The Railroad Inn — Hotel in Town of Otsego

Charged way too much for what we got

I am writing to express my disappointment with the accommodations my significant other and I were provided during our stay on Aug 19 & 20. When the reservation was made on July 23rd I was told we would be staying in Standard King (at $450.00) on the 19th and the Deluxe King (at $473.00) on 8/20 because of prior bookings. In all my years of travel, whether at my own expense or my employers, I have never paid that much for rooms but this was somewhat special for us and the description of the accommodations made me feel it was worth it. It was not especially considering it was 4 weeks AFTER the BBHOF inductions. After reading a number of Google reviews when I got back home I realized we did not get the Deluxe King we paid for. As a result I am pretty sure the room for the 19th, based on it's size and issues, was not the Standard King. Not happy about having to transfer to another room after first day at these prices.

The first night, Rm. 220 [Standard King]: First $75 early check-in (we arrived at 1:30PM vs. 3:00PM for regular check-in) when room is ready is obscene considering cost of room. Got to room about the size of a large closet. If this was a King I would not want to stay in a standard. First thing I always do is check for hot water and there was none. Called the desk as if wanting to make a reservation because Room Guide had a non-working number listed for front desk. All young lady could say was she would check hot water in room on 1st floor. After about 10 minutes of running water was hot. Toilet seat was not secured so I had to tighten by hand as best I could. This room had 1 chair. None of the bedside lights were plugged in and they had on/off switch mounted in-line on cord. I am pretty sure that is not code conforming for a business such as hotel/motel. The bedside clock was not on and had to be plugged in and set. (All this was true of room on 2nd day, supposedly the Deluxe King).) Around 10:30PM people in the room above us were walking around and it was unbelievably loud. This lasted until about 2 in the morning. Could not hear any talking just lots of walking around. Needless to say not much sleep that night.

In the morning I went to the front desk to complain about this and the gentleman told me he did not know there was a room above us.

The second night, in Rm. 104 [Deluxe King?], was slightly better. It was larger, had a writing desk with an office type chair (not on wheels) and there was a typical living room chair. The experience here was slightly better though sleep at night was intermittently disturbed by people coming and going in hallway. At one point we heard squeaking in the room, yes like a mouse, that did not last. I did get up and look around and saw nothing. Hot water was did not take as long to arrive as in 1st room. This ground floor room had a nice porch with table and chairs. Only problem was the door to the porch could not be locked. Reported that to the desk and young lady said she would tell maintenance guy in morning. So, all night we had a room with an unlocked door facing the street.

Overall observations; rooms were clean, bathrooms were clean, beds were comfortable (over abundance of pillows though) shower stall should have a grab bar on the wall, especially for elderly, and towel bars should be easily accessible from shower. there should be someone as an overnight on-sight contact at front desk.

Would I recommend The Railroad Inn? No. Buyer beware...

We stayed at the Railroad in for 3 nights in October to visit the HOF. We enjoyed our stay but I wanted to mention some pros and cons (things I wish I knew!) for future guests.

PROS: Great location — a charming walk to downtown. Comfortable room — we had a standard king. The bed was comfortable and the bathroom was clean. Parking on site — plenty of parking, easy to find and navigate. Snacks/breakfast — I appreciated the snacks, coffee and the breakfast items that were available! Atmosphere — We were on the second floor and noise wasn't a problem, it was nice and quiet. Comfort — The A/C unit, mini fridge, TV and internet all worked great. The bathroom was equipped with shower soaps and a hair dryer.

CONS: Service — It's an inn, not a hotel. But we had no idea upon booking that there is no daily room touch-up service (unless you ask). I learned this via a sign on the counter upon check-in. The phone numbers to call the front desk did not work. Your only option for communication is physically finding someone at the front desk, which is hit or miss. Trash — We were going to ask for a room touch up after our 2nd night, but there was no one at the front desk that morning. There is a paragraph in the binder in the room that asks you to take your own trash out, so we did that instead of having the room serviced, and we just made do with the towels we had. Hot water — the hot water quit working for a full day, but I was able to find someone at the front desk and thankfully they fixed the problem within a few hours. Amenities — There is no safe in the room (I wish I had know that upon booking)

Overall, we enjoyed our stay and I would recommend this place, but I wish the Inn had been better at communicating the level of service and amenities they provide. If you're looking for something in between a fancy hotel and a B&B, this...

We stayed 2 nights at the inn 11/6-11/8 (2023) in a standard king room. The room and hotel are clean. Considering the cost of a basic king bedroom we rate the value as low. The rooms are newly updated with a modern walk-in shower, but the room itself is very small. There is just 1 side chair so basically if you travel with 2 people, you will be sitting on the bed-or floor. The side chair had poor cushioning, so it was not comfortable to sit in. There is no closet in the room, there is a coat rack to hang your coats. I mentioned to the staff that our room seemed warm on the 2nd day. The heater on the wall did not seem to respond to any adjustments I tried making on the remote that operated the HVAC. Hopefully that will be addressed for future guests. By the way, the 2nd night dropped below freezing temp and the room window dripped and was soaking wet with condensation. It appears the room windows are single pane with no storms while the lobby area appears to have double pane/insultated windows that were not wet.

The lobby/breakfast area is small. There is basically one table to sit and eat. Considering the fact you have limited space in the room, if you are going to eat, that's the space you will use.

When we arrived there was no one in the lobby to check us in. So, we went into the town. When we returned there was someone to meet us. Generally, the person in the lobby sat in the back of their space and sat behind a computer screen. So, while they were responsive when you asked for help, the feeling was that you were interrupting them to ask for assitance.

The location is good. Now, I understand there are very limited options to stay in the town. However, if we were to return we would look for other options to stay even if it would require a drive to the town and...