Allyndale Motel

This motel is located in a very un-​friendly area and it was confusing to get to. It was stuffy and for the price it was not worth it. The bathroom is small and very out of date. The bed was very springy and not that comfy. But they do have a up to date t. v with cable, wifi, mini fridge and microwave which was a pro. Would I ever stay here again… probably not unless it was half the price and if everything else in Duluth was booked.

I called this hotel about a week before my stay. A woman who had quite the raspy voice sounded put off that I’d bother to CALL and ask if they availability. I asked the rate (which was $ 10 more than the listing here), and went ahead and booked because I thought «Ah, mom and pop kinda place… $ 10 is ok for a local thing». So, I give her my number and she tells me that if I don’t call to cancel that I’ll be charged for the night. Reasonable, I thought.
The time came for our trip and due to the forecast, we decided to come a day earlier than expected. We called at 5pm the day we had decided to come instead, and asked if we could get another room (2 queens, I think?) for this night and not tomorrow night as we originally had planned. We were informed (by the woman) that there was a cancellation fee. When asked what it was, she didn’t know. We’d have to talk to the owner and he wouldn’t be back til «later». They had a room but it was $ 25 extra because it had a «kitchen». Well, I didn’t want to pay extra (noting that I’d already paid extra by CALLING and not booking here). So, we politely asked for a refund and again were told that we couldn’t cancel or they’d charge me for the night anyway. Finally, the woman relented and said that the manager would call me back that evening, which was ok since we had a few hour drive ahead of us.
As we got closer, *we* called them again and were again told — now rudely — that we didn’t give a 24 hour notice and that they were going to charge us for the room. We explained, kindly, that we’d looked at 3 different websites where we could book a room with them and we didn’t see any policies that mention any sort of cancellation fee. We were *yelled at* that those websites were not their problem and not them. Politely again, we asked for the manager to call us in the morning.
In the meantime, we found a different place to stay for the earlier evening — which was DELIGHTFUL! Econolodge was great!
Fast forward to the next morning. Shocker! NO phone call. We did our plans and again — no phone call. Finally, we called them back and the woman answered again. I politely asked for the manager. Well, the woman transferred me to him — but took me off of hold a bit too early as I heard her complaining about us calling the day before. So the owner finally gets on the phone. When I explain our situation, I’m informed that they are going to charge us for the night — we had to give 24 hours notice. I mentioned that when I made my reservation over the phone, that I was told that if I didn’t show that I would be charged. I said ok and understood that. I was not informed of a late fee. (Interesting to note: when we asked the woman the 2 calls prior what the cancellation fee *was*, she had no idea. To me, if you work somewhere who says they have a fee for cancellations and YOU, the WORKER, don’t know — you’re lying. I digress.) Again, I was told that if I had called at 2pm or 2:30pm, the day prior (since check in is 3pm) that I would not have been charged, but because I waited until 5pm (a whole *2* hours past check in) that it wasn’t 24 hours and that I was going to be charged the full price of the room ($ 100). Calmly, I explained to the gentleman that we had given him a days notice and that it felt silly to be arguing over 2 hours. He continued, informing me that the «industry standards say that you must give 2 weeks notice or be charged» and again, calmly said that was not the case. I explained to him that we had changed our plans because the weather was slated for thunderstorms on the day we’d planned — and since we were going on a cruise — we wouldn’t be able to do on the original schedule. After him arguing with me (this is the OWNER by the way), he yells into the phone ‘FINE! I WON’T CHARGE YOU! DON’T EVER COME TO MY PROPERTY AGAIN! YOU’RE ONE OF THESE SELF-​ABSORBED, ENTITLED PEOPLE WHO THINKS THE ENTIRE WORLD REVOLVES AROUND YOU. DON’T EVER COME HERE AGAIN!’ and slammed the phone down.
I looked at my friend sitting next to me and said, you aren’t going to believe what this guy just said to me…
HONEST to goodness, *I* was kind, calm, collected — didn’t raise my voice, argue — except to point out truth. Can’t say I’ve EVER had someone in the «service» industry speak to me or anyone else for that matter, in that way. Disappointing and nearly deplorable.
As our trip went on, I mentioned to my friend that I sure hope that these folks had something else happening in their lives, and they didn’t realize how they were treating us. At the end of the day, a motel/​hotel is a place that weary travelers come to lay their heads, watch some tv, spend time with friends/​family, etc… I think that point was missed in all of this. And honestly, if they hadn’t insisted on increasing the price on the kitchen room, we would have stayed there — thank goodness we didn’t!
RUN, don’t walk (Did I mention the Econolodge is nice?) away from this place.

Stayed here because we could not get a room where we usually like to go. Given the reviews and photos we did not expect much, and, we did not get much… but not in a bad way at all. This place is a throwback to another time in motel rooms. Our room was very small, olé and outdated, but it was clean, the bed comfortable and it was ¹⁄₃ the price of hotels in Canal park. If all you need is a place to lay your head, this fits the bill nicely.

If you simply want a clean, quiet, comfortable space to lay your head down at night in Duluth, this is the place for you. No frills.
When there were no other vacancies in Duluth for the first weekend in Oct., this place had an opening. I heard the area is considered «West Duluth». Decent price for a nice-​sized room with 2 queen beds. It’s quiet and clean and the beds comfortable. Mini refrigerator and small coffee maker in room. Free continental breakfast 7 – 10 a.m. Hot coffee with color and no flavor. A late night walk in the area provided close-​up deer sightings. Friendly host, Suzanne, is from New York (this comment has been offered specifically for Rhonda G).

We stopped at this motel really because EVERY other hotel in Duluth was full on Memorial Day weekend. We forgot about this fact until we were 20 miles away from the city!
The motel was older in style, but was very clean and spacious! The room had AC, nice TV, small fridge and a microwave. King size bed, too! Plenty of parking available, as well.
The female owner was super sweet and very helpful (and they have 3 Weiner dogs, so cute).
Although we didn’t have any, breakfast was included in the price of the room.
I also read that the motel is pet friendly!

A cute little motel with friendly service. Location is a short driving distance to downtown Duluth. Rooms were clean and neat, with mini-​kitchen and fridge. Great free breakfast.
A little easy to hear the people above you and if there are pets, you might hear some barking – but if you need a cheap place to stay for a day or two, this is the place!
No matter where you stay in Duluth, watch for the massive construction on all the major roads. =)

The Allyndale is a great place to stay. It’s in a nice little neighborhood in Duluth — not walking distance to downtown, but close to most anything you might want or need; a big K and several restaurants. The highway in Duluth is under major construction, meaning each time we had to come and go we were driving a few extra miles up the hill just to get turned around so we could get access to the nearest hwy exit. The locals told us this happens pretty frequently.
Some of the highlights are: low price, awesome breakfast (biscuits and gravy!), pet friendly, clean rooms, ample parking and very good internet access. The code for the ‘net access is on the bottom of the receipt you get, which wasn’t made super clear to us until we started hunting for it. The staff are very friendly and welcoming. The rooms have a full kitchen: sink, electric range top, cabinets with most common pots pans and dishes and a fridge! If we were staying longer than one night we could have saved some real money on snacks and leftovers! If chain hotels bore you, this place probably won’t; it’s got great character.