Review-Lodging-Michigan, Flint-Rodeway Inn

Background:

After a long day of traveling we were hoping for a decent place to stay. We would have stayed in Ann Arbor instead to make our drive a little shorter but the prices in Ann Arbor were two to three times higher than those in Flint. We either needed a room with two beds and a sofa or two separate rooms but could not find any rooms with a sofa so we decided on two rooms instead.

   

Reservations:

After looking at the various hotel sights I found the best prices to be at Orbitz so I booked the rooms from them.

I was a little nervous about reserving at Rodeway Inn after a bad experience at one in Baker City, Oregon back in 2015. The Red Roof Inn, Super 8, and Knights Inn were a few dollars more per night and seemed to be good options. We decided on the Rodeway Inn.

The Facility:

The motel is three stories tall and connected to a Quality Inn next door with both motels sharing the indoor swimming pool. The exterior of the Rodeway Inn portion looks like it has seen a recent remodel but once you walk inside you are thrown back in time. The facility appears to have been built in the late 1970’s or early 1980’s. Sleep Inns didn’t start until 1989 so I am not sure if it was once some other type of motel before this date or it just looked dated from the start.  

Check In:

Walking into the motel the front desk is on the right with a staircase to the left and the main lobby straight ahead. The lady running the front desk was friendly but check in was a little slow. In addition there was no mention that we would need to have wristbands to swim in the swimming pool. She also failed to direct us where our rooms were or how we could get to them.

The Room:

Looking at our room numbers I figured we were probably toward the back of the Rodeway Inn section of the motel. The back entrance did have a key card access but at the time of our arrival the door was open. Sometime after 10pm they locked the door but as it turned out the key cards would not work in the door.

When we walked into the building itself there was a strange smell that I could not put my finger on. The stairway area looked like it had seen a lot of use over the years and needed some refurbishing and we would soon learn that it was not the only part of the building in desperate need of change.

As you enter the room, to the right were a sink and a room separated with a sliding door that held the toilet and shower. As you continued into the main part of the room there was a desk/dresser to the left with a 25” television on top of it. Next to the window was the open closet that had a luggage rack. On the right were two queen beds with a nightstand in the middle.

Like the stairway area the room was in bad need of refurbishing. The carpets were torn and ripped in several spots, the door to the bathroom was damaged and dirty, in our second room the handle for the sliding door was completely missing, and the television was an older tube television.

Surrounding Area:

Within what should be walking distance there is a Fuddruckers, Qdoba, Sonic, Arby’s, Popeye’s and McDonald’s however, there are no sidewalks to reach any of those places. Within a bit longer walking distance there are a large number of chains including Golden Corral, IHOP, Applebee’s, and many others. For those like me who would rather go to a locally owned independent restaurant there is the West Side Dinner located a block to the northwest. For shopping there is a mall just over two miles away and many other shopping opportunities within a short drive.

Pool:

As mentioned earlier there is an enclosed pool which sits between the Rodeway Inn and the Quality Inn sections of the facility. The pool was large and appeared to be clean but you must have a wristband if you want to swim. The original sign next to the door said that you had to be 14 years or older to be in the pool without an adult but there was a hand written sign on the window next to the other sign saying you have to have a wristband and that all children under 17 have to have an adult with them. There is also a hot tub but it was drained and had a wood cap on top of it.

Breakfast:

With the condition of the rest of facility was I was not expecting much when it came to the breakfast and I was not disappointed. The breakfast room was large, probably originally a meeting room but the choices were slim. There were a couple of cereal choices, coffee, and milk but little else. After seeing the lack of selection we headed over the IHOP for breakfast at it was a better option that what was offered here.

Check Out:

Once again the person working the counter was friendly although the service was slow.

Final Thoughts:

We noticed that there was a sign on the Quality Inn that said that there was refurbishing on that side of the motel so maybe the Rodeway Inn side would see some work soon. Walking into the hotel you feel that you have been transported back to the 1970’s and that is a problem with the motel. According to some signage the motel was once a Sleep Inn that apparently had been downgraded by Choice Hotels to a Rodeway Inn.

The workers were friendly but not very efficient or experienced and checking in and out took longer than it should have.

The pool was in good shape but that is about the only part of the building that was. Once again you get what you pay for as it would only have been a couple more dollars per room to stay at a place that would have probably been in a lot better shape.

The staff being friendly is the only thing that kept this place from getting an F grade, but it still is a D- at the most.

This was an opportunity for Rodeway Inn to redeem them from our last experience but failed to do so and I would have a hard time choosing them again.