Sunflower Motel Hiawatha By OYO — Hotel in Hiawatha

In October I had the occasion to drive back and forth from Denver to Indianapolis. Going in both directions, I stayed half way at the Sunflower Motel in Hiawatha, Kansas, on US 36. I had discovered the motel the year before when I made a similar trip and I couldn't wait to spend two nights there again. When I called from Denver to make the reservations, I began by saying to Mary (the co-owner) that I didn't know whether she'd remember me. Indeed she not only remembered me but also the precise nature of my trip. You're not apt to find such a personal connection at any motel/hotel chain, especially after only a single visit. My evenings there were wonderful. We had long, friendly conversations which were so welcomed by me after driving all day by myself. One time, on Mary's recommendation, I drove a short way out of town to the Country Cabin Restaurant for dinner, which was a real treat. The room at the motel was as lovely as I recalled it to be, combining comfort and warm, homey decorations. Mary and Mike have lovingly renovated this older motel and their touches are in evidence everywhere. For example, in my bathroom hung a small painting of flowers with the following inscription: "All the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of today". They are definitely sowing many seeds through their generous hospitality and those of us fortunate enough to be part of this are blooming just a little brighter than we...

My husband and son just stayed at this motel last night. He sent me pictures of the linens and the light fixture when they got in to their room. ||There were stains all over the sheets, they were dingy and looked as if they hadn’t been cleaned in a really long time let alone replaced over the past decade. There was hair on them too. The main light fixture has tons of dead bugs in it. It was completely disgusting.||My husband notified the owner and he wanted to know why it took them a few hours to get into their room and notice. The reason being that they were visiting with my husband’s parents in their room. The owner insinuated it was my husband’s fault that the sheets were stained and gross. Then he told my husband that the room wasn’t dirty because he had a friend stay there the day before. You can clearly see just how dirty everything was in the pictures.||They did end up giving my husband and son a new room which he said was somewhat better. How can you sleep comfortably after knowing that they apparently don’t keep up as well as they should on basic housekeeping though? ||Maybe this one slipped through the cracks or something but the least they could have done was comp’d the $80 room for them. You certainly don’t tell your customer that the room isn’t dirty when you can clearly see just how dirty it is and then tell them everything is fine since the other room is ok. ||Huge...

My husband and son just stayed at this motel last night. He sent me pictures of the linens and the light fixture when they got in to their room.

There were stains all over the sheets, they were dingy and looked as if they hadn’t been cleaned in a really long time let alone replaced over the past decade. There was hair on them too. The main light fixture has tons of dead bugs in it. It was completely disgusting.

My husband notified the owner and he wanted to know why it took them a few hours to get into their room and notice. The reason being that they were visiting with my husband’s parents in their room. The owner insinuated it was my husband’s fault that the sheets were stained and gross. Then he told my husband that the room wasn’t dirty because he had a friend stay there the day before. You can clearly see just how dirty everything was in the pictures.

They did end up giving my husband and son a new room which he said was somewhat better. How can you sleep comfortably after knowing that they apparently don’t keep up as well as they should on basic housekeeping though?

Maybe this one slipped through the cracks or something but the least they could have done was comp’d the $80 room for them. You certainly don’t tell your customer that the room isn’t dirty when you can clearly see just how dirty it is and then tell them everything is fine since the other room is ok.

Huge...