The Brookside Motel — Hotel in Keystone

Booked the room at 3pm and called ahead to let them know we will be arriving late at around midnight. They said it was ok and would leave the key for us at the front, which I thought was really nice of them.

We got there around 1230am, nobody was in the office, but there was the key and a note there as the front desk agent “TJ” said it would.

It’s a motel. I really didn’t expect much. The room was ok, except for the bed bugs, blood on the bed, and rotting food in the fridge.

We were just getting settled in and noticed a bug crawling across the pillow. We immediately flipped it over and found a spider, blood on the pillow, and the bed bug. We trapped it and I contacted the front desk immediately.

I went to the office and rang the bell they had on the desk, only to wait for 5-10 minutes until the front desk agent pulled up smelling of alcohol. I attempted to explain to him the situation of the bed bugs and the other deficiencies, and his response was “it’s a forest, we can’t keep all the bugs out”. He said maybe he can offer us another room, but my friend and I no longer wanted to stay at this property and asked for a full refund.

He said yeah sure, he can give it. But because I booked through Expedia (Chase Ultimate Rewards actually) I would need to contact them. And I asked him if he would approve the refund, he said yes.

Contacted Chase, explained to them the issue, and they said they will contact him immediately to request for the refund code. After a few minutes, they got back to me and said he denied it and would not offer me a refund, maybe a partial refund because he cannot sell the room to anyone since I checked in at noon.

I didn’t even book the room until 3pm, how can I check in at noon?! It is now 3am and I am unable to book any other room until the next day, with additional fear of my things having bed bugs in it and no refund whatsoever.

This place is a terrible business and needs to be...

LuO to Mel who just posted..I have the EXACT same problem - we arrived on July 15, 2019 - we were shown the same room/area- just off from the office, one story. The room was DISGUSTING (filthy, threadbare dirty bed coverings, bugs, terrible smell and there is no way i would have used that bathroom, the towels, or slept on that bed. We very politely declined to stay and went down the road to another hotel. I am also getting a run around regarding a refund. He never calls back, i have to call him and i have to block my number in order for him to pick up. Same story - three days ago he agreed to refund but didn't. Then he said 40% refund which i have yet to see. If you look online at the hotel policies they do not have a cancellation policy posted, therefore it should be refunded. We too would not touch anything and left immediately for fresh air. I have never experienced anything like this in my 50 years of travelling. i have contacted my VISA company and they are giving the motel 15 days to refund and then will refund me and will take action from their end. This property is in a tourist town and in a state/federal park. If i have to receive the refund through my VISA (instead of the hotel, I will write to the town of Keystone and the South Dakota Tourism department, They need to know how bad this place is and how shady it is. The website is misleading, the rooms posted online look lovely and I want to believe that a part of this motel may have been renovated, and kudos to the lucky ones who stayed there and left good reviews. This is not what we were offered and they should close down the non-renovated portion instead of scamming us. Good luck in your efforts to get a refund. I am an international tourist and this is not a good way to start a USA vacation. If he voluntarily refunds 100% of my money i will post an apology for indicating he is scamming me and the people who i was travelling with (two rooms to...

We arrived at the Brookside Motel for our planned single night stay as we toured the beautiful state of South Dakota. When we pulled up, we had an uneasy feeling as it was nothing like pictured online, the tiny outdoor "pool" was covered/closed in mid-July, and the parking lot was empty whilst the rest of the town was very busy and bustling. We asked to see a room before confirming check in and we are glad we did. It was in the single level section just off to the side of the office. The room shown was extremely dark, small, dingy, had an off putting smell, prison cell-like impression, with an awkwardly placed tiny bathroom. I honestly felt claustrophobic and dared not touch anything. We quickly left for the fresh air outside and went down the road to find different lodging for the night. Alas we paid $30 more per room at the newly renovated, name brand hotel just down the way, however it was well worth the extra cost after seeing the Brookside Motel and what we almost ended up in. Now the ownership of Brookside Motel has continued to charge the reservation credit card. After making initial contact about the charge concerns and discussing reasons why, they agreed to refund. However, they still have not done so and will not return calls. Shady business practices on top of the appalling rooms. If I could give 0 stars, I would and I will be contacting the health inspectors and tourism state boards if no refund is received shortly. I write this review to warn others as social media and internet reviews are key deciding factors for a world-wide reach for any potential tourist room seekers and for any aspects of the customer...