First, if you look over my Yelp Elite reviews, very seldom you'll find a negative review, and I try…read moreto return for updates with my experiences as I often see improvements!
Stayed here many times before, some rooms and have been better than others, as we have something to compare staying multiple times over many, many years. We love this location (5-stars!) and parking (5-stars!), and I remember their sheets from Costco (5-stars!) and a/c that works (5-stars!)! I only make multiple reservations on places we like. There's also areas here that need improvement, such as the late-check-in process (1-star) on one visit the front desk messaged us about their front closes after 9pm and this motel would not allow check-in and one trip we were in traffic on 5+ hour drive to Pullman and I had a panic attack on the phone with them, as I was told we could not check-in if we arrived late, which made us panic the entire drive (1-star experience!) but they were lovely and allowed us to check-in upon our later arrival (yeah!), but the experience was really terrible as we were super stressed! Or how the room on the 2nd level behind the office the arrangement of the single queen bed and TV was a bit funky (3-star for decor/vibe), but not a big deal as we don't stay in our rooms in Pullman except to sleep & shower. Some rooms appear fresh and clean (5-star) while others could use a refresher of paint or care (wobbly door handles or bathroom doors that don't close properly, as an example, 2-3 stars), but I try to update my newer experiences upon frequent visits and I always notice and write about those improvements and reflect on the experiences.
This time my experience was a 1-star all around, sadly. It was New-Coug Move-In Weekend and we'd stayed Friday to Saturday at another motel and moved our youngest Coug into his dorm at 9am, but the overall time took longer than our prior move-ins we've experienced with our other Cougs. By 6pm we were overwhelmingly exhausted! We were ready to relax rather than make the 5-hour journey back home in the dark. My friend had canceled her reservation for Saturday to Sunday, and suggested I call directly to the motel, as every hotel and motel in a 20-mile radius was booked!No availability was showing online, and in order to get her spot she'd suggested I call Cougar Land Motel directly. Called Cougar Land and explained about her cancellation and could we take it? Yes it's available, cost is $350, yes, we will take it! Expensive? Yes, but worth the convenience of being able to walk to campus (5-stars!) to spend time with our eldest Coug and relax vs driving home in the dark is worth the $350! The woman answering the phone asked if I'd stayed there before? Yes, many times! She then tells me I left a horrible review (!) and why would I want to stay again? I was baffled. My husband and I looked at each other, as the call was on speaker. Did I leave a bad review? I was too exhausted to think/respond, and she was adamant I wouldn't be welcome again! As soon as she hung up on me, I quickly went through Yelp. What did I write that was so offensive I was denied a return visit? I noticed zero reviews from me for Cougar Land Motel! I did not delete any and I was curious what I'd written to cause her to deny us! As a Yelp Elite member I follow rules and community standards. My husband wondered why she didn't say, "Hey I noticed you gave a poor review, here's the changes we've made and we are thrilled you're coming back to experience a better outcome!" We discussed this on our 5-hour drive home in the dark, as mentioned, we were really looking forward to staying at a local hotel we'd stayed at for years!
Pullman is a lovely small-town with a tight community. My family of Coug alumni frequently travels back to Pullman (aka. Returns "home") and this experience reminded us about how wonderful the Coug Community is, but to be super careful about offering feedback/reviews as you might not have a place to stay when you visit.
