AmericInn Hotel (formerly Ramkota) & Watertown Event Center — Hotel in Lake Township

The Ramkota Hotel is connected to the Watertown, South Dakota Event Center so the location is ideal. Upon checking in and getting our room key, it would not open the door. It showed "green" but it would not open. After returning to the front desk, I was told that the door locks were "upside down" so I would have to lift up rather than push down to open. That worked. However it would have been helpful if the front desk clerk had mentioned that!!!! I asked two other guests if their room key had worked---it had not worked either so this is important that the front desk clerk inform guests BEFORE they have to return. There is no elevator in the two story hotel so it meant using the stairs again. Our room was on the south west side facing highway 212 which meant a lot of noise from trucks shifting down for a reduced speed zone. The AC unit was also noisy. The queen bed was comfortable and that part of the room was spacious. There was a large comfortable chair, a desk area, a microwave and mini refrigerator. The bathroom area was cramped and the door barely cleared the stool. It was OK for one night and the proximity to the Event Center was great. There was ample parking also. Although they offer a complementary breakfast, it was a mini scrambled egg, sausage, bread, yogurt, juice, coffee& tea. Minverva's serves delicious food. You can access the Event Center and Minerva's without leaving the building. This hotel is good if you have to attend a reception, meeting or conference at the Watertown...

Edit: I figured it out... They have two types of rooms "standard" and "deluxe". Standard is code for "Hasn't been updated in 25 years and has mold growing in the carpet" and deluxe is code for "smaller, with smaller beds, but was renovated in 2020." Generally the standard and deluxe seem to be priced the same, so I guess you can pick your poison. I stand by my recommendation that people just stay at Hampton or Holiday Inn express for less money.

Far below expectations for the price. It's just old. Like they haven't spent a dime on anything in 20 years. No eggs or coffee at breakfast. Rooms desperately need new carpet, to the point I wouldn't let my kids walk without shoes. AC doesn't do a good job of removing humidity, so you can imagine what's growing in the old carpet.

Stay closer to the interstate, even if your event is at the convention center.

Looking at some of the other reviews I can't believe we are talking about the same hotel. Some of the photos look amazing. I don't know if some of the rooms have been renovated more recently than others, but our room was NOTHING like some of the photos. Probably worth specifically asking for one of the...

The older grey haired woman at the front was extremely rude and I was embarrassed for her for the way she was treating an obvious trainee. That poor kid. If you are reading this, kiddo.. go find a different job because there is no reason you need to put up with that disrespect or bullying, especially for the wage they are most likely paying you.

We booked adjoining rooms. The bathroom in one room permeated urine. The other room smelled like wet cigarettes. The fridge froze all of our soda. For a non-smoking facility, I'm not sure if you qualify when there is a bench by the front door with construction workers smoking, forcing you to walk through a plume of cancer.

I gave a one star rating on location due to the location of the drunk guy at the front desk, spilling his cocktail and trying to remove his credit card from the machine. He radiated the smell of moldy clothes that were left in the washer too long before switching them to the dryer. Thank the heavens he was able to locate his car keys and walk out the door away from the lobby. I can only be thankful that it is 100% likely that I will never have to visit the town of...