One of the great things about being a busy family is that activities often force mini-vacations. Over the years, with my freelance work, my husband’s job and our daughters’ involvements in club soccer and Irish dance competitions, we have traveled a lot and have experienced a variety of hotels, venues and family travel adventures. Our latest trip found us visiting the Brook Park suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, for the North Coast Feis, an Irish dance competition. Since our middle daughter was scheduled to dance fairly early in the day, we opted to spend the night in a nearby hotel rather than make the two and a half hour drive on competition day. Because we like to experience something new on every visit, we selected the Best Western Airport Inn and Suites in Cleveland—minutes from the Cleveland Airport and the Cleveland I-X Center where the dance competition was held. How did the Best Western Airport Inn and Suites Cleveland stand up to our review?
The Best Western Airport Inn and Suites Cleveland offers a convenient location. The hotel is literally a turn off I-71—making it really convenient for travel weary drivers (as we were—arriving after 8:30 with two young daughters on a Friday night after a day of school and dance class). As I said, the hotel was minutes from the popular Cleveland I-X Center, The Cleveland Hopkins Airport and a convenient drive to popular tourist attractions like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or a Cleveland Indians’ game. There was little traffic congestion in the area, the hotel entrance was easy to find off the interstate and there were accessible restaurants within an easy drive.
The price of the Best Western Airport Inn and Suites Cleveland was right. While comparing local hotels, the initial price of the hotel was lower than many of its competitors—and they offered a free deluxe continental breakfast. For family travelers—especially those on time crunched schedules, the convenience of a semi-real, non-doughnut breakfast in the hotel is perfect—having that breakfast free of charge is a deal maker. We were actually able to also take advantage of the Best Western’s Low Rate Guarantee. (We had found a lower price than the company’s advertised rate—and after completing a simple one page form—our price was dropped to the lower rate minus an additional 10%.) We literally saved nearly $60 over the price of other local hotel chains by using the Low Rate Guarantee and taking advantage of the breakfast offer for the four of us.
How were the rooms and customer service at the Best Western Airport Inn and Suites Cleveland. This was the point where the value began to wane a bit for our family! The exterior of the hotel was a bit dated, the parking lot was not well lit and there did not seem to be any security monitoring. The front desk attendant was a little rude—but; the four of us were all also a little tired and disheveled from our trip—so we tried to keep her friendliness level in perspective. There were no offers made to help with our bags—although we were fairly certain that the odd young man standing outside the building smoking a cigarette was possibly there to fulfill that task. We weren’t sure—and were hesitant to ask. We headed up to our room—where the girls and I made our beeline for the restroom. The bathroom was dated and…dirty. Great. The husband was checking out the rest of the room. “Is that blood on the sheet?” Really Great. It appeared to be a dried blood stain. Yuck. Off he went to the front desk and the (not so friendly) attendant to request a new room—or at least a change of sheets and a clean toilet if the hotel was full. We swapped to a new room that was clean and even warm and had extra pillows. Cleanliness was lacking, actual service was lacking—but, our complaints were quickly handled and we opted to stay out our night.
How were the amenities at the Best Western Airport Inn and Suites Cleveland? After experiencing sanitation concerns in other areas of the hotel, we opted to skip the pool—but, it was operational and fairly busy even at our late arrival. My husband used the fitness facility—and although small, everything was clean and operational. I was a bit disappointed by our room description—I had assumed from the description that our room had a microwave and mini-refrigerator, but it did not. I assume that those are only available in suites with kitchenettes—but, that wasn’t my initial impression and I generally read fairly thoroughly. We did not use the wi-fi access during this trip as I was working from my phone and not from my laptop. Overall—the amenities were typical and as expected—but, nothing exceptional.
How was the food at the Best Western Airport Inn and Suites Cleveland. As a “recovering” health and safety professional—hotel food scares me. In fact many food service operations scare me. The fruit and bagels were fresh, the refrigeration units were cold and, since we were downstairs early before the ladies were finished setting up the first round of breakfast, we were able to see that the workers were clean (which matters a great deal to me) and the cold foods (like yogurt and cream cheese) were cold when put into the trays and refrigerators. We didn’t try the waffle maker—but, everything else was in working order and the foods tasted and appeared fresh. The tables were clean and the staff was actively restocking and maintaining the dining area as guests moved in and out.
What was our overall Review of the Best Western Airport Inn and Suites Cleveland. I wouldn’t stay there again. Health and safety matter to me—and this hotel failed my cleanliness test and my peace of mind test. I can handle dated plumbing fixtures and tubs—but, not dirty caulk and blackened, hard water stained toilets. I can handle dated furniture and bed linens— but, not blood stained sheets— or a housekeeping staff that could ignore the toilets or fit a bed with such sheets as the stains were obvious. To top off my concerns, my husband spent the night worrying about the safety of our car in a seemingly unsecured lot. It was not a positive stay for us and we would not stay again or recommend it.
What’s next on our travel itinerary? Springfield, OH and Waynesville, OH for a girl’s weekend antique adventure (weather willing) in late February and Pittsburgh, PA at the end of March.
Disclosure: We were not compensated to review this hotel--we simply offer this review from our personal experiences as a service to our interested readers.
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