Quote: Days Inn , Dubuque, Iowa

Once again we booked this motel before we left the UK as we knew we wanted to stay in Dubuque and this is the point we began our Great River Road trip following the Mississippi river up to its headwaters in Minnesota.
I booked this through Hotelclub.com and paid about £35 I think for the night including breakfast. I think we may have got it cheaper booking on site but we wanted to make sure we had somewhere. Because of the price we didn’t expect anything grand and in fact we got nothing grand so we were not surprised or shocked.

The place looks like a motel and is hidden beside a highway under a cliff. There were a couple of trucks parked in the car park as well as a number of utility vehicles so I think it may be used by people travelling for their jobs as it is cheap. The Days Inn chain is one of the more basic ones in the USA but you can usually rely on them being clean and an okay stay.

On entering the Reception area I was welcomed with a nice smile by the lady and she had our booking and told me that all was paid for. She explained about the bar and bar meals as well as Happy Hour, the pool was outdoor and heated and open if we wanted to use it and breakfast was in the room to the right from 6am till 10 am. I* was given my key and pointed in the right direction to park the car.

Our room was on the second floor (up one in the USA) and so we did have to carry all our stuff up a flight of stairs. The stair and entrance was a bit shabby and had a stale odour about it but once outside on the corridor on the top it was fine. The rooms all had doors onto this open walkway or corridor so people passing by could see into the room through the window if you had the curtains open.

Te room was a decent size and had a queen bed with purple sort of cover on it. The sheets underneath were white cotton and I inspected the pillows and they were spongy and clean with white cotton pillow cases. The bed was actually very comfortable we found and we both slept well.

We had a couple of arm chairs and a small table near the window and a bedside table each side of the bed with a light each side too which was handy as I do like to read before I fall asleep. There was so much furniture crammed into the room ad it was all slightly dated. The TV was an older style one in a big wooden unit and next to that was a desk and chair.

We had a fridge and microwave both worked although again looked slightly as though they had seen better days. There was the usual coffee maker on a shelf at the back of the room where the bathroom basin was located. This area also had the hanging space, the iron and board and a suitcase folding stand. The hair dryer was fixed on the wall next to the coffee maker.

We had coffee and tea stuff and soap and shampoo left for us to use but once again I had to get out our travel kettle as tea in a coffee maker doesn’t work as far as I am concerned.

The bathroom had a bath tub and shower over that and a toilet and all was spotlessly clean but again looked a little dated. The tiles on the wall were a pale green and the bath a sort of creamy colour and there was a gold coloured shower curtain. However we had nice hot water and everything worked as it should so although it looked less than new it was clean and did the job so we can’t really complain.

We went down to the bar to see what was on offer in Happy hour and enjoyed a couple of cheap drinks each. The bar area was pretty crowded and quite a few people were enjoying the food as well. We had eaten a huge lunch so really didn’t need anything else so we had the drinks and then went back to read and have an early night.

From the bar we could see the deck with the BBQ and chairs and tables for when it was warmer. The pool looked very nice too but far too cold for me to even think about swimming in there. The bar staff were busy and efficient but we didn’t really strike up any conversation as they were too busy serving people.

Breakfast the next morning was the usual help yourself and on offer was tea and coffee, fruit juices and fresh apples or bananas. There was nothing cooked except for a waffle machine and toasted stuff but that didn’t worry me as I am not a cooked breakfast sort of person. I found yogurts and toasted English muffins did me fine. It was the normal throw all your cutlery and plates etc away which seems to be the norm in hotels in the USA so we have to go along with it.

The television plays constantly and people come and go but the system works and as it is part of the nightly rate it does represent good value and saves running around finding breakfast somewhere else on the way.

When we checked out I noticed there was a book shelf with books, pay 50c and help yourself nut as we had a huge pile with us I didn’t look to see what was there. The man who checked us out was very friendly and asked us where we were going next and if everything had been okay for us.

Although this was not luxurious in any way the room was clean and the bed comfortable. Happy Hour was great value and all the staff we came into contact with were friendly and efficient so really for the price we paid I can’t complain.