Red Roof Inn Wilkes-Barre Arena — Hotel in Plains Township

Room 201 - September 23

It took me a while to figure it out, but I have stayed here 18 times since 2012. Wilkes-Barre is a place close to my heart and I visit quite often (visited while living in PA, WV, MA, GA). A lot of times I stay here when passing through, it tends to be the halfway point to many places I go. All but once while in WB, I have stayed at the Red Roof Inn.

I’ve had minor issues twice before, nothing major. The worst was I had a subpar room with some mold. This was while they were doing renovations a few years back, and they didn’t have anything else. Not the end of the world. Stayed in FAR worse for FAR more money before.

Yesterday I arrived and when checking in, I was greeted by a less than friendly woman. Normally, the desk attendants are beyond nice in my experience. I’ve ended up having in-depth conversations with a few, etc. This lady was clearly not in a good mood, and we all have bad days I get it, but at least fake it till you make it. No thank you or you’re welcome, just yup. Not the end of the world but hey, I’m just going to be thorough.

I ended up with room 201. This is front side, second level, first room. Ideal location as I’ve always liked the front side more as I’ve found it less sketchy and this room specifically is above the office area so you can get a good spot in eyeshot of the office which is good.

So far so good!

I opened the room and it’s smaller than others I’ve stayed in. It reminds me of those ultra small Microtel rooms - there’s not a ton like it as most are roomy as could be but reminds me of Bremen, GA Microtel, just tiny. That’s ok with me, solo traveler on an overnighter, I don’t care. Has solid floor just small area rugs near bed and door. I’m ok with that amount of carpet. I appreciate the solid flooring of course, it’s the only way to go.

Cleanliness appeared ok but not great - something I’ve noticed most everywhere post covid era. The irony. I had to go out for food so I was only there for two minutes. When I came back I did my full inspection.

I do building maintenance as a job so I check well for pests, covering up of things, dust levels, mold, etc.

Air unit: upon first glance, I uttered “gross”. You could see the heavy dust on the intake vent itself, caked. Not even an attempt to wipe in at least weeks, likely much longer. The filter was absolutely disgusting. This is not acceptable. They should be cleaned between guests, but I get the reality. Nonetheless, you can’t let them get this bad. Dust was not only built up but was tarry, indicating cigarettes. This is a non smoking hotel. Another reason to clean these, people are gross and sneak. I cleaned the filter myself (please leave me a tip) and it how black the tub got was just sad. And I’m sure I’d be even more disappointed if I checked the coils and such. The air smelled musty which, well, you know. Gross.

Toilet: urine stains running down over the front and with dust attached to said urine, indicating this hasn’t been wiped in a long, long time. Gross.

Shower head: moldy. While shower mold usually isn’t dangerous, it’s still not a good luck and shows your serious lack of caring when cleaning.

Bed: all springs, ALL springs. This is actually the most uncomfortable bed I’ve ever slept in at a Red Roof Inn. Of the worst ever. Please, for the love of all resting, replace it. Pillows are very worn and yellow, though the cases are newer. Mattress was covered by a protectant that was zipped up. That’s good.

Yeah, so, I think it might be time to try somewhere new after using this place for over a decade.

The positives: location is convenient enough. No sign of roaches, bed...

You get what you pay for. Red Roof offers functional rooms for under $65. The bed was a little hard and some springs were kinda felt throughout the night, but a simple change of position and everything was good. May have just been the room we had the luck of the draw with though. Check in is also very strange considering you approach somebody who is behind glass at a window.

As previous reviews stated there was a substance that appeared to be a black mold substance on the ceiling of the shower, so thank goodness we only stayed one evening. It was probably not black mold - just mildew, so until a mold specialist states it 🤷🏻‍♀️, it's most likely because there is extremely poor air circulation in the bathrooms (no window to open & just a very tiny fans to circulate the air) So I will not be overly dramatic here and state it was dangerous black mold.

Other than that, this Red Roof location offers all your regular amenities. The linens were clean and for a large chain, I must state that their towels were much softer than some of the more expensive five star places we have stayed. So 👍🏻two thumbs up👍🏻 to Red Roof on that! (I didn't feel like I was scraping my face off with sandpaper when I dried it with the towel!) The room was definitely clean and presentable. They also provided plenty of towels along with your basic soap & shampoo, toilet tissue and everything was sealed and new. Over all, the location is great as far as visiting Wilkes-Barre for any major events, but use your GPS or you may miss the entrance.

This Red Roof location even offers room service. We did not have the opportunity to try their food or services during our short stay so I cannot report on the quality of food or service but at least it is available.

LOSS OF 1st ⭐ We asked for a non-smoking room, and when we opened the door it smelled like an ashtray. It was just a personal preference to us, however, if you have an allergy to cigarette smoke, you may want to be cautious about staying here. We also found it odd that this location does not offer an in room coffee maker.

LOSS OF 2nd ⭐ We wanted to change our room due to the noise in the parking lot but the hotel was completely full. The noise was from a crowd of folks who attended the concert and continued their party well into the night, on our side of the Hotel in the parking lot, and no staff attempted to quiet them at any point - even with several loud requests from other guests. All things considered, I can only rate this location three stars.

ON A SWEET NOTE If you will be staying here for a few days, you will definitely be eating out. There is DD located about 1/2 mile away that makes an awesome cup of coffee! If you are going to stay long enough, I would strongly suggest trying some of the local places I listed below. One of our favorite steak houses is only a quick ride away, try Texas Roadhouse, and if you want good Sushi or Chinese Tang's is a must - do not let the current appearance of this place fool you.(construction on building) Also, if it's authentic Mexican you're craving try La...

Mostly friendly staff, owner/manager - The Big Guy (BG) - not totally rude, not quite friendly either. Also am quite annoyed - there was a situation early Sun afternoon of my stay, && the maintenance man went ABOVE && BEYOND to help - with success! I didn't spot him immediately after, but saw BG && wife. Gave them $10 && I made it clear that the FULL AMOUNT was for the maintenance man. BG CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD && acknowledged. Later that evening, I ran into him (they work that guy like a DOG) && confirmed receipt of the $10. He was puzzled because he - being a Good Samaritan - had refused the tip && accidentally slipped up saying that the manager musta "kept it" or "given it to housekeeping" - which I normally tip anyways, but I hadn't used their services my entire stay, and they hadn't earned as much as he had when helping me with my plight. Unfortunately BG, wifey - day staff in general (except maintenance apparently) were gone for the day. I briefly spoke to the bored receptionist && let her know that the tip was for the gentleman's assistance, and not for BG who had A) made feel stupid about the whole episode. B) had grabbed the maintenance dude to do ALL the work && any ideas of how to rectify the situation, as well as running around was all fobe by MM while BG stood there looking bored && annoyed C) when he DID help, he only had to hold on to the bottom of a cheap ladder as M& worked diligently && D) i would like to think that the owner of a successful establishment, or even if he was a high-up-there manager would pay decently && that he wouldn't just go ahead and greedily pocket what was NOT HIS.

Bored receptionist tells me in a disinterested gone that she'll 'let them know". I paused, it was second shift, the staff in question was day shift (I know this cuz I seen a different overnight person), I didn't observe her writing a note, or even look lije she's send a text. Giving me the impression that she either doesn't care && won't bother passing it along, or if she DOES - it wouldn't be until the start ofbhet shift the following day. In which I'll have checked out... So, needles to say, checkout is in about four hours. By then, or at that point in time, I will be confronting them - politely - in regards to their selfish greed. I'll ask for the money back.

Let's see how THIS plays tf out 🙄😒. I'll adjust my review...