Mark Twain Hotel — Hotel in Peoria

We booked a room at the Mark Twain because it was a mid-range option. We didn't want a cheap place because we didn't want an unpleasant experience, but we also didn't want to spend too much. At first glance, the place is beautiful. Lots of wood decor and a library right in the lobby. I found that quite appropriate for a place named after a famous author. Unfortunately, the rooms did not continue the theme. Our room was mostly plain green walls with a more modern look than the gorgeous lobby. The view of the river was a pleasant surprise, but I'm guessing not all rooms get that feature. Once we got settled, we started noticing some problems. The bathroom was extremely small and cramped. It looked like something you would find in a hospital room rather than a hotel. There was only a single pedestal sink and zero counter space. My wife struggled to put on her makeup for the event we came to Peoria to attend. There was a small counter with a phone and a chair that passed for an office area next to the bed, but there was no mirror so she couldn't use that. That office space was crammed into the area next to one side of the king-size bed, leaving no room for a night stand on that side. I found that very inconvenient. Across from the bed, mounted on the wall, was a 32-inch LG television with a DVD player below it. Unfortunately, the remote was a GE universal that was not properly programmed for the TV. I had to use the power and channel buttons on the TV itself because the remote only controlled the volume. I finally looked up instructions on the Internet and programmed the remote myself. It works properly for theTV now, but that's just the room we had and I don't know if it works for the DVD player. One of the channels, our favorite, The Food Network, had no sound at all. There was a small set of shelves with a mini fridge, microwave oven, and coffee maker, but the coffee maker was crammed into the small space between the fridge and microwave, making it very difficult to add water. We were provided two paper coffee cups, but the coffee maker only made enough coffee to fill one cup. The cups also lacked a heat sleeve, so holding the cup for more than a couple of seconds was impossible until the coffee cooled off to the point that it was no longer drinkable. The fridge was also set too cold and our drinks were frozen in the morning. The freezer section was so frosted over that there wasn't room for anything. The bed was mostly comfortable, but it had a memory foam layer and a mattress pad that didn't fit the mattress. A smaller queen-size bed would have been a better fit for the room. Not only would everything have fit better, but it also might have left enough room for a second night stand. Next to the TV was a mirror that opened to reveal a fold-out ironing board, but one of the supports was broken, making it unusable. Getting back to the bathroom, the sink had very little water pressure. I don't know if it had a flow restrictor installed or if it was just plain defective, but it was very difficult to wash, and since it was the only source of water in the room, it took a very long time to fill the coffee pot. The shower was equipped with a curtain, which either interfered with the room in the shower if placed inside the tub, or allowed water to run onto the floor if placed outside the tub. Sliding doors would have been much more comfortable, not to mention more sanitary, than a curtain. The textured ceiling above the shower showed evidence of water damage with pieces falling off. Some of it fell into the tub while I was showering. That water damage was also visible above the office area on the other side of the wall. The toilet seat also would not stay up when lifted and had to be held up. That's only a problem for men, but it's still a problem. The hair dryer worked, but was damaged. All these things may seem minor, but they add up, and when you place a pamphlet in the room requesting feedback, it's those little things...

Do NOT let the pictures in the description fool you---this is NOT a premier boutique hotel. In fact, it is exactly the opposite as advertised. I have stayed at a lot of hotels over the years, and we were in town for a volleyball tournament, and it was busy in the city as there was a country concert at the Civic Center, a big volleyball tournament, and also was St. Patty's day weekend.|| A few things to note if you choose to stay here:||1. MAJOR safety concerns. The window in our room (We stayed in one of the Century rooms with 2 double beds) did not open at all---so if there was a fire and couldn't get out of our room, we were stuck (and especially being at the end of the hall, that is a concern). We were in the lobby in the evening socializing and they ended up locking the entrance doors from the INSIDE! They were, evidently, overbooked, so as people came into the hotel to check in after 7:00 PM they were not able to even enter the hotel and instead were calling from the entrance doors, only to be told they had not more rooms available! How does that even happen? If you were already in a room, then you would scan your key card and someone would come and let you in by literally shoving open the only functioning entrance door. The other one was broken. Also, only one elevator is working and there are NO amenities beyond some terrible coffee in the lobby and a vending machine on Floor 5. ||2. Security Issue #2---the check-in process was very sketchy---I was not even asked to show ID or a credit card for my room. I was just given keys and not even a room number. Had to go back and ask for that! (TBH---both of the workers at check-in reeked of marijuana). My in-room phone also did not work at all, so again, if I had an emergency there was no way to reach anyone beyond my cell phone. The morning of checkout there was no one at the front desk at 7:15 AM, and instead a sign that said to call an 800 number if something was needed, so I left. Another family I knew had strange people trying to get into their room at 1:00 am---and these strangers' keys WORKED for a room they were not actually staying in! Thankfully the security latch prevented them from fully getting in! So, they clearly are not verifying key cards regularly! ||3. While our room was clean, as was the bathroom, there is no counter top in the bathroom---just a pedestal sink. So, getting ready is a challenge with nowhere to put things. The corner shower was VERY small---and I am 5'2, and I couldn't even bend over in the shower stall to pick something up. I would not say there are any luxurious bathroom amenties---just some shampoo and conditioner on the wall in the shower, but nothing else. No garbage can, either, so we used a shopping bag. There is a larger minifridge with a freezer on top, so that was nice. There was also a small coffee pot. ||4. Blinds do not close all the way, so the lights from the parking lot and highway were very visible all night long. ||This hotel does have free parking and is very close to downtown and the Civic Center, so it is in a good location, but what you see on the website is not even close to what this hotel was like---at least on the floor I...

Writing this review is kind of difficult for me because many factors were considered that not all of them were directly about me but bare with me.

My friends were having a wedding and had a block set up. I hadn't planned on using their block for the simple reason that I didn't need as many nights as the block was set up for, so I didn't use their code so it looked like I was an independent patron. Because of a disagreement about a week prior to the wedding the hotel cancelled the bride, groom and everyone that was booked under the block. The block they had was literally the same price as what I paid without using it, so cancelling EVERYONE was just done out of spite.

There were people that had booked using the code that assumed they still had a room because the facility didn't email them, nor did they call to tell them they were cancelled. So the day before the wedding they arrived thinking they had a room to be told otherwise. Honestly, how dare a place do such a thing to a wedding party all because not all the rooms for the block were needed, so to be spiteful you cancel EVERYONE on the code and then not notify them.

I was a bit worried we would have a similar experience and it was more worrisome because we were leaving our Chicago hotel to drive day of the wedding and ideally wanted to check in early. Luckily we weren't cancelled, but it's simply because I didn't use the wedding parties block. The only reason I'm giving the hotel 2 instead of 1 star is because they allowed us to check in very early and gave us time to get ready in Peoria instead of Chicago.

The lobby was neat, the room was unique, but the bed was gross. The bedsheets were nasty and stained, they should consider retiring the bedding being that it looked so gross. The room got ice cold with the AC so that's another plus. But that's about all this hotel had to offer. I would never stay here again after what they can be known to do to their guests.

As the groom said, this place is a "meme tier hotel". Avoid...