Lakeside Inn — Hotel in Wakefield

Pulling up to the hotel I thought I took a wrong turn. It looked like a low end apartment in the southside of Chicago. My wife and I sat in the car and contemplated our life choices before mustering the courage to get out at a moment when we thought we might not get mugged. We left our things in the car just to make sure it was in fact the hotel. First glance in the lobby didnt look too bad. We checked in, no problem. Went up to look at the room on the second floor before we brought our things up the stairs and it just felt dingy and old, granted this hotel is in an old building. We checked the sheets and sure enough, they were stained, turned on the heater and it burned off the dust that had settled and made the room smell worse than it already had when we first walked in. Went down to the front desk and the guy told the maid to go up and clean the room, which should have been clean before we got there. A few minutes after she left we had decided that our room was just not up to a livable standard for our 5 days on vacation. We talked to the manager wanting to be moved which he understood and obliged. We were moved to a room on the first floor and i had a brief look around and it smelled better, though i dont think much had to be done to make it better than the original one we were put in. After moving our stuff in and trying to relax, we had looked at the pillow case and noticed a strange coloring. We took the cover off and sure enough... a blood stained pillow. At this point we took it to the front desk and asked for a new one, the guy snapped and said he couldn’t give us a discount because of the sight we booked through and just asked if we wanted to check out, which caught us off guard because we just wanted a clean room. The frustration had mounted and it was hard to hide that we were clearly upset with the quality of care that is put into running this place. The front desk asked if we wanted to check out and it was clear that this was the only course of action if we wanted to be comfortable.

If anyone is saying there is a beautiful view, we didnt see it. There is a lake behind it but the managers of this hotel really need to change everything about the hotel in order to make anything else about it enjoyable. It is cheap... but, buy cheap get cheap. I suggest you look somewhere else for a better accommodation.

The photos attached are of the second room... we didnt get any of the first one...

I normally don’t write reviews but I’m this case I feel the need to. My family and I were traveling with friends on our first vacation in over six years - needless to say, we were excited. The hotel looked wonderful based on the photos and amenities listed on their website. It seemed like a terrific deal for the price. When we arrived, my friends room wasn’t ready even though we were there well past the check-in time. And when they were reassigned to a new room, their lakeside view (which you pay a little extra for) was completely obstructed by the giant AC system for the building. The rooms were sort of clean, but could definitely have been better. There were stains on the walls, doors, and carpet. The bathroom smelled so terrible - we almost didn’t even want to use it. The website stated that each room had a coffee maker - neither of our rooms did. My room had a fridge (that only worked after my husband messed with it) and my friend’s room had a microwave. The pipes..oh, the pipes. They squealed so loudly, it could be heard over the AC, TV, and my 5 year old’s chatter. This went on for two out of the three nights we were there. The website stated that there was a continental breakfast, a fitness room, a pool, and among other things available. None of these were due to COVID - which is fine but it needs to be said on the website. Also, there wasn’t any housekeeping done during our stay (also due to COVID apparently). Speaking of housekeeping (and I truly hate to complain about anyone) whoever cleaned our room after we checked out stole a handmade wind chime that my friend had given to me. I realized that I left it behind once we were home and immediately called the hotel. They took down my information and said they would call back - which they never did. So, I called again. This time, a very kind gentleman (who I’m assuming is the one that works in the afternoons because he was the one bright spot of the hotel) checked the room and checked with housekeeping while I was on the phone. Unfortunately he didn’t find anything and suggested I call again. I called two more times (all on different days) and nothing had been turned in. I know exactly where it was left, so someone must have taken it. It’s not like it was a trivial thing like a hairbrush. I’m deeply heartbroken over it and angry that someone decided that it was okay just to take it. I will never stay in this...

After booking online weeks in advance, I called and requested a second floor room because of noise. Of course, when I get there they're handing me a first floor key card. When I told them, they did happened to have a second floor room available, but had they not, I would have been screwed. One out the two cards didn't even work. The lobby is very nice, but deceiving when you expect the room to be similar. The A/C in the room did not work properly, it kept stopping on it's own and wouldn't turn back on (on the cool setting, not fan). So the room was extremely swampy, and maintenence does not work at night, of course the time you return to your room. I didn't want a person in my room when I wasn't there all day. The blow dryer filter was not cleaned in a while, it was blocked and full of debris, which is a fire hazard. The cover was either unable to remove/extremely hard to take off, so I didn't even use it in fear of electrocution/fire. The ice machine was broken/turned off. There is no elevator. There was various noise from the building across the way, possibly a factory. The blinds in the room did basically nothing for the bright sun every morning. They are not light blocking and don't fit around the window. At night there are bright spot lights coming from the adjacent building. The fitted bed sheet didn't fit the mattress well at all, and kept moving and riding up. Talking to the maid was useless because she didn't speak English and said yes to everything, but didn't do anything. The furniture and size of the room did not go together, you are walking side ways to get around the bed to avoid scraping yourself from the point of desk. The parking in the lot was scarce every night, there are not enough spots to accommodate the hotel plus any extra patreons that go to the restaurant/bar attached. The hallway smelled like cat urine, I assume from the old carpet, however, the room did not have an odor. You hear everything from the hall, inconsiderate people talking, yelling, slamming their doors. And my room was right next to the gym and utility closet, so you can imagine the noise from there. The wifi connection was very weak, and internet was usually faster when you were off wifi. Aside from all the negatives, it was still an average experience at best, not the worst, but far from the best. The front desk staff was very nice, but I wouldn't...