Super 8 by Wyndham Corvallis — Hotel in Corvallis

So, who wants to hear a fun story? You guys? Great. This actually happened to me last night. I am working in Corvallis this week. The first night I stayed at a hotel that I have stayed at before, wasn't sure if I needed more nights or not yet so I waited to book more. Went to book 2 more nights and everything in town was booked, except the Super 8. I know this should have been a warning sign from above but I didn't want to have to drive to Albany to stay the night, so I booked 2 Nights. I have stayed there before and it has been fine. The first thing I noticed was the guy checking me in had had a rough life and there had probably been more than a few drugs involved. But he didn't seem high or anything, was super friendly and helpful. The elevator is most definitely a portal to hell. The buttons shine with an intense red light reserved for the burning eyes of demons. See attached photo. It also doesn't seem to want to elevate well and going down seems like it has an unnatural pull into the dark beyond. It also makes a sound like someone bag piping a cat or torturing a soul as it descends. But I digress. First night was fine and uneventful. Last night however was a different story. At 3:20am ( I know the exact time because I looked at my phone and it is burned into my memory now). I hear my door open and slam against the little security chain that I have locked. I don't always do it but now it will be a 100% habit! I jump up and go to the door, ready for action in my boxer briefs, ready to fight to the death! I look through the peephole and see a woman there with a clipboard. I ask if I can help her and she very apologetically says she is doing room checks and for some reason it says my room is unoccupied. I sternly assure her that it is not. She apologized again and went on her way. ( I did talk to her when I checked out and she was very VERY embarrassed and sorry.) Now comes the best part. I then had to pee, as one does when they have had the piss scared out of them by a stranger trying to enter their room uninvited. So I did the most logical thing and went in the restroom and flipped on the lights. Instant regret. It is a well known fact that turning on the lights in a dark restroom when you are half awake and fuels by adrenaline is a generally painful experience. Needless to say I swore and flipped them back off with utmost urgency. That is when I saw it. Someone has used glow in the dark paint to draw a heart on the wall above the toilet. Funny, I said to myself as I turned around. That is when I got the rest of their little message. Pictures are attached.

Needless to say I did not sleep well past that and will not be visiting a Super 8...

I want to start with the positives: the front desk staff was kind. When they saw that I was a little old lady with a dog and knowing the elevator was broken, they "upgraded" me to a king room on the first floor. Otherwise, pet rooms were on the third floor and I could not have managed that with a dog who needed toileting every few hours, let alone with my luggage. The hot water was truly hot, plentiful and had good pressure. The tub was old and had no grab bar or non-slip treatment, but the shower experience was glorious. Towels were thin but soft and clean. The bed was exceptionally comfortable and the new heating unit whisper-quiet. The negatives: the smell was horrific. I couldn't identify it exactly but it was if the Oregonian Black Mold Society was holding a convention in the foundation of the building. The carpet looked new and I don't think the smell came from the beat-up chair. The bed was on a platform so I don't think there was something under the bed that had decomposed in place. My window had no screen but at least it opened -- unfortunately, given the cold, wet weather, I was unable to air out the room even if security hadn't been an issue. The other negative was the location. What was once a beautiful location adjacent to the riverfront along a bike trail has become a campsite for the homeless. The adjacent bridge shelters drug users and a path at one side of the property is their all-hours cut-through to camp. I was afraid for my car and not unafraid for myself outside at night toileting my dog. The security latch on the outside entrance to the property next to that path is broken, allowing total access from outside. I was in town seeking medical care at the university for my sick pet and had based my choice of Super 8 on another in the chain which was a delightful stay. This wasn't. It was stinky and scary (although I slept very well given the excellent bed.) I wish the managers all the best in trying to improve the property (stacks of new heaters piled high in the lobby!) but the city not relocating the homeless folks is the worst of their problems. Corvallis, this...

Room was no smoking and wreaked of smoke. Like someone had just smoked in there 1 hour before we arrived. The carpet was black from high traffic and sticky in places. We wore our shoes to walk to the restroom. The door closure device was broken and the door stayed open unless we actively pushed it closed. No continental breakfast was provided even though they said it would be when we checked in. The pool was drained "because of COVID" and mind you this was in June 2021. Not sure how COVID affects the pool when other hotels in town are offering a pool just fine.

Lastly and most importantly, there were a number of individuals loitering around, smoking out front and lingering in the lobby that everyone seemed to know. They seemed like long term residents. We think they were part of the local homeless population that was awaiting permanent placement for housing and were using the Super 8 for temporary housing. Probably explains why all the rooms here wreak of smoke and are pretty much destroyed. That is fine if you want to do that, but then don't list your hotel to other guests that are coming from out of town and pretend like it is a normal hotel and normal cleanliness levels.

We cancelled the second night immediately and asked for a refund for our first "smokey" night stay and the manager refused to provide one. We felt like we got caught in a trap for out-of-towners who are not aware of local reputations of hotels on the river walk. Buyer beware, if you get a room here you will probably pay $83 to stay at a homeless...