had been there. She wouldn't budge, only smirked. I told her I would reverse the charges, she told me I could do what I wanted, but she wasn't giving me...

Absolutely appalling. I cannot express how deeply disappointed I am in this hotel. For over $800 for four nights, I expected a stay that was at least clean, comfortable, and remotely decent. Instead, what I got was a rundown, dirty, and completely mismanaged disaster that felt more like a low-end roadside motel than anything worth paying $150–$200+ per night for.

The issues started immediately. There was no telephone in the room to call the front desk, meaning any issue—of which there were plenty—required physically tracking someone down. The bathroom sink lights didn’t even work, making it impossible to get ready. Meanwhile, the room was lit with harsh, blinding daylight LED bulbs, making it feel more like an interrogation chamber than a hotel room. Trying to get any rest was a joke because the bed was absolutely awful—cheap, uncomfortable, and topped with flat, lifeless pillows that provided zero support.

Housekeeping was a complete failure. The maids did not clean the room unless we explicitly asked, which was already unacceptable given how much we were paying. But here’s the real kicker: even after we requested it, they STILL didn’t come. Trash piled up, towels were never replaced, and the room remained filthy the entire stay. It’s one thing to have bad service, but this was just outright neglect.

Then there was the hygiene nightmare. A German cockroach was in the shower. That’s right—a roach. In. The. Shower. If I wanted to share a bathroom with vermin, I could have saved my money and stayed somewhere charging a fraction of the price.

To make matters worse, the entire place had a sketchy, uncomfortable atmosphere. At all hours of the day and night, there were random people loitering around outside their rooms, staring, lingering, and making the whole place feel incredibly unsafe. I constantly felt like I had to be on high alert, which is not what you want from a hotel you’re paying this much for. And just to add to the unsettling experience, the police patrol the parking lot regularly—which tells you everything you need to know about what kind of area this is and the type of problems they must deal with.

This place has no business charging $150–$200 per night, let alone anywhere near what we paid. It is a low-end, mismanaged, unsanitary, and unsafe mess that should be charging motel prices at best—and even then, it would still be a ripoff. If you value your money, sanity, and safety, DO NOT STAY HERE. I would rather sleep in my car than ever waste another dollar on this place. An absolute disgrace to the hospitality industry.

To the hotel staff: From one business owner to another—listen to your bad reviews! LEARN from your feedback and IMPROVE the experience for your customers. Invest some money on the place and make it a place worth staying at. If you want people to come back and to bring your star rating up so that you can justify higher prices,...

Upon our arrival we had a short wait, and two people ahead of us. Shawn came and checked us in. He was not overly friendly but he was kind and effecient and informative. There is a strange smell at the front desk, but I thinks it's the shells decor on the counter maybe. There was a white board with our name on it welcoming us and the other guests checking in that day, I thought that was a nice touch. Very thoughtful. Our room was ground level, 122. I loved the bright, light colors and airy feel of the place. Our biggest complaint was there was no table and chairs. Only the t.v. stand and top of fridge/microwave so there was no where to set our food down forcing us to eat on the bed which I didn't want to do because I didn't want food in the bed to draw bugs. Another plus, there was not a bug in this room alive or dead. It was pristine, with the exception of the seat of the toilet. The seat had some dried sweaty leg grime on it. Thankfully I carry my own cleaning disinfect when we travel and it took 20 seconds to clean the toilet. The water in the tub is HOT! Be careful with babies. The beds felt like they would be comfortable, they are firm, however it wasn't MY bed so I had a little trouble getting comfy. My other observation is not a complaint but just helful info, I hope. It's an older motel, the walls are thin, and very little insulation. We could hear every single sound. We didn't get much sleep since we are used to quieter country living, And I laughed at one person's review about people having sex in the room next door, but we must have ended up next to the same people. It went on all night. It was awkward, we were travelling with our young daughter. She asked a lot of questions. We just turned up our t.v. and left it on all night, I'm hoping we didn't disturb the poor neighbor on our other side. You must keep in mind when staying here, it's in a very busy area, right off the interstate, not all people keep the same sleeping schedules and lifestyles so you have to exercise patience and tolerance when travelling. We were safe, it was clean, and in a convenient location. Just as we dozed off between 4a.m. and 6a.m. we we're shocked out of bed by the neighbor getting locked out and their person not answering the door as they continued to pound on it repeatedly. We went to breakfast but did not stay and eat, it was crowded and our choices were biscuits and gravy, waffles, or toast. Or, cereal and milk from what we saw. I had a migraine so I needed good coffee and something with more protein. We ended up at Starbucks, not my first choice but it sufficed. Would we stay again? Yes, if we needed to. Overall I was more impressed than I...