Room Service: Rodeway Inn and Suites Madison-Northeast (Madison, Wisconsin)

Rodeway Inn and Suites Madison-Northeast
Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin. Capital of the Badger State. It's such a charming place I ate a hunk of local havarti in front of its state capitol (the state is called "America's Dairyland" in marketing and on license plates for a reason). Before I embarked to find a large cheese wheel for the drive home, I wanted to stop by an area hotel that provided value for price, and in this case we checked out the Rodeway Inn and Suites Madison-Northeast on US-51 near I-90/I-39/I-34.

It was a dark night, we were weary and we begged for a little efficiency during check in. After an abnormally long drive from Minnesota ending up an hour before sunset, we wanted to settle in the room the minute we were given the room keys. Not only was this an unfamiliar hotel in a new state for us, we wanted to redeem a cash value coupon issued to me as a result of a very bad experience within the same chain.

Upon reaching the front desk, the clerk immediately asked for our patience which we didn't have just to fill out some paperwork, and proceeded with great precaution in figuring out what to do with the coupon. He eventually had to get his boss in the process of redemption to join the non-hostile but unfriendly and unkind foray. It turned out he was never informed on this specific type of payment despite the option being offered as the prize for contests their chain regularly holds. His boss made us wait nearly an hour and a half, time I could not sacrifice in sleep due to a very early departure we scheduled (and which the clerk already knew about) before we got the difference between coupon value and price in cash - the instructions from their corporate management was written clearly and concisely on the coupon.

I know it's a lot about checking in at this property, but first contact can reflect the guest's experiences during their stay, and I can tell you honestly that either their corporate level doesn't keep their franchises and employees updated and informed on how their system works, or the local management suffers from lack of training which translates to a lapse in proper customer service. Especially after being offered the certificate as a form of recompense as a result of bad customer service in the first place. I felt belittled to say the least. It is not the guest's job to explain their own hotel chain's methods and media either! No one should wait for a procedure that is so simple and clearly instructed.

The room reflected those first experiences at front desk. We have stayed at motels that provide a better form of cleanliness than this so-called "inn". My travel companion sums it up this way: "Really old and grody (revolting). Subpar."

The carpet was installed in recent times but it appeared to look like everything else was from an area when disco was popular. It immediately reeked of an aging dew upon entering, and we had to endure through the awful smell in order to keep cool that summer night.

There are stains of an undetermined source that's prevalent throughout the room, as if housekeeping thought it reflected a sense of pride, and not where it could reasonably be generated - by the coat rack, around the chair, and with much abhorrence, the walls! There was evidence of spiders, not of recent life! Dust collected behind the beds! A lock of hair found on the desk! Exclamation marks included for full emphasis.

The bathroom isn't any better. Probable recent tiling but the general filthiness of the water closet made me more uneasy than you should feel as a guest who had been reasonably cared for. The doorknob was old, stained through the years and stubborn to open.

General amenities I have to list: there's a continental breakfast served with hot options, fitness centre and a very popular hot tub. All newer than the actual room. To be honest, you would have to be extraordinarily adventurous to stay at this property.