Days Inn

Acceptable Cleanliness. Comfotable bed n sheets n pillows. Friendly overnight clerk. Rooms have micro wave, iron & board, blow dryer, coffee maker– but no coffee to make! Pool is like an over sized bath tub. Non smoking rooms still reeked of smoke.

September 18^th, 2011 was set for a very long time to be quite the important day for me and my love. After many months of hard training and over coming a couple of injuries, this was to be the day that my better half was to complete her first marathon starting and ending in St. Charles. Considering St. Charles isn’t exactly a «near» suburb to the city, along with an early race start time (7:00 AM on a Sunday), having a place to stay close to the race for Saturday night into Sunday was a no-​brainer.
So on to
I go to see what my options are, along with any specials when I see that the Days Inn was having a pretty nice deal on a room for the particular night we needed. With little hesitation, I booked it.
Finding out later that the Days Inn were a partner hotel in the Fox Valley Marathon, I figured I’d have little troubles working with them to ensure that our stay was as convenient as possible. Which is why I was very surprised when I called up the hotel a few days before the race to let them know that I’d be needing a late check out due to the marathon (my woman would like a shower after running 26.2 miles all morning!) only to be told that the latest check out possible was noon.
«But the marathon…» I replied, not really understanding how a partner for that same race would not understand a simple request.
«What marathon?» was the response I got over the phone…
Now I completely understand that this possibly ill-​timed phone call might have been answered by someone who wasn’t aware that there was a marathon going on within about eight blocks. That’s understandable. I can also understand that normally speaking, check outs are supposed to occur no later than noon.
So when I asked what would happen if we needed to leave sometime after noon, I was first advised to book another night’s stay to ensure that our belongings wouldn’t be thrown out.
Now I know for a fact that hotels don’t operate that way. Belongings would be held onto for a set period of time that could later be claimed, maybe even for a small handling fee. I knew our stuff wouldn’t be tossed into a dumpster somewhere. What I took exception to was having this person on the phone continue with a discourse on policy, rules and regulations. Absolutely no leeway on what I needed as a guest who wouldn’t be able to check out by the set time.
When I called by the way, I fully expected to have a conversation on paying an extra amount for a late check out, and was planning on settling that over the phone then, which was a few days before even checking in in the first place.
After more minutes than should be legal, I finally got this woman to explain to me the policy (since that is all she could seem to understand) on late check outs. What I was hoping was for a predetermined amount set aside for the marathoners who were staying at the Days Inn since they were a partner hotel. Of course, that wouldn’t be written into policy, which in the end was what I had to settle for.
Like I said before– I was willing to pay an extra amount, but didn’t appreciate the way I was dealt with over the phone.
Problems continued right up until the point where we left the hotel after the marathon (which went very well, by the way considering it rained the entire time and was fairly cold outside– she ran a very good race!). Within the final hour of the stay (the time needed to take a long, warming shower and get dressed and packed), I was called three times by the front desk to tell me that my card was declined and that I needed to settle up immediately. So three times I went up to the front desk only to have to show them that for some reason they were trying to charge the wrong card number the entire time!
Concerning, considering I saw the man swipe our card and give us a receipt. I hope that other person whose card he continually tried to bill didn’t have any problems due to his ignorance.
Needless to say, this would not be our destination hotel if we go back to do this marathon next year. I’d recommend to everyone to not stay here for any reason.

I stayed at the Days Inn in September of ’08. I wound up spending three nights here by circumstance as the hotel I was booked at couldn’t find my reservation and was booked to capacity.
I pleased to find a place to stay. This Days Inn was comfortable and clean although a bit worn. The rates were reasonable in comparison with other hotels in the area. Hotel offers a free «Daybreak» breakfast that consists of muffins, bagels, cereal accompanied by coffee and juice.
Room was quiet and the front desk was very helpful in arranging transportation and information about the area. Exceptional no, but it was what I expected for a moderate price. I would stay here again if I was on a budget and just wanted a place to sleep.