I've stayed at Lodge Keeper in Chesterfield, MI more times than I can count -- checking in at 4am,…read more6am, 7am, 10am -- and every time, I was given a standard overnight stay with an 11:00 AM checkout the next day. That's how hotels work. That's what you pay for.
But this time, I checked in at 6:30 AM and was told -- for the first time ever -- that I had to check out by 3:00 PM the same day, unless I paid an extra $20 fee. I tried to explain to the front desk guy something wasn't right, but due to a language barrier he just said he'd let the manager know.
When I went to speak with the manager later that afternoon, she gave me a nonsense excuse about it being "busier than usual" -- meanwhile, the parking lot was almost empty. I've stayed here dozens of times. I know when it's busy. She clearly just made that up to justify the upcharge.
Then she said I could stay until 11am if I paid $20. I reminded her of my long history of using this place and how I'd never once been told this before, and she immediately cut me off, got rude, and acted like she was doing me a favor.
I explained that I had been working for four days straight with no sleep, and I finally came here to rest -- but I couldn't even do that because one of the other guests was working on a car outside with loud tools. I wasn't trying to throw him under the bus -- I was just explaining why I needed rest. And instead of showing any compassion, she said:
"Oh good, I've been looking for a reason to kick him out. I'm definitely going to say something to him now."
That told me everything I needed to know about how she runs this place: power trip over professionalism.
When I told her I'd be leaving a review, she followed me out of the building and cussed me out, yelling:
"Take your fing $20 and get the f out of here!"
That's just the staff behavior -- let's talk about the condition of the rooms:
* The bathroom ceiling has a huge exposed hole where the fan should be. You can literally see fiberglass, wood framing, pipes, wires, and wide open space for pests to come through.
* There's no fan, no cover -- just an open access hole that looks like a health hazard.
* The light doesn't even stay on for more than 5 seconds because the timer or wiring is busted.
* The Wi-Fi barely ever works -- it's hit or miss every time.
* I've checked into rooms where the TV isn't hooked up at all.
* I've stayed in rooms where the bed frame was completely broken, tilted at an angle, with springs collapsed -- impossible to sleep on.
* The whole setup is barely subpar -- it's not even functional, let alone worth what you pay.
You're not paying for "basic accommodations" -- you're paying for broken-down, dirty, borderline unsafe conditions with staff who treat you like garbage when you raise concerns.
This bathroom issue was actually raised with staff months ago during a previous stay. I was told "someone's on it." Clearly, nothing has been fixed -- not even the light timer, which still shuts off after about 10 seconds.
This place needs to be investigated -- not just for scamming loyal customers, but for the health violations, infrastructure issues, and unprofessional, threatening behavior by management.
I'm filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau, the Michigan Attorney General, Chesterfield Code Enforcement, and the Health Department. I recommend others do the same especially upon mistreatment.
Lodge Keeper deserves to be held accountable. Enough is enough.
Lodge Keeper: I expect you'll try to leave a professional-sounding response here -- but we both know that won't erase what actually happened. I stand by every word and If necessary, I will pursue every appropriate course of action to ensure this kind of mistreatment is at least addressed.
