College Inn Hotel — Hotel in Seattle

Pretty terrible experience, culminating in finding a dead bedbug on my bed and then being treated rudely when confronting onsite staff about the issue.

I chose to stay at College Inn for two nights (Dec 6 & 7) because it was the cheapest option (I paid $75/night for two nights). I was in room 208, and to a certain extent I was expecting what I got: a dingy room, a cold & shared bathroom complete with a broken window, thin walls, lots of noise, creepy and old furniture. It wasn't the best place I've ever stayed at, but that was okay. The showers at least had plenty of hot water, and I downloaded a white noise app on my phone and was able to sleep okay the first night.

Unfortunately, things took a drastic turn for the worse my second night there, when I found a dead bedbug on my mattress. I was pretty appalled, and called the onsite manager immediately. He arrived at my room, inspected the bug, and then offered to give me a new room. I wasn't satisfied with this option, as I was pretty sure if one room had bedbugs it was likely that other rooms did too. I wanted a refund, and planned to find a different hotel to stay at. At this point the onsite manager (who looked to be about ~twenty-some years old) became extremely rude, unprofessional, and disrespectful.

I have never been treated by someone this way -- much less by staff. He basically stated that this was a hostel, not a hotel, and what did I expect? He stated that it was likely that another guest left the bedbug there -- and the hostel was not responsible for it. When I persisted to argue that most hotels would take responsibility for bedbugs, he lashed out at me and said "lady, you get what you pay for, you're not staying at the Hilton." He refused to give me a refund, tried to cast doubt over whether the bug I found was actually a bedbug (I am posting a photo -- you can decide whether it looks like a bedbug to you), and finally said that I was "f--king wasting his time" and turned around and simply left. I asked for his name and the name of his supervisor/the owner of the establishment, but he said there was no need for me to have that information and proceeded to stomp down the stairs.

Uhh.... what??? I admit I was so shocked by this encounter that it almost brought me to tears. I have never been treated so rudely before, nor met someone who was so unwilling to accept responsibility and take ownership over an unfortunate situation.

Ultimately, I did get a refund for that night's stay (don't know what changed his mind, just got a receipt with the refund slipped under my door). I packed my bags soon after and found a room at the University Inn, which is nearby and is a much nicer establishment. For those of you looking to find a cheap hotel to stay near UW and are considering the College Inn -- would highly advise you to reconsider. You might save $40 per night here versus other hotels, but for me that isn't worth the possibility of bedbug infestation, interacting with the outrageously rude staff, and the unsavory conditions of the room...

I regret to have stayed there as my assistant later asked me, all the reviews for this place at TripAdvisor were so uncertain why you still wanted to take a chance. It was my fault not having taken others' options seriously. I have to say the location is very close to the university that other places including all the Airbnb options cannot beat. The rooms smelled mold, and the carpet showed iron burn marks. Dirty bed frame and room light not lit... It feels like that the room has not been cared for for a very long time. The sofa looks aged which is fine, but so dirty is another issue... Will not recommend to anyone, even for budget travellers. The second floor woman bathroom/shower room with window broken and was completely open for display (last two photos attached). After complaining that to the front desk, I was changed to a different floor. The night when I came back from my meeting, I found that a window in the second floor stairway was left open facing the back alley (the 3rd photo attached). I did not feel safe and closed it and locked it on my own initiative. I mentioned it to the staff the next morning and was told I unnecessarily worried too much. When I came back from my business meeting the last night of my stay, all of my belongings were gone from the room. I was shocked and went to the grocery store next door, where their "front desk" is located. The African American gentlemen on duty that night insisted that I should have checked out that morning. I showed him my reservation confirmation; only then he admitted that the person who checked me in made the mistake. I then asked him to help me to find all of my belongings because I still have a business meeting the next morning and I needed to prepare for my work. The gentlemen appeared to be really upset that I troubled him as such, and I felt so helpless but no other choice but to wait for him to respond. Finally he decided to take me to look for my belongings and found the trash bags in their storage room. He pointed those black trash bags to me and waited for me to carry them out of the room so that he could be done with it. I cannot tell you how demeaning his behavior made me feel and this experience traumatizing. I was seriously afraid for any other things to happen for the rest of night. The next morning, I complained it to the only staff on duty, interestingly he claimed to be the manager and told me he did not believe anything of those things I encountered, the broken window and open-for-display woman bathroom, the mistake for checking in, the unsafe practice of leaving window open facing the back alley, or what happened to me for the previous night... I was in disbelief till this day. How in the modern days a business can be operated such way? I strongly encourage a company that can realize the good location of this place to take over and start operating in a modern manner. As running this place such way, it probably won't take long to finish, which can be a good investment...

I want to start by saying, I don't usually leave reviews, but I truly enjoyed my stay at The College Inn, and they deserve so much more than 3.8 stars.

I often like to book hotel rooms for little staycations and writing retreats and, because I'm a bit picky about where I lay my head, I generally go with the larger hotel chains (i.e., Hyatt). This time, though, I wanted to look for something more local to support (and something a bit more within my budget). The pricing is 10/10 for everything you get. Though, College Inn is a more euro-style of a hotel, meaning that most of the rooms do not have private baths and you're to share a bathroom and shower with others. They did, however, go through a major renovation and they now provide rooms with a private bath as well as the option for rooms without. I chose a queen room with a private bath forgoing the shared-bath experience for my own personal comfort. My room was immaculate, the bed was very comfortable, and my stay was quiet and peaceful.

They do not have AC (like other reviews have stated), but I live here and that doesn't bother me, mostly because the temperatures here are usually very pleasant. I did have a ceiling fan and an additional fan on the desk/vanity, which was nice. I was on the third floor, and though they don't have elevators, the climb up the stairs isn't bad, especially if you don't have a lot of luggage.

If you bike like I do, there's nowhere to store your bike at the hotel (unless you feel like carrying it up and down the stairs to/from your room), but the U District station is about .5 mile north of the hotel and they have bike links where you can securely store your bike overnight. There are also bike racks across the street from the hotel.

I think the loft was one of my favorite features. It's cozy, and the perfect coffee shop / writing space feel. There's a kitchen and self-serve coffee / tea station as well.

Check in was easy, and when I decided to extend my stay an extra night, they were really kind about the process and even let me stay in my room rather than having me check out and then check back in. The building feels safe and secure -- only hotel residents are given access to enter the building.

College Inn is definitely my new favorite overnight spot. Thanks so much for the stay and I can't wait to...