Ballard Inn — Hotel in Seattle

Ballard Inn Review - Poor Experience, Buyer Beware

1/5 Stars

I had a very disappointing stay at the Ballard Inn during my full three-night booking. Here are the key issues potential guests should know about:

Misleading Setup & No On-Site Management

You cannot check in at the Inn itself - you must go to the adjacent Ballard Hotel The Inn has zero staff presence throughout your stay The room type may not be clearly communicated - this is essentially hostel-style accommodation with shared bathrooms and facilities

Cleanliness Issues

Shared bathrooms were filthy with toilet paper on floors and dirty towels Shower had long black hair covering the surfaces - unusable Overall maintenance and cleanliness standards are well below acceptable

Room Conditions

Extremely small rooms with minimal furnishings (just bed, TV, small table) Construction-grade foam earplugs left on the table (a bad sign) Janky portable air conditioning unit Hall lights shine directly under the door with no way to block them in the tiny space Stuffy, hot air in common areas

Noise Problems

Extremely loud sexual activity from multiple rooms continuing for hours, day and night Constant foot traffic and doors slamming in the halls The earplugs provided are apparently necessary but insufficient Creates an environment where you feel trapped in your room

Terrible Refund Policy

Management refused any refund after one night, claiming “once you check in, that’s it” This policy is particularly unfair since you cannot inspect the actual Inn property before checking in Staff seemed aware of the property’s condition but unwilling to accommodate reasonable complaints

Bottom Line I was forced to endure the remaining two nights because management refused to provide any refund to my company after I complained about the unacceptable conditions. I didn’t shower the entire stay due to the filthy conditions and felt trapped in my room at night due to the constant noise and disruption. The combination of poor cleanliness, inadequate facilities, noise issues, and inflexible management made this a miserable stay. Look elsewhere - there are much better options in Seattle...

Very Poor Experience||1/5 Stars||||I had a very disappointing stay at the Ballard Inn during my recent three-night booking. Here are the key issues potential guests should know about:||||Misleading Setup & No On-Site Management||||- You cannot check in at the Inn itself - you must go to the adjacent Ballard Hotel||- The Inn has zero staff presence throughout your stay||- The room type may not be clearly communicated - this is essentially hostel-style accommodation with shared bathrooms and facilities||||Cleanliness Issues||||- Shared bathrooms were filthy with toilet paper on floors and dirty towels||- Shower had long black hair covering the surfaces - unusable||- Overall maintenance and cleanliness standards are well below acceptable||||Room Conditions||||- Extremely small rooms with minimal furnishings (just bed, TV, small table)||- Construction-grade foam earplugs left on the table (a bad sign)||- Janky portable air conditioning unit||- Hall lights shine directly under the door with no way to block them in the tiny space||- Stuffy, hot air in common areas||||Noise Problems||||- Extremely loud sexual activity from multiple rooms continuing for hours, day and night||- Constant foot traffic and doors slamming in the halls||- The earplugs provided are apparently necessary but insufficient||- Creates an environment where you feel trapped in your room||||Terrible Refund Policy||||- Management refused any refund after one night, claiming “once you check in, that’s it”||- This policy is particularly unfair since you cannot inspect the actual Inn property before checking in||- Staff seemed aware of the property’s condition but unwilling to accommodate reasonable complaints||||Bottom Line||I was forced to endure the remaining two nights because management refused to provide any refund to my company after I complained about the unacceptable conditions. I didn’t shower the entire stay due to the filthy conditions and felt trapped in my room at night due to the constant noise and disruption. The combination of poor cleanliness, inadequate facilities, noise issues, and inflexible management made this a miserable stay. Look elsewhere - there are much better options in Seattle...

I wanted very much to like this hotel. Location is ideal but as others have commented, it is INCREDIBLY NOISY on a good night. On a bad night, when the room next door is occupied by a group of very drunk and disorderly young people, it is difficult to feel safe let alone sleep. ||Between 10pm and 1:30am on my first night at the Inn, I was kept awake by loud yelling and stomping and arguing outside my door and in their room. I called the front desk three times asking that they manage the situation. I did hear the night manager come over twice asking the guests to keep the noise down. On my last call around 1am, I was told the police were being called.||||I know this was probably an isolated event, but it was not handled well by the staff. No one reached out to me the next day to ask how I was, or to address the situation. I gave them one more day and then after no contact, I went to the Hotel Ballard desk to speak with management. When I explained to the young woman I am the guest in the room next door, she got a look of knowing on her face and told me they were expecting me to say something. When the manager did come out, I told her about my experience and asked for a discount on my stay. She replied they did everything they were required to do, which was evict the guests and never allow them back, and she was under no obligation to make it up to me. She denied my request. ||||I worked in the service/hospitality industry for a long, long time and even if something was not necessarily my fault, I always made sure my clients left happy. A gesture of 20% off my bill (about $50) would have gone a long way to show me they care about their guests' experience and they take responsibility to make sure it is a positive one. A small discount would have extended good will and would have been the right thing to do. Instead I was dismissed and made to feel as if it was insulting of me to ask for such a thing. ||||Poorly handled Ballard Inn. Very unprofessional. I can not recommend this as a reliable...