Rodeway Inn Kalkaska — Hotel in Kalkaska Township

My wife and I stayed overnight a few weeks ago after a long day of skiing in Harbor Springs. We were visiting another ski hill in Cadillac and picked this Econolodge because it was about half way in between. I've been staying a Choice Hotels for years and have to say this was one of the most bizarre stays we've had.

First of all, I did use some points that we had built-up so thankfully this didn't cost anything out of pocket. It was also the middle of winter so the rate would have been minimal anyway. I knew immediately it would be interesting when you had to be buzzed-in to the front desk from this tiny shoebox of a 'breakfast area'. We get our keys and then proceed up some of the most narrow stairs ever for a hotel. When walking down the hallway to our room I had flashbacks to a nasty college apartment complex where they pack in as many

rooms as possible.

As others have mentioned, this complete hotel is in dire need of some remodeling. Everything is dated, the shower is so small do NOT drop the soap or shampoo bottle, as you would struggle picking it back up. I half expected to see a 24" old style TV sitting on the countertop.

I will say this, and this is the main reason I don't have an issue giving a 1-star...the bed was incredibly comfortable. The rest of the room was suspect we slept great on that bed.

So before leaving I venture down the sketchy stairs to the breakfast area to see what there might be. Now as I've said I've been a Choice Hotel member for a long time and have stayed at top shelf locations and some of the more suspect ones and have seen it all for breakfast. Instead of listing 'continental breakfast' on the website they should just say toast, water, and maybe some juice. It was so pathetic I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture to laugh about later. Needless to say we stopped a McDonald's down the street on the way to skiing.

I got a kick out of this stay more than anything. I used some rewards points and the bed was clean & comfortable so what the heck. I'm not one to complain because life if too short, and to be honest I don't think it would have made a difference. The people running this location obviously don't really care as long as the lights are one and people stop in. Just buyer/renter beware and know these things going in. If you need a cheap spot to rest your head for the night, this might be the location. If you want any kind of realistic expectation for what we usually see at a Choice Hotel (yes, even an Econolodge) then I would suggest looking towards Traverse City, Petosky, or...

If I could give this motel a "0", I would have. While I do not mind old (and I expected old), I do not like dirty. When we showed up at 10:15 p.m., the front entrance was locked, and we called the number it said to call....for 20 minutes before a clerk came. She explained that the phone had not rung where she was. When we got to our room, we discovered a used towel in the tub/shower along with hair in the shower and on the bathroom floor. The beds looked made up, but in the one bed, we discovered hair and a scab with a small smear of dried blood and in the other bed, hair on the sheets and pillows. The clerk moved us to another room. The second room had a used towel hanging up on the back of the bathroom door. It also had grout missing from between some of the tiles, so as we stood in front of the sink, the tile rocked back and forth. Neither one of us felt confident that the shower was clean enough to use, so we were not able to take a shower. The night clerk comped us half the night's stay. In the morning when we checked out, we were told that the entire night's stay had been comped, but we found out later that they did charge us the half the original price. But this motel is not worth even the half...

To start off on this review "desk" would not accept AARP, VA or AAA discounts. Said it was their high season. We were given a second floor room so it required stairs to get there. No elevator. We're pretty fit seniors, but the stairway looked like something from a turn of the century farmhouse. Very steep and the steps were not deep if that makes any sense. Dangerous! Once in the room we noticed the toilet bowl had not been cleaned. I'll leave that to your imagination. Nor were there pillowcases on the pillows. ??? Brought this to the attention of housekeeping and to her credit she ordered a complete reclean. Afterward, the room smelled better but carpeting and bathroom just didn't look clean. I realize they are remodeling but perhaps they shouldn't rent these? We had a 3-day reservation, but after 2 days my husband became ill. I checked with the desk early in the morning to see if we could get credit for the 3rd day if we left by 11 AM. She said management didn't usually do that but would check. Turned down by them. Said they would have to get permission from the owner but he was unlikely to give us a credit. A week after we checked out still no credit. Probably didn't call him. Won't stay with any of the Comfort...