Aiden by Best Western South Reno — Hotel in Reno

This motel is not ready for prime time…

The motel just reopened after an extensive renovation. The rooms are clean and the decor is sumptuous… in a style that is, well, reno-esque. Much of the hotel is still being worked on and has the feeling of a (tidy) construction site.

So… I booked three nights on Travelocity and paid a fair — but non-refundable — rate of $110/night. (Priceline listed $100/night.) After taxes and fees, it came out to about $370 for the entire stay. OK… a good price for Reno.

However, when I checked in, the front-desk clerk demanded a security deposit of $100/night… so… $300 more on the credit card. (I’m OK with the idea of $100/stay… that would be reasonable. After all, I’m not planning to break or steal anything…)

I told the clerk that Travelocity did not mention a deposit and then asked her where that “policy” was outlined. She said “on the Aiden/Best Western website.” When I asked her to show me where on website that policy was described, all she could find was a deposit of $100/stay for pets (+ $25/day fee for pets). I told her that I did not have any pets.

She then explained that the owner just paid a lot of money to renovate the hotel, so that was the policy.

What? THAT is the policy?

Then she said, “That’s what the (computerized) system said and they are still trying to figure it out.”

But, terrible logic aside, I was stuck; it was 11 PM, there was no manager on duty, and the Travelocity reservation was non-refundable. I couldn’t just walk out the door, or I probably would have. So, reluctantly, I agreed to the $300 security deposit. The clerk then rang me up for $670! (Apparently, my $370 room cost plus a $300 security deposit.)

This was farcical!

Bottom line: I was on the hook with Travelocity, and now the motel was double-charging for the room and adding an unadvertised security deposit? (My credit card got hit for $370 + $670 = $1,040 tonight! I may, or may not get $670 back someday…)

Consider the logic… the security deposit for one night is $123 + $100 = $223. But because I am staying three nights, and I have to put down the deposit for the full stay all three nights, my deposit is, effectively, $670/night! (The motel has my money for at least three nights — the clerk said that my security deposit would be returned to me within ten day. So… I have loaned $670 to the hotel for as many as ten days?)

This is completely insane! But still, the Travelocity reservation is non-refundable. So, I bit the bullet. Now I just have to hope that the manager can sort this out.

When I got to my room, the main light switch (by the door) did not work. When I tried to log-in to the WiFi, the password that the clerk had given me did not work. When I tried to call the front desk to confirm the password, the phone did not work.

This motel is not ready...

WOW!!! me and my family have been coming here for years on end, back then it wasnt the greatest of MOTELS but it did the job for us for the length we were there, mostly for the kids annual basketball/volleyball tournaments that took place right down the street at the Reno/SParks convention center very convenient for all the parents and staff and if it was a nice day we could just walk there. So now, we havent been there for a few years due to Rona and all , but I had to go into reno on a personal trip, so before doing so i called "the super 8" (thats what it was called) to my surprise when Jennifer the GM whos been there for servral years answered the phone with "thank you for calling aiden by best western reno south" so i moment i thought i had dialed the wrong number, so to double check it was in fact that same place new name and she had told me bout all the updates and renovation that had taken place, so i was shocked so i booked it, let me tell yall OMG from the moment i pulled up to the entrance there was a huge HUGE upgrade just from that, so before going to the lobby i decided to drive around the property and see, and let me tell yall the owners have definitely upgraded this MOTEL to a HOTEL!! the outside looks like a very settle courtyard and the courtyard looks a place you walk on a park with fire pit turff sitting area! Now the LOBBY! WOW! it looks amazing spacious, the front desk counter redid looks better and easier for guest to access, i was already amazed at that point, so i check in get my keys and i was told they are tap keys now instead of insert, went to my room and HOLY MOLY NIGHT n DAY difference from what it was! all new flooring all new wallpaper all new bathrooms vanity area and they finally have 52in FLAT Screen TVs not like what they always had 1940s BOX tv with 5in display lol! no more carpet in the rooms which is a big plus all hardwood floor some tile! THE BEDS!!! HOLY COMFY bed!! these owners went above and beyond on this remodel renovation whatever you want to call it!! just super amazed! beautiful property!! well done!! can't wait to till the rest of the parents and staff they will be thrilled and SOCKED! lol oh oh one more thing! Finally best part! wait for it! you can now control rather you want HEAT OR AC!!! best upgrade they could have done!! back before i was explained how the hot and cold water system works, it was either heat in the winter or ac in cold and no other way around it! and that was most of our and im sure other guest complaints on why we as paying guest can't control the temp in our rooms that we pay...

Horrible experience with hotel staff.

The front desk manager needs to be trained in costumer service and in general how to act like a decent human being. I seriously hope she gets the mental help she so desperately needs and deserves.

There was an issue with our booking through Expedia, and after driving far and being exhausted from our trip we just wanted to sort out the situation and get into our room.

Instead of being helpful the front desk manager told us to “get out of the way, and move away from her desk” so that she can help other guests. At this point we were already standing to the side and told her that it is unnecessary for her to be rude and use such tone when we at no point were being disrespectful to her. She then told us to leave her lobby and that she would call the police if we didn’t.

Shocked and disturbed we told her we just wanted to get into our room, didn’t want any issues and that there was no reason for her to be treating us this way, as we had not done anything wrong. She started screaming that we need to leave her lobby and picks up the phone to call the police. At this point we start to record the situation because she is telling the police that we are being aggressive and harassing her.

She then called her colleague over who comes out screaming too that we need to leave her lobby without understanding the situation. She takes a step towards my friend who is using his phone to record, and although she is rather large in all directions and threaten to hit him and says that she doesn’t need a cop to kick him out but would happily do so herself, we wont get intimidated and get everything on video. This is another example of a person with clear aggression issues you don’t want working in any close proximity to other people.

We will take this further by contacting best western. They need to review the footage from both the hotel itself and from us. I come from a background of staffing and myself have hundreds of staff, and people like them shouldn’t be the face of any company and especially not one that is...