Americas Best Value Sandman Inn — Hotel in La Grande

I've submitted the following about our stay. I do not expect much of a response based on our experience thus far, but I will update with any resolution if there is one:

Our recent stay in the Sandman Inn of America's Best Value Inn was a disturbing experience, to put it mildly. We issued a complaint in person to general manager, Krista Ray, who responded without hospitality and with apparent ire at our complaint which was thus:

When we were breakfasting at the hotel after our stay, an hour before the close of breakfast, the bar was sparse, to put it politely; even the water pitcher was empty and the bathrooms were locked. When we went to inquire of the two ladies we had seen earlier cleaning the breakfast bar, neither was there. We rung the doorbell for service and no one answered. Another customer rang the doorbell for service ten minutes later and still no answer.

We decided to use the restroom and get the remainder of our breakfast out, which was disappointing since we had paid for the breakfast as part of our stay. As we were leaving the building however, we saw the entire staff, some 5-10 people, including the two ladies we had seen prior, immediately outside the building, chatting and smoking right next to the door (though the sign on the door said: "No smoking within 10 feet"). My husband pointed out the two ladies he had seen working earlier and when he did, they hustled inside, sensing our frustration that they would ignore their customers.

I proceeded inside, where I issued my complaints that they did not have unlocked restrooms or a stocked bar, had not had someone manning the desk, did not answer the doorbell, and did not leave an indication that they were on break or when they would be back. The manager insisted that she was the only one on the clock (which does not explain why we saw another of the smoking employees cleaning just 30 minutes prior), and that she was "allowed a break." She said she had no sign to leave. When I suggested that she write a sign herself, she angrily responded that she would do that next time.

At this point, since she was the offender and obviously defensive and angry, I requested her superior. She insisted that the owner lived in India and she had no way of contacting him. I asked to whom she reported, and she gave me a number that did not work. I asked for another and after spending twenty minutes looking it up on a computer, she found another number for me.

I was on hold for a good 15 minutes before an employee of your customer relations answered. She insisted she could do nothing for me beyond direct me to file this report, and that she could not get her manager for me, but would have him call me back at a later time. By this point, I began to suspect I was being given the runaround and insisted I speak to a superior immediately which she denied and then, upset by my insistence, hung up on me.

Still at the hotel, I informed the manager, Krista Ray, that the company appeared to not be able to do anything for me and since the hotel was individually owned and operated, that I would like satisfaction from her. Since our stay included a reasonable expectation of prompt and polite customer service as well as a breakfast and the use of facilities, all of which were denied us, I requested a partial or full refund. She insisted I leave the premises and threatened to call the authorities to have me removed. Since we had already checked out at this time and lost an hour of travel time, I decided to oblige her request with the parting comment that: I would hope this experience would enable her to better serve...

I typically do not write online reviews, but am writing this one in hopes someone may avoid future issues.

The main reason we stayed here was that they were only hotel in town that allowed pets that had availability the night we were in town. What a mistake it ended up being.

I had to make my reservation over the phone to check on the pet policy and made a reservation for one night. Upon arrival, the young man working the front barely said two words, only asking me to fill out our car information (I later found out this same slip had our reservation mistaken for two nights on it). In the morning I went to check out and nobody was at the front desk. I rang the bell and waited for a couple minutes. With nobody in sight, I left our keys on the front desk and left. Had somebody come to the desk, perhaps our issue of a mistaken extra night could have been solved at that point. A few days later I noticed my card had been charged for more than double what I expected. I gave it a few days to see if it adjusted for some type of hold, and finally a week later I called to check on the issue. The general manager (who was fairly attentive aside from originally sending the copy of my check in info to the wrong email address given to her over the phone and despite the fact that her help accomplished nothing) said that the original reservation was made for two nights and that housekeeping had a record of cleaning it both days. I requested that she send my check in document on which I wrote our car information which she explained to me included the wrong reservation information. Upon receiving and reviewing this, I asked the general manager if there was a way to request the second night charges be reversed considering the entire situation. She "checked with the accounting department" and said the charges could not be reversed.

As for the hotel itself, it was older but in decent shape. However, due to the wrong reservation, and the poor staff while there, we will definitely not be...

We were in need of a place to rest after a couple days hunting, so we reserved a room with this place because they were the ONLY hotel in town with an available room. When we went to check in, the first thing the gal said was "Oh! I thought internet reservations were turned off because we usually reserve a few for walk-ins" But then, she checked us in. Really made us feel like we weren't welcome.

We parked and headed up to the room. The back door didn't latch, so you could just open the door without using a card, and the staircase up to the rooms looked like it hadn't been vacuumed in a while. When we got in the room, we were greeted by a bed that was really overused. The side farthest from the door had a giant crater in it, indicating that it was way overdue for replacing. In addition to that, we reserved a king sized bed, and the bed only had 2 small pillows on it. Usually king sized beds have multiple pillows (3-4) or, oversized king pillows. The pillows were also flat.

After we got in and settled, we both needed to shower. The bathroom came equipped with 1 light - and a SUPER dim light at that - that was by the door, rather than over the shower. It was more of a nightlight than an actual bathroom light. The shower was hot, which was a blessing, but the whole room/bathroom is in desperate need of a remodel. This place is very dated!

I chose to give 2 stars because we were happy to find a room, but would really give it 1 star if it wasn't the only room available in town. We weren't happy at all except that we had a dry place to stay. I would recommend the Best Western in town, at least it looked a bit cleaner. Not sure what these good reviews are used to staying in, but perhaps they should set their bar...