Ramada by Wyndham Reno Hotel & Casino — Hotel in Reno

Pros: cheap, center of town, very friendly staff

Cons: disgusting, broken air conditioning unit with a leaky tub, animal hair all over the floor in the room, key cards stopped working and had to be changed out part way through, and there is NO BREAKFAST here (contrary to what their website says)

Full explanation:

My husband and I stayed here for three nights. For some poor college students, the pricing is what brought us to this hotel. We got there around 9pm and had to wait a little while before checking in since there were many people in line for the counter and only one lady who was there to help.

When we finally got to our room, the bathtub faucet was leaking quite a bit and the air conditioning unit was VERY loud. Something was wrong with the unit and it was violently shaking. We went back down and asked if there was any way we could get a different room because there was no way we could sleep with that and they were very kind and understanding. She got us quickly booked into a different room. Luckily, everything was working this time but the floor was disgustingly. Lots of animal hair lined where the floor and walls met. There were several balls of animal hair. Weird stains on the carpet in every color and it smelled gross. We didn't pay that close attention to the floor in the first room we were put in, but I can't imagine it was much different than the second one.

We got up to get breakfast this next morning (as the hotel advertises free hot breakfast) and were fairly disappointed to find out that they just don't do breakfast there anymore. But we can't even confirm that because one worker said there would be breakfast in a week and another one said they just don't do breakfast anymore. Either way, they couldn't have said something PRIOR to checking in? Or at least update their website or something? This was frustrating.

When we came back, our key cards weren't working in the elevator so we couldn't even get up to our room. After waiting in line again for a long while (the line was long and only one lady was there to help), we found out that the person who had set up our key cards had accidentally set that day as our check-out day, which was two days earlier than our previous checkout day. After she got the cards sorted out and changed them to the correct length of time, she said if we had a rewards account with Ramada she could give us some points for the inconvenience, but we don't. So there wasn't really anything they could do for us for the inconvenience but that's not really something we expected in return anyway.

I would recommend only staying here if it's what you can afford and if you don't mind it being a very pet-friendly hotel and therefore difficult to keep the rooms...

The rooms are in desperate need of a remodel. The first room we checked into smelled strongly of urine, the carpet had a hole in it, and the furniture was stained and dirty. The front desk did move me to a better room but the curtains had holes in them and over all the room was run down. But hey, at least it didn’t smell like urine and seemed relatively clean.

The lobby has a bar but it’s closed. Was never open. The pool was shut down so we weren’t even able to swim which was a disappointment but we still had to pay full price. The dog areas were a joke. There were tiny dirt patches that were designated dog areas and they were full of broken glass and debris. Anyone who has a dog knows that dogs like to explore a little before they do their business but the areas were so little, it wasn’t worth exploring. The trash cans for dog waste were always full of other trash and were only emptied once in the 5 days that I stayed there. There were giant tree branches just piled in a corner of the parking lot from a tree they had been taking down I guess. It was the the entire week I was there. No one came and hauled it away.

There was never a luggage cart available when you need one and when I asked the worker at the front desk, she just said there was nothing she could do because people take them to their rooms and don’t bring them back down. She also refused to give me any half and half because she said she had limited supply and doesn’t put it out until 7am. I had everything I needed for coffee except half and half so at 6am I had to lug down heavy luggage piece by piece without any caffeine so that I could leave on time, all while the front desk lady just stood there and watched me struggle, not once offering any help or solution. I even went to all 13 floors myself looking for one in the hallway since no one else could do anything, but they were no where to be found. I get that the guests take them and don’t return them but none of the carts had any signage that said “please return to lobby” and the lady had zero empathy for my situation.

There are constantly sketchy people all around the hotel parking lot. The shady casino attached to the hotel probably has a lot to do with that, but I watched people jumping the fence, doing drugs in the parking lot, touching random cars, and just staring at my 11 year old daughter. It was very uncomfortable and borderline dangerous. Only one security guard seemed like she cared, the rest just seemed checked out. I’m sure it’s exhausting keeping up with the questionable traffic but the hotel needs some serious help. I don’t recommend...

Lisa Tymann: (General Manager) I’m writing to you regarding my attempt to stay at your hotel. My wife and I were taking a last minute trip to look in the area for a house to buy. I am retiring in about six months and we plan to relocate to the Reno area. While enroute, we searched for a pet friendly hotel and found your hotel. Ramada has had a good reputation and I have stayed with Ramada hotels in the past so we booked the room. We used the reservation number from your website. When we got there it was after 8:00 PM. We found that the location was not ideal but were reassured because we saw a security guard patrolling the parking lot. When I went to check in with my wife, I was told there was a pet fee on top of the room rate. I was told over the phone that there was no pet fee, just a higher deposit for the room. That was not the biggest problem. We were not allowed to check in because my wife did not possess a photo ID. She lost hers recently and only had a paper temporary California driver’s license until her new one could be issued. I offered a picture of her ID but that was not acceptable. This is not a complaint about the check in clerk. She was professional and as nice as she could be under the circumstances. This is a complaint about your ID policy with no reasonable alternatives and the fact that I was misled about your pet policy. Thankfully, I was able to find another place but it was out of our way and caused extreme inconvenience. You not only lost a customer for the night, but I will think twice about ever staying at a Ramada ever again. You can be sure I will tell this story to all my friends. A copy of this letter will also be sent to Ramada headquarters and also be posted on as many review sites as I can find, starting with Google. I hope you reconsider this policy and allow for reasonable alternatives. Digital ID’s are coming soon. What will you do then?

In response to the Manager's reply: I had photo ID along with my credit card and the room was in my name. You required a photo ID for my wife as well. I have never seen this requirement before. I appreciate your wanting to ensure the security of your guests but maybe you should impress that upon your person at the front door who let in no less than 8 people without checking ID while I was being denied a room. Your response did nothing but infuriate...