GrandStay Hotel & Suites Milbank — Hotel in Milbank

I stayed at the Grandstay in Milbank in mid-March to visit some family I have in the area. I grew up in the area, so it’s nice to see that this town has finally gotten a suitable hotel! The hotel is a newer build and recently opened (I want to say winter 2019?)||||I booked my room directly on the hotel’s website for a 3 night stay.||||The hotel sits on the south side of the town along highway 15. It’s easy to find with lots of parking out front.||||I arrived at the hotel quite late. As I approached the front desk agent, Molly, she was expecting my arrival and greeted me by name! The lobby is gorgeous with a fireplace and plenty of seating. Molly quickly got me checked-in and I headed to my room.||||The rooms are modern, clean, and comfortable. The designer did a good job on the décor and design. I liked that they put some local influences from the area into the art found in the rooms and around the hotel. The “famous” grist mill that Milbank is known for was found in several pieces of art. The monochromatic and neutral color palate of the décor gives the place a modern, clean feel. The bed was super comfortable. The room had a flat screen tv, coffee maker, minifridge, microwave, desk, ironing board, blow-dryer, etc. Everything you might need. ||||The bathroom was fairly large and had a nice granite countertop stocked with Bath & Bodyworks toiletries. The shower is the one place the designer inexplicably cut corners on. They put a white plastic shower pan in the shower stall. It looks cheap and feels cheap! As you step into the shower, you can feel the plastic floor pan bending and moving as you are in the shower. They could have done a much better job on that one area of the rooms. Nonetheless, the shower was clean and had good water pressure!||||Molly mentioned that there was a complimentary continental breakfast, but I never made it to that.||||I used the fitness center one morning and it seemed adequate for a quick workout. The exercise room has free-weights, a couple of treadmills, etc. It would be helpful if they put a few coat hooks on one of the walls or a small bookshelf of some kind so you don’t have to put your belongings on the ground. If nothing else, I know the town has a few gyms that probably aren’t very expensive to use.||||There is a laundry room on each floor of the hotel. The machines are coin operated.||||There was a 24/7 market just off the front desk that had some sundries and snacks available for purchase.||||I found that using the side entrances to the hotel closer to my room worked better when coming and going than going through lobby. You must use your key card to access the side entrances.||||I never quite figured out the housekeeping program. I slept in a bit each morning as I tend to do. As I left each day to visit family and friends, I removed my do-not-disturb sign from the door and set a tip on the bed for the housekeeper. However, each night I returned, the tip was there and the room hadn’t been serviced! I am a tidy person, so I was able to make do without calling the front desk to request service. My guess is that the hotel is only employing a minimum number of housekeeping staff and that they only service the rooms in the morning. If you have your do-not-disturb sign on the door in the morning, the housekeeping staff seems to think that you wouldn’t want to have your room serviced for the rest of the day? I’m not quite sure that’s how a hotel’s housekeeping program should be ran! If nothing else, the check-in agent should at least advise you that housekeeping is only available for a limited number of hours.||||Anyhow, this is the best hotel in the area and I highly...

They gave away the room we reserved to someone else an hour or so after we had booked it. We had booked the king suite so that we could have some separation and quiet between my young child and my extremely sleep deprived husband. We were ultimately moved to a double queen with a broken HVAC unit, and there were no other rooms available to move us into. The room was about 80 degrees all night and the HVAC unit wouldn't stop pumping in hot air regardless of what the thermostat settings were, which was extra tough since we had a little one with us. It was freezing rain out and there was an event with loud guests coming and going from the parking lot all night, so we couldn't open a window. They didn't have any roll-outs or cots available for young children, just a pack and play. The beds were on the hard side. The curtains weren't black-out and there were no blinds, so the street lights and signs across the street were shining brightly through the window all night. It was a busy Christmas weekend, and we just fell through the cracks with everything else going on. I suspect understaffed to serve all the reservations in addition to the event that was going on. Up sides, lots of nice amenities, nice 24/7 lobby that we were able to escape to to cool down, and the three employees we spoke to were very kind and listened, but they just couldn't seem to solve for the issues we encountered or weren't empowered to help, and one seemed to struggle with the basics of working register and finding guests in the system. We were promised a discount for the room mix-up, but I don't know that it was ever tendered, based on the pending transaction in my account. Overall, really disappointing in comparison to our...

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I Travel for a living, needless to say, I stay at alot of hotels. Im also a BIG REVIEWER, READ BELOW 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 This was #2 worst experience ever staying at a hotel. Unfortunately this was for a vacation and not business; since I wanted to visit Watertown SD and see their fireworks this year with my boys.

Firstly Expect $300+ Incidental Hold! 😳😳 HIGHEST I have ever seen. Hear me out on my experience and why I rated poorly. 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 I called to switch my room a week in advance. I was told everything was noted and it's all good. Called on July 3rd and the lady from prior conversation NEVER DID ANYTHING; aka never switched my room that was available when I called a week in advance. Got in around 1AM on the 4th after being on the road all day (Booked rooms week in advance). I WASN'T EVEN GREETED at this hotel!!! My husband was told to not bother the lady at the front desk, even if we need help or have questions. WHHAAATT????

WE DID NOT FEEL WELCOME OUR WHOLE ENTIRE STAY!!!! At all hotels I see the front desk employees often and we always chat!

PROS: Hot Shower, kind of comfy bed, great hot tub, pool area & very clean.

CONS: ■ Front desk people are always grouchy and hidden away. ■ Mediocre breakfast ■ Super small, cramped rooms. ■ They need better shampoo and conditioner (I always bring my own). I just have never seen such low quality ones at a hotel. My husband usually uses hotel shampoo and conditioner; he wouldn't use it, not even body soap. ■ Employees don't pay attention to breakfast, food sits in warmer for an extended period and becomes hard. ■ Ice Machine is located only on the first floor (never seen this done before) (usually on...