Comfort Inn & Suites — Hotel in Susanville

First allow me to note that I have stayed at this hotel numerous times and have never had any complaints or grievances, it has actually been quite nice. On 5/8, I awoke with a new large rash, multiple bites, and associated itching symptoms that had been persisting for the third consecutive day after sleeping in this hotel room. Initially, the symptoms led to me consider dust mites. However, as time passed and symptoms worsened I now believe my symptoms to be attributed to bed bugs. As a physician, I see rashes, bug bites and other physical results of bug infestations on an almost daily basis. I had no issues of any kind prior to this stay at your hotel, nor have I ever stayed in the room given to me that has now caused these problems. I notified the front desk immediately and requested a room change with an explanation of why. I was kindly apologized to by the female staff at the front desk at that time. My room was changed. The manager on shift, Larry Memmett, came into the room as I was there describing my ordeal and begun to inspect. I attempted to let him know about my very strong suspicion and medical opinion about the cause. I strongly encouraged him to obtain an exterminator consultation, as I am well aware by past personal experience and trade that bed bugs can and do hide in floor boards, behind pictures, in walls, within furniture, in cabinetry and everywhere else you can imagine, even if not acutely visible on the bed or between bed seams. I was extremely surprised and disappointed at how Larry addressed the situation. Larry was completely preoccupied with a room search and gaining “proof” that he did not listen to what I had to say and went as far as to suggest that this may have been caused by me or was utterly false, as no other guests have presented issues before.

As mentioned earlier, I have had a past experience while living on the east coast years ago, and from experience I can say that it is a costly problem to treat, it does not go away easily, and is very difficult to keep from spreading, especially in big buildings where bed bugs like to travel within walls to locate their next food source. As a result, my family and I have been tenacious with all sorts of little ways to prevent such an expensive headache/problem.

Housekeeping staff showed up and this young, blonde female indirectly blamed me for the current problem, insinuating that if I’d had my room cleaned this wouldn’t be happening. This go around I have been working 12-hour night shifts, which means I sleep during the day. 1. I’m someone who is not so needy or high maintenance that I would even need my room cleaned everyday. 2. There is no housekeeping services provided in the evenings. The assumption made by her is not only insulting and judgmental, but is only further evidence that she does not understand how the infestation of bed bugs occurs nor how to treat it. At the end of this entire discussion, Larry essentially told housekeeping staff that he “didn’t find anything on the bed,” and that housekeeping should “just clean and change the sheets.” Cleaning the room by only changing sheets and wiping down countertops is never going to resolve an infestation.

In the end, the room has been changed, assumptions have been made, and I am left feeling extremely uncomfortable about my stay with your hotel. This is to notify you of how terrible the Red Lion Susanville management and housekeeping staff handled a suspected active case of bed bug infestation. I hope that corporate staff takes the appropriate action since it is evident that your local Susanville management will not. I will no longer be staying at this hotel in the future and I am truly disappointed at how disgraceful this situation...

Room was set up typical for an expensive motel. Nothing spectacular except the sheets were very soft. Certainly not worth $170 for one night, one person.... . The night clerk has issues she needs to fix ASAP, or she should be fired if she does not. Young blonde with a tattoo on her right forearm. I include this so management knows who to address. . No hello, no welcome or "thank you" for coming, no personality to speak of. Apathetic, dismissive, condescending, couldn't care less about my needs. Or she was stoned. Not sure. . I had never been there before, it was around midnight, had been driving for more than 12 hours, and I am disabled (obvious, but I also told her all of this). She said I could stay in a room very close to the entrance but changed that AFTER I paid. And she didn't bother to explain or show me where the entrance door was to my room (big place) and when I asked if the room doors open out to where you park your car (so I could park in front of my room door, important for the disabled and other reasons), she said yes. She was incorrect. . Clearly she is clueless or does not care to be accurate. I soon found that all of the room doors can only be accessed through a hallway after finding one of the building entrances. When I couldn't find my way in, after driving around the building, I went back to the office to ask for help. She was obviously annoyed that I was so stupid, that I did not know the layout, in the dark, of this place I had never been to before. . And... Direct TV instead of cable. Bad choice, not user friendly. Most channels I wanted to watch were "not paid for" or similar message on screen. And the room cost over $170!!! Better TV should be included. . Mold/mildew in the crevices of the bathroom. The shower head was not one that could be hand held. . Long human hairs on the back of the night stand. . Housekeeping staff is VERY loud in the morning, starting around 8am. Slamming doors, talking loud in the hall. I use to do that for a living. I know better, but obviously they were not trained properly. . Bed too high off the floor for someone with back issues (most of the population, who is the yutz that decided beds you must literally climb up into is a good thing?). . I only stayed here because I was tired and I was told by a local (that worked in another motel near by) that this was the safest place in town. A town with a high crime rate btw. . I suggest avoiding Susanville...

When I came to check in the elderly woman at the front counter wasn’t wearing a mask. Setting aside one’s personal stance on masks I believe that the state has mandated them to be worn indoors and I believe at this time it is best practice for all businesses (especially large national chains) to have their employees wear a mask indoors. Once I got to my room I noticed a few things wrong. The overhead bathroom light was burned out and the grille for the bathroom fan was partially melted and sagging down from som sort of heat damage. The bedside telephone wasn’t working so I called the front desk with my cell phone. Fortunately they tended to these issues quickly, however this shows me a lack of attention to detail. The second night of my stay I also noticed an electrical outlet that is missing its cover, which exposes the junction box and wires to the guests. This can be very dangerous if there are small children in the room or if a spill occurs. The room looked like it hadn’t had a deep cleaning n a very long time. Mildew in the tub, the tub drain broken, mildewed tub caulking, grime on the light switches...it goes on and on. There is only one washer and one dryer for the guests to use in the entire hotel. Quite surprising. I called down to the front desk and asked the lady how many washers and dryers they had, hoping that there were others I hadn’t seen since I needed to do laundry and the one I found was in use. Her response was “Oh I don’t know how many there are, I’ve never been back there.” I’d call that a two star hotel response. All in all I had high hopes because I’ve stayed at some rather nice Red Lion Hotels. I spend 120-150 nights a year on average in hotels in my line of work. But I guess I should know better than to expect 4 star service in a 2 star town. I wonder what qualifies a hotel for 3 diamonds from AAA? Might be time for an audit and...