Extended Stay America - Sacramento- Arden Way

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I was looking for a place to stay for the California State Fair, and this hotel seemed like a pretty good deal. I booked the hotel online through http://www.extendedstayhotels.com/. I just needed a simple, yet comfortable room for two nights. I chose the Studio Suite 1 Queen Bed room for $54.99/night. I thought the idea of having a small kitchen would be nice and the pictures of the rooms seemed decent.

When I arrived to check in the lobby smelt like someone had been smoking just before I arrived. The lady at the front desk was very nice and welcoming. She said that they had run out of the normal Studio Suite 1 Queen Bed and that I would be in a Signature Studio. This room was to have better bedding than the normal room.

When entering the room it had a very nice smell and the bedding appeared to be nice. Overall appearance of the room was decent, but there were a couple of things that were a little strange to me. First was the fact that there were layers of paper, kind of like tissue paper for wrapping a gift, over the smoke detector. This seemed strange to me as I've never seen anything of the sort in a hotel before. Then there was the bed. It was firm and not very comfortable and the bed linens felt a little itchy. The kitchen was decent, but the plates and utensils that were in the cupboards felt grimy. I washed them off with some soap I had before I used them.

The second night of our stay the satellite television went out and we were limited to five local channels. The first call to the front desk was answered as if we were an inconvenience to the clerk and she stated that it should come back on in a few minutes. After an hour the television was still not back, so I called the front desk again to let them know. Again, she answered as if I were inconveniencing her and said she couldn't do anything about it. I let her know that I was displeased and she said I could take it up with the manager in the morning.

After a night of not sleeping well on a very uncomfortable bed, I was not up for talking to the manager and just wanted to leave.
I would not recommend this hotel for more than a one night stay. I know that it's supposed to be for long-term guests, but two nights was too long for me.

I plan on contacting the corporate office regarding my stay. I will post any reply that I get from them.

A couple days later.....

I noticed that I had left something at the hotel. When I called to reach someone to inquire about the item I was disconnected on twice, then the person I reached said I had to call back and dial an extension and was very rude about it, then disconnected on again, and finally I was able to reach someone who said the item was there and I could pick it up. I've never had that much trouble at any other hotel I've left anything at before.

Why Am I Doing This?

After reading various travel review sites I became sick of seeing posts from people that I couldn't be sure were real. You never know if the hotel is posting the good reviews or if a hotel down the street is posting the bad reviews. That's when this idea came to me, to create a blog reviewing the places I visit, allowing people to hear exactly how the hotel is from an average person.
I have seven years experience with customer service in industries ranging from banking, retail, and hospitality. I know what people expect and know what I would expect from any hotel.
I hope that people find this blog to be helpful.

If you have any questions please feel free to email me. I can give some good hotel recommendations for the Santa Rosa, Ukiah, Eureka, San Francisco and Sacramento areas.