Country Inns & Suites by Carlson

It isn’t the best place you could go, but it’s pretty good.
The wifi didn’t work well in our room. We had to stand next to the door to get a good signal. I asked the front desk person about that and she said she could give me a number to call to solve this problem. I don’t think it’s my job to fix the wifi problem. The room is kind of old, a little smelly.
There were only three small pillows in each bed. The beds themselves were comfortable.

With a name like «Country Inn,» you expect a country-​like hospitality, which in my mind is a cozy and homey feeling with friendly service. And this was exactly my experience! And what incredible value for the price!
The people working here were very friendly and helpful. A complimentary breakfast is served in the morning. The breakfast options were not large but it wasn’t bad for a free meal: Egg burritos, potatoes, waffles, bagels, cereals, fruit, etc. were some of the options. Interestingly, there were no eggs other than the burritos. But the burritos with the hot sauce was good. There is a complimentary library of books in the lobby. There is a hot tub and pool indoors. The pool is a decent size. The abandoned gas station and crumbling parking lot is still an issue like a reviewer pointed out years ago, so this has not been addressed. However, this did not bother me personally, as I care much more about the interior conditions.
The rooms had a cozy feel that I enjoyed. The cozy décor comes from the intentionally visible wooden ceiling frames, the flowing pattern ingrained in the ceiling material, the artwork, and the cleanliness.
A microwave and fridge is provided. The bed was very comfortable because it had a version of the Serta Perfect Sleeper mattress called the Elite 2000 FR. Serta Perfect Sleeper mattresses are my personal favorite in hotels. Extra padding with he mattress topper was included. Oh! And the pillows were very comfortable.
Now for the bathroom. Everything sans shower was great. The sink and toilet were spotlessly clean. The shower on the other hand needed some work. There was a bit of a mold problem in the grout of the wall tiles and some sort of white deposit (possibly calcium) was formed on the shower head. The ceiling of the shower was warped and bubbly, possibly from the intense fog created due to a lack of an outflow air vent. The shower floor was was ever so slightly blackened from wear and not the ubiquitous, shiny white I prefer. However, and this is important, none of this was bad enough to gross me out and what the shower lacked in pristine cleanliness it made up for in its good water pressure. It just would’ve been nice to have the best of both worlds.
My only slight issue was with the shower. Everything else was on point and I really felt the cozy hospitality that is aimed for in the Country Inn’s mission. And with such an incredible price, the value is significant. As a guy who is picky about hotels, I would stay here again.

3 stars because 2 would insult the cleanliness of this establishment.
We rented the «Hospitality Suite» which is a two room suite with two queen beds and one pull out sofa and two bathrooms and two additional sinks outside the bathrooms. The room was VERY clean. The beds were comfortable, nice feather pillows (regular pillows were available upon request and brought right down to our room). Beautiful courtyard, beautiful indoor pool area, nice breakfast served, staff was friendly and responsive to our needs. The hotel was very quiet as well. The breakfast was served in a very nice, bright, comfortable room with many options. Three kinds of juice, water or milk, four kinds of cereal as well as cooked Quaker Oatmeal, fresh fruit medley, bananas and apples were also available, nice variety of breads, donuts and pastries, waffles, breakfast burritos that were delicious and fried potatoes. In the evening several kinds of cookies were available and coffee was also available. The breakfast staff was also very visible, friendly and accomadating.
We did eat one meal at the attached Green Mill restaurant. I am not someone who typically finishes a meal, however the meal I had there I ate every bite it was so good.
Reasons for not giving a 4 or 5 star rating are minor but important to note.
The cost of the 2 room suite was $ 193.50 per night plus tax. Kinda high considering the chair and sofa in the room are quite dated. There was a burn hole in the carpet that was about the size of a 50 cent piece. The screen door on the sliding glass door was off and laying up against the wall… however when I reported that, the maintenance man promptly fixed it. The linens on the bed needed to be tossed. One bed had two tears in the sheet that were about an inch long, the other bed had stains on the linens. The website indicated that each room had a patio or balcony. Our room was on the first floor… but the «patio» was not a patio, the entire first floor around the inside of the courtyard had a black rubber barrier then very large rocks between that and the building. Not easy to walk on or easy to sit on with the two chairs that are provided for the room. Wifi was not very reliable.

I realize that one review doesn’t paint a complete picture, but this Country Inn and Suites was truly awful. You enter the property by passing the abandoned gas station with the tall weeds and cross the rutted and rolling half paved, half rock parking lot of the Country Inn. The desk staff was friendly and helpful, but that’s where the good ends.
Our room — with 2 full beds — smelled musty from the moment we entered. Though everything appeared to be in order, the entire room was damp. I can’t explain this other than to say, in the Land of 10,000 lakes, our room must have been built on top of one. We were exhausted, so just got ourselves to bed; we had a big day of moving my daughter into her college dorm the next day. But even our bed linens felt vaguely moist. Just not right.
We got up early the next morning — by now even the carpet feels a little damp — and head over to the Green Mill for our complimentary breakfast. There was a decent assortment of items — eggs with cheese, muffins, bread and English muffins, sausages, yogurt, cereal, coffee, milk and juice. But the eggs were cold, and the restaurant just didn’t seem clean. Old carpeting all around, and a bit of food spattered on the wall of the booth where we were seated.
After a long day of moving our girl into the dorm and getting her situated, we returned to the Country Inn. Now the moisture had crept into the clothing we had left behind — and the room still had the musty, stale, smell. By now I’m wishing we had simply walked away right away –or at least requested another room — but you know how things go on a tight schedule. So we just soldiered on and spent one last moist night at the Country Inn.
At check out, I mentioned the really weird damp conditions of our room to the staff — no explanation was offered, nor any apologies.
I understand that Country Inns are a ‘franchise’ operation that Carlson Hotels manages, but they must run with a fairly wide range of acceptable conditions. Our past experience had been very good, but we learned a valuable lesson; Carlson doesn’t care enough to require franchisees to maintain decent accommodations or this would not be carrying the Carlson/​Country Inn name — at least not without major renovations. Interestingly we drove past a brand new Country Inn during our stay and it looked fine. But the point is that in our mind we can’t take a chance on them again. That’s a damaged brand name that we won’t forget.