I've stayed at other Americinn hotels in the past and have been very satisfied, especially since the chain is considered a "value" hotel. The Americinn, Ames did not meet my expectations. While the staff is very friendly- an Indian family type of operation- they lack clear English communication skills and the ability to effectively manage a well-run hotel. I normally don't leave negative reviews, but I would've appreciated reading an honest review like this before choosing this hotel. Although this Americinn's rates and location are good, I cannot recommend this business.
I knew we were in trouble when we recently checked in for our two night stay. The lobby was extremely warm, humid and musty. The air conditioning seemed to be off or set to a very high temp. The ceiling fans were running and many of the lobby lights were off. There were large, plastic covered rolls of what appeared to be carpet being stored out in the open. No one was at the front desk. Eventually the manager came and we checked into our room, requesting a first floor room because there are no elevators to the second floor. The manager seemed irritated, stating that the first floor was reserved for old people who couldn't manage the stairs. Eventually he relented and gave us a first floor room. Upon entering our room, we were greeted by a kind of locker room odor and the sound of a dirty dehumidifier running in the corner. The carpet felt damp. The beds seemed damp and the mattresses were thin and worn. One of the bathroom lights was burnt out. We decided to stay anyway because we were tired and wouldn't be spending much time in the room. Plus the manager charged my credit card for our full stay up front. If you want decent wireless internet service, forget it. It took several attempts to connect to it. Ookla Speedtest indicated a download speed of 2.94 Mbps and upload speed of 0.42 Mbps. (My iPhone's regular LTE data speeds were 194 Mbps down & 22.2 Mbps up.) The Hisense TVs are Roku TVs with wireless connectivity, displaying 480i image quality only. The video would often freeze, I assume, because the wireless is practically non-existent. The following day, after drinking a few cups of extremely weak coffee from the breakfast bar, I asked the staff about getting a different room because ours seemed to have possibly been flooded at one point. I was told the manager would check the room and call me later in the day. He did not call. Upon my return in the afternoon, he stated that he put a new dehumidifier in my room and that all of the rooms are damp because "this is the way it is in the U.S. during the summer." He must have referenced the summer heat in the U.S. about three times to a guy who is born and bred in the Midwest. I said that I'd never stayed in a hotel that ran dehumidifiers in the rooms. Basically, the management is too cheap to run the AC properly during the summer to keep the building comfortable. Another annoying thing was that we left our used towels on the bathroom floor to be replaced with new ones. They were not. When I called down to inquire as to why, they told me that they only service rooms once every three days. It would be nice to state this upon check in. I hate dealing with simple things like asking for fresh towels and shampoos after a long day. The last thing I'll mention is that I found a couple of bugs flitting around on the nightstand the second night... extremely small, possibly fleas. Yuck! I'm not sure why people give this place a five star rating. Either things used to be much different in the past or people have very low expectations for the hotels they stay in. I recommend spending a few extra bucks and staying elsewhere. read more