Quote: Days Hotel La Crosse

This was another hotel I booked prior to leaving the UK as we knew we were heading towards La Crosse as it was on the Great River Road and looked like an interesting sort of town to stop and take a bit of a look around.

This was a hotel not a motel and NOT part of the Days Inn chain. The hotel was on an island in the Mississippi that was connected to the mainland by a causeway. From the outside it was fairly ugly as a low square building with windows where the rooms were.

The front entrance was a little more welcoming but we sort of approached it from the rear and drove around. The front entrance had two painted water bird statues outside which were obviously a feature in La Crosse as we had seen a couple while driving around the city.

I went in to check in and this was done without a problem. A very helpful young man explained where our room was and where we could park to get there more easily though a side door using our room key card. He also told me about the pool and laundry, the Happy Hour, the restaurant and where we could have breakfast as well as the times breakfast was served.

THE ROOM
This was quite dark until I opened the curtains. There was no fridge so we just put our drinks near the air conditioner and that kept them and the fruit nice and cool. We had two double beds with fairly hideous bed covers. In fact the whole room looked a bit tired to be honest. Between the two beds was one bedside table and a shared light. This had the problem of switching it on did one light, turn again and you get both lights on, turn again and they both go off. This meant if I read and wanted to turn the light off I had to turn both on first!

The decor looked as though it was in need of a bit of attention, the wall paper was dated and the carpet very dark although it was all clean and the beds were both comfortable and the sheets nice and freshly laundered cotton.

There was a TV but old style big and boxy and this sat on a unit with a set of drawers. There was an area to hang clothes but it was not huge. Just near that area was a shelf with the coffee maker on it and the ice bucket and a good sized window.

The bathroom was a reasonable size and clean but once again it had seen better days. We had a bath and shower over it. There were plenty of clean white towels, not fluffy but okay and we also had shampoo and soap and even a mouth wash left for our use. There was plenty of hot water and I enjoyed a relaxing bath.

HEROES BAR
We headed down to the bar area to see what they were offering. We ordered drinks and looked at the menu. The food was reasonable, not exciting but okay. We ordered some mini burgers, mine was cat fish and very tasty, they came with salad and were all we needed. Service was pleasant and helpful as well as friendly and efficient.

The bar and restaurant was decorated as a sports bar and TVs around all showed different sports playing but with music on in the background as well. The bar also had displays of heroes such as veterans from wars, firemen and other people who served the nation in risky jobs. It was all very interesting to look at and read as I found out a lot about the local people from all the displays.

BREAKFAST
This is where this hotel got top marks from us both. My husband was delighted to find biscuits and gravy,for those who don't know this is typical southern USA fare. The biscuits are a bit like savoury scones and the gravy is a white sauce with bacon and cheese. I can't say I get excited by them but he was pleased. I enjoyed my yogurt and there was fruit as well as muffins and all the usual stuff. The thing that I was most impressed with was that they used proper crockery and cutlery rather than disposable stuff. The food seemed more cooked on site and I was so pleased to see that they were not using piles of disposable stuff as it really is such a waste creator.

OTHER STUFF

There was a nice sized heated indoor pool just near the lobby. The lobby area was a decent size and had a few seats should you need to wait a while. Around the different corridors there were vending machines with snacks and drinks should you need anything else. There was a laundry for guest use with coin operated machines but we didn't use them.

WOULD I RECOMMEND?
Yes although the decor was a bit dated and it was in need of a bit of an update, everything was really clean and the effort made by the staff to ensure that all was okay for guests was over and above. Both check in and check out was speedy and efficient and I had no complaints at all about any of the food or drink we had while there.


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