A Hotel Review I'd Rather Not Give

The Days Inn Hotel in Wilmington Newark, Photo Courtesy of HotelPlanner.com

So, this past weekend I had to make a trek up to Wilmington for a project. I needed to be there by 7 am Friday and Saturday. It's a good two hours north of me, so I decided to stay overnight so as to not have to leave the house at 4:30 both mornings.

Sure not used to seeing this kind of  weather in Delaware

I used my DubLi account to search for a hotel in the area. With my membership I would get 9.8% cash-back from Hotels.com and I found a Days Inn less than 15 minutes from the meeting place. It had a three star rating, plus the room was discounted from $79 down to $59.

The hotel was conveniently located right next to the Concord Mall and there were plenty of places to eat within walking distance. Since it was below freezing, walking anywhere other than to and from my car was out, but it was still good to know.

The front desk clerk was very courteous and helpful and the lobby was clean and inviting.  My room was around the side and even though it was just me, I had chosen a room with two beds because it was less than a one-bed room.

The room itself was nice and clean. This was my bed for the night and it was so comfortable. It had been such a long day and all I wanted to do was crawl under the covers with my book. 

However, I must have jinxed myself by sending my husband a text message that I was going to get a good night's sleep, because a little before 11 pm I was awakened by loud voices, a door slamming, and the kind of loud, thumping music that makes the walls shake. I was hoping they were either getting settled in or getting ready to go out. But that was not to be the case. About 20 minutes later I called the front desk to let them know what was going on. A few minutes later the phone rang in the next room and I could hear a very angry woman's voice demanding to know who had complained and what she would do to them. They did quiet down, but not for long. Cars pulled up and dropped off even more people and the volume went up yet again. At this point I cranked up the heat in my room to help drown out the noise from the party-goers. Either someone else called the front desk or had enough because suddenly people ran from the room and took off in various directions as someone from inside the room shouted that the state police were on their way. Finally, I could get back to sleep...

But, alas, not long after the police left the party kicked back into high gear. The heat was uncomfortable and I got up several times to turn it down only to hear the party raging on, so I would turn it back up and just deal with it. I needed to get some sleep. I tried it again at 4 am and they were still at it. This time I called the police myself. They did come, and I was sure that would be the end of it...

When my alarm went of at 5:30 I turned down the heat for the last time and surprise or not, they were still up, not that it mattered to me anymore. I got ready for my day and was gone in 30 minutes.

While the hotel itself was nice, the fact that I had to put up with this drama all night was unacceptable. I had booked my room in advance. This could have all been avoided if the hotel had not put us next to each other. I'm sure there were other guest who actually wanted or needed to sleep and it just baffles my mind how, after the noise complaints to the front desk and two visits from the police, that these people were even allowed to stay there. I did consider asking to switch rooms, but it was freezing outside, and the moment I opened my door they would know I was at least one of the people who had complained and I was actually afraid for my own safety. When I left in the morning I left as quietly and quickly as I could, not even waiting for my car to warm up, because I didn't know if they were going to come out when they heard me start my car.

To top off my visit to Wilmington, what should have been a two hour drive home turned into four due to yet even more snow.

This is fun...Not! 

Yup, if  I have to do another two night stay, I'll either be staying elsewhere or getting up at 4 am, from the peace and quiet of my own home. Sorry Days Inn.