Do not stay at Comfort Suites - unauthorized charges, and horrible staff

Guys,

I need to tell you what ended a perfect 4 day stay at the Comfort Suites in Sandusky while visiting CP - you will want to avoid this place.

On night # 3 a knock at the door at 9:15 PM brought a hotel staff person asking if we were smoking in our room and making noise. The answer was a clear "no" and thought to be forgotten about. When we checked out we were hit with a $150. fee for smoking and we never did!

We were told to see the night manager to discuss this - in 10 hours when she was back on duty. We could not wait due to the 8 hour journey back home to NJ. We found out that it was indeed the manager who knocked on our door who never offered us a job title or explanation of any kind.

My husband and I are both in our 50's, way past the making noise in the room thing, and our 21 year old son is asthmatic who was visiting the park with us. A definite clear cut of unjust accusations. There were no cigarette butts in our room and no smell (other than the smell of urine on the carpet) of smoke - at any time.

I was promised a call back from the hotel - to no avail. I called the choice hotel client care, also to no avail because each hotel is privately owned. I have filed a complaint with the BBB, contacted the Ohio Attorney General and stopped payment on my card as it is not merritted.

I would not usually take such action but we were treated like common criminals for absolutely no reason.

The room was quite undesirable but we did not complain as the adjoining room our son was in - was adequate for him.
The couch and near the bed had bottlecaps and candy wrappers
The room smelled like urine, even after half a can of Lysol
The toilet tissue had to be asked for each day
The towel had holes in nearly each one of them (only 3 in room)
The pillows were of different thickness and smelled like gasoline
The air conditioner spewed warm air with a chemical smell

Again, our son's adjoining room was fine and we were barely in the room anyway - so we did not complain. Had I known the outcome of this trip, I would have taken out an ad in the Ohio newspaper - but did not.

I have yet to resolve this undue and unautorized charge on my Visa card and would gladly "let it go" with a prompt refund, however the way my family was treated and spoken to - I will require more than just an apology. I need to make sure this does not happen to another poor unsuspecting family from a small town in New Jersey like us, where people would never dream of doing this to paying patrons. All we wanted to do was have our first vacation in 3 years and our first trip to CP.

Try ANY other hotel in the area - there are plenty of them. I know we all hate the smell of smoke, but you may be better off staying clear of "non smoking hotels" - as it appears they trump up fake charges when their hotel is not fully booked or when they need more money from guests.

I have had good luck at Comfort Inn in Sandusky through Hotels.com (even price matched a better price I found twice). Not only have I stayed there once, but twice. If I recall the Comfort Suites is located next to the Comfort Inn even.

I think you had an unfortunate experience, and it is your word against theres, the best thing you can do is take it up with corporate.

I did like the rooms we have had both times. It sucks you had bad luck with them. I consider staying at a Comfort Inn hotel 3x this year even to get the $50 gas card.

Unfortunately, this is how things are in Sandusky during the summertime. For each unsatisfied out of towner (who's pretty unlikely to come back from NJ anyway) there are another 3-4 who'd love to have a room. As someone who worked on Rt. 250 for many years, this is just the way things are. (I'm not saying it's acceptable, this is just the reality of it.) For better service, come back in January.

The biggest problem with U.S. 250 hotels is that most are under the same ownership. The Ruta Family owns all of these hotels:

The only one that I have heard decent reviews of is the Holiday Inn Express Port Clinton and only because it is a relatively new hotel and Holiday Inn has stricter standards for upkeep than Choice Hotels.

Do yourself a favor - spend a few extra dollars and stay at a "resort" such as Castaway Bay, Kalahari or Great Wolf (avoid Maui Sands - it is just the old Holiday Inn with a new waterpark and without the HI name). If you can't afford it, the rooms at the Maples Motel (www.maplesmotel.com) are cleaner and much more reasonably priced than the brand name hotels on 250.

The Ruta family, they are probably a pretty wealthy family from Sandusky would you say? If they own all them hotels....

If you want a good deal on hotels drive 45 minutes down the turn pike and stay for like $29.99 at a Red Roof Inn.

Except that driving 45 minutes out of town to get a hotel (and then 45 minutes back to go to the park) kinda defeats the purpose. And definitely eliminates any quick trips back to the hotel during the day in case you need a break or forgot something.

I will gladly pay the higher prices for Breakers. I like the convience.

45 minutes will cost you just as much in gas as you're 'saving'

If anyone wants to avoid the hotels listed above, Best Western Cedar Point Area has always been a decent hotel. I usually stay there for Halloweekends overnighters.