Ramada by Wyndham Minneapolis Golden Valley — Hotel in Golden Valley

My husband and I have stayed at this motel before when we come to visit our kids in college in Minneapolis. It has steadily improved over the years and became a nice and nicer place to relax. We were coming to this location when it was still a Super 8 Motel. Then it changed hands being bought out my Ramada. It got even better and more luxurious. The breakfast here are out of this world! They are huge and delicious! The kitchen and dining area is extravagantly spacious.

BUT THIS TIME SOMETHING WAS DIFFERENT!

We arrived Friday evening as we typically do expecting a warm and inviting welcome. I was really tired so I relaxed and waited in the car as my husband went in with our reservation confirmation papers. As he walked in, 3 women sitting over at one of the tables in the dining area started waving real big and loudly saying "hi, hi, hi". He looked at them wondering if he knew them, and they giggled and kept shouting their obnoxious greeting. It then hit him that they were drunk. At about the same time as I waited in the car and had my eyes closed, resting my head against the headrest, I heard a disturbance and opened my eyes to several men stumbling up the walkway from JJ's bar next door, talking loudly and profanely and going into the motel. My husband at that time, said to the lady and man behind the reception desk, "Are these people drunk?" They didn't reply at all. Sondra was busy getting him registered and the man, a bedraggled looking man just stood there looking at him, so he repeated the question, "Are these people drunk?" The man "Neil" glared at him and said, "Does that matter?" Stunned, my husband said, "Yes, it does?" Neil retorted, "Why should that matter to you?" My husband replied, "It matters because I should have the privilege of checking in here without being harassed by drunks." Neil got angry and said, "You're really ticking me off now. If you're not careful you won't even be staying here!" My husband said, "Well, I need to fill out a complaint form then. Do you have a form I could fill out?" Neil retorted again, "You can talk to a manager in the morning." My husband said, "Really, you don't have a form?" Neil said, "I'm not talking to you," and turned away. My husband began sensing that maybe Neil even was drunk? He and Sondra finished up the check-in process. All the while she was quiet and not saying anything. After a bit Neil started to say something again to my husband about the matter in the same demeaning tone of voice. My husband turned to him and said, "No, you're not talking to me, you said," and turned back to Sondra.

The stay was uneventful after that first evening. The younger man, who we were used to from previous stays was at the desk from that point on and different ladies with him. Our stay was a two night stay. We didn't say anymore to any of them. We are posting this review in hopes that it will make a difference and prevent others from having such an "Unwelcoming" experience.

We are unbelieving that there IS NOT some sort of "No Public Drunkeness" policy in place. Seriously, do the rights of the drunks trump those of us who rather choose to be decent and reserved towards other guests? The only that we can think of that is worse than a man behind the counter acting like Neil, is an organization that...

This Ramada is a bit off the beaten path and is in a decent location. But the in-room decor is extremely dated.

Getting to our 3rd floor room, the hallway smelled of Marijuana and it was unpleasant.

While there are recent vinyl plank flooring updates instead of carpet and dresser/side table top cou ter style updates, almost of the furniture and decor is out of what appears to be the 90s and the very tiny sink has plumbing exposed.

The beds were like it was on an old trampoline. The bed was firm, but any movement and the WHOLE mattress bounced up and down.

The breakfast was decent with good hot ham but very overcooked eggs. The apple juice said 100% apple juice, but I saw them change it and noticed the replacement insert label said apple drink and felt hoodwinked.

However, what was worst was the check-in experience. While the night clerk was gentle and polite, he didn't know how to handle international credit cards and locked one of mine up bypassing the pin entry screen for the customer. Worse than that, he snuck on a room deposit of a value greater than the room rate without telling me AND my credit card Inicates it as a full charge not a hold, so time will tell if I have actually been ripped off or not.

As it is, deposits are an antiquated process when hotels retain credit info and can charge the card after the fact for any incidentals or damage and certainly not for more than the room rate. On the same trip I stayed in other Wyndham properties with no deposit and only had to show my ID for them to simply put the room on the booking card and already had paperwork ready. BUT NOT HERE, nope, even with wyndham rewards booking it's show ID, provide credit card for them to charge directly ( likely because ethe booking on preauthorizes the room rate so they have to completely re-charge the card which leaves a room rate per authorization, a room rate charge and a greater than room rate deposit. If your card is near its limit - have fun! I would bet it may not go through.

Then they didn't even acknowledge I was a status Wyndham Rewards member. That's small, but it's something they are supposed to do.

The rest of the staff in the morning and at breakfast were wonderful, but first impressions are very hard to overcome. If the financial issues are sorted out and they become upfront in theirbusiness practices (and even their breakfast offerings) , I would consider a repeat stay and re-do of this review.

UPDATE: the overcharge disappeared after the final charge went through a...

Well, so far, I am leaving this hotel 1 star. This within the first 5 minutes of arriving. I am supposed to be meeting a friend here, of which already has the room, booked and paid for. She is in the room and waiting for me, yet I am stuck in the front lobby with this front desk person who refuses to let me past. I am 33 years old, not some adolescent with a curfew or restrictions on where I am allowed to go or not to go... yet here I still sit. I ask this man where is this policy written that I "need the person who the room is in their name to come and get me." I have never, ever heard of this rule in my entire life, not at any hotel anywhere in the world. My appearance is clean, I am not belligerent or intoxicated in any way, shape or form. It simply seems I am being profiled, in some way. If this so called policy is not written, then I have absolutely no way of knowing if he is making the whole thing up or not, based on some sort of discrimination. Which, is exactly what this is, because I watched a girl come in directly in front of me, after jumping out of her Lyft ride out front. She walked right past this front desk guy, no problem and no questions asked. This is not ok. I would appreciate if there is a Ramada representative that could possibly get back to me and explain this discrepancy. Why is this happening to me and not her? Whay kind of customer service is this? It is clearly not hotel policy. Then after 5 minutes attempting to get a hold of my friend to come down and get me, I get escorted by him out the front door. Its classic guilty until proven innocent/ discrimination/ you name it. Its wrong. Never will I have a good taste in my mouth regarding this hotel again, unless something drastic is done in order to change my mind, which I have my doubts. Nobody else may care regarding my current situation, but I also do not currently drive,and was dropped off here. This guy has really ruined my evening. Sadly I think he knows it, and that was probably the whole point. Good luck to all you other weary travelers out there! Hope you never get treated in this embarrassing and humiliating fashion. Nobody...