South Bend, Indiana - SBN / DoubleTree by Hilton

September 2013, Weekday - Weekend, King guestroom #742

Status perks and check-in

Before my arrival, I was not sure what kind of room I was going to receive at this DoubleTree. I had originally planned to stay at this hotel for only one night, and when I changed my stay to two nights, I noticed that my original confirmation email had been for an executive room, even though the reservation details on the Hilton site were for a standard guestroom. I would not have booked an executive floor room, unless the cost was the same. My assumption, is that the confirmation email was somehow incorrect. At any rate, I had printed a copy of it before my arrival, just in case I did not receive a good quality guestroom.

HHonors room on the executive floor

At check-in, the agent assigned me a corner guestroom, which is slightly larger than a regular guestroom. I received access to the executive lounge, although the guestroom I received is not on the executive floor. The agent knew that I preferred a higher floor room in a quiet area. The HHonors floor at this hotel is on the 3rd floor, which is also where the executive lounge is located. Usually, the executive floors are on the top floors at hotels, although this is the second hotel I have stayed in recently, that has the priority floor and lounge on a lower floor. The other hotel was a new Marriott, and this hotel had been recently remodeled. This made me wonder if this is a new hotel trend. I also received a breakfast coupon for Saturday morning since the executive lounge was not open that day. Unfortunately, I left before breakfast, so I was not able to use the coupon.

view from guestroom

Guestroom 742

This spacious guestroom is located on the 7th floor at the end of the hall. It has large windows on two sides, and there is a decent view of the river. This hotel has 9 floors; however, the front desk agent had told me that this was the highest available corner guestroom. 

The bathroom was located across from the guestroom entrance. The bathing area contained a large walk-in shower, and the toilet. The vanity was located outside of the bathing area, across from a closet with mirrored doors. Bath amenities and a hairdryer were provided in the vanity area. The towels were good quality.

The closet contained a large safe, several hangers, a folding luggage rack, and an iron and ironing board. There was not a bathrobe in this guestroom; however, the front desk agent had told me I could get one when I asked about this during check-in. I called after I got settled in, and an employee delivered a plush robe within 10 minutes.

A full length mirror was mounted on the wall in the entry/hallway area between the guestroom door and the bedroom area. 

The bedroom area contained a flatscreen TV on an armoire, a good size desk with chair, a soft chair, footstool, end table, lamps, a king size bed, and nightstands with a telephone and lighted alarm clock. 

A telephone, ice bucket, two glass glasses, and two bottles of water were on the desk. The water must have been complimentary. There was no price on the water, and I was not charged after I drank the two bottles and they were replaced on stayover. A double single-serve coffee machine with supplies was on the armoire, and a small fridge was located inside the armoire. Lamps and electrical outlets were positioned at the head of the bed. 

desk chair

The guestroom was comfortable, and great for working. The bed was superb--silky soft sheets and super comfy mattress and pillows. The room was well soundproofed, and I did not hear hardly any noise from outside the guestroom. 

guestroom diagram

The desk chair was quite dirty/dusty, and I needed to wipe it off. The dust was thick enough that I noticed it before I sat down without specifically looking for it. Other than that, the guestroom was clean and well maintained. The HVAC unit ran quietly, and it could also be turned off, if desired. 

Transtar Flatbread

Food & Beverage

I had the Transtar Baker's Flatbread from room service one evening. The flavor was excellent, and the service was very fast. In fact, my food arrived a couple of minutes before I expected it. The photo looks kind of pizza; however, this food item did not taste like pizza to me. Probably because it had been prepared with better quality ingredients, and the crust was thin.

Executive lounge

Chicken tenders, a few fresh veggies, and cheese and crackers were served the first evening of my stay. The lounge host offered a complimentary glass of wine or beer. It looked like there were charge slips out for the beverages, so I am not sure if only the first one was on the house. I should have asked what brand of wine was served, because it was very good. I did not think the food served in the lounge was very good. The lounge was closed the second night of my stay.

Scrambled eggs, cold cereal, oatmeal, coffee, tea, milk, and juices were served for breakfast the next morning. I do not recall what type of breads or pastries were available.

Fitness center

This hotel has a fabulous fitness center. There must have been 10 or more cardio machines with cardio theater, and a good number of weight machines too. Additionally, there were hand weights, exercise benches and balls, towels, sani-wipes, and a water cooler.

lobby view from the 7th floor
facing Washington St

Misc. and shuttle
This hotel has a spacious open lobby area. Starbucks and 1st Source Bank are located within the hotel at the street level. Covered parking is adjacent to the hotel and the cost was $9 a night. The hotel is located on the edge of a 2 to 4 block area with dining and businesses. I did not think the area looked very safe heading northwest of the hotel, and the shuttle driver said as much when he picked me up at the airport.

The shuttle ride to the airport took about 10 minutes. 

I had a great stay at this hotel, and I would definitely choose it again.

South Bend - Mishawaka, Indiana / Residence Inn

September 2013, Weekday, 2-nights, King studio #407

Status perks and check-in

The front desk agent provided friendly assistance, and she recognized my status. I arrived at this Residence Inn before check-in time, and she said that was okay, because she had just set my room aside. Other than the standard Platinum perk of a gift shop amenity or extra points, I did not receive a room upgrade or any additional perks.

Guestroom

I was glad I had left my luggage in the car, because when I arrived at the guestroom, neither of the keys worked, and I had to return to the font desk. Guestroom 407 is by the elevator, and the elevator was quite noisy, so when I told the agent my keys did not work, I said that if a room was available farther away from the elevator, I would rather have that. She said that the only other room available on the top floor was a feather-free room. She assured me that the guestrooms are well soundproofed, so she recoded my key, and I returned to the guestroom.

The guestroom looked fabulous; however, it had a strong musty damp odor. I was surprised by the odor, because the guestroom looked like it had been recently remodeled.

The bedding looked clean, and I did not see any visible mold, so I opened the windows, turned on the fans, and went to retrieve my luggage. Every time I reentered the guestroom, the damp smell was overpowering. Because of this, I refigured my schedule, checked my next hotel options, and then departed from this hotel a day early. I had originally planned to stay for three nights.

The kitchen area included a full size fridge, dishwasher, sink, stovetop, microwave, full size coffee pot with supplies, microwave popcorn, and cupboards with dishes. A table with two chairs, and a desk and chair, were located between the kitchen and living area. An ethernet connection and cord were on the desk, along with a telephone and lamp.

The living area contained a sofa, coffee table, footstool, soft chair, and lamp. A flatscreen TV on a swivel stand was located on an armoire between the living and sleeping area.

view from window by bed

The bedroom area contained a king size bed, and nightstands with a telephone and lighted alarm clock. Lamps and electrical outlets were positioned at the head of the bed. The window in the bedroom could be opened, and there was a soothing fountain  at the neighboring property outside the window.

bathtub wall

The bathing area contained a tub/shower combination with a shower curtain on a curved rod. Although I did not see any obvious mold in the guestroom, the walls in the tub area looked like they were always wet. I wondered if a lot of damp or moldy areas had just been covered over during the remodel, instead of being replaced.

The vanity was located outside the bathing area, across from a closet. Bath amenities were on the vanity, and a hairdryer was mounted on the wall.

guestroom disgram

The front desk agent was correct about the noise. I did not hear any noise from inside the guestroom, and the elevator was definitely a noisy one! I probably would have slept well in this hotel, and I would have stayed longer, had it not been for the damp smell.

Food & Beverage

Brats were served at the evening reception one night. Other items included romaine lettuce (no salad toppings except sunflower seeds), chips, cookies, and a frozen dessert pie. Beverages included wine (the red wine was quite sweet), draft beer, cans of soda, and milk.

Baked potatoes with toppings were served the second night--sweet potatoes, and white Idaho potatoes. Romaine lettuce was out again, with no salad toppings except the sunflower seeds and dressings.

Breakfast in the mornings included scrambled eggs, turkey Canadian bacon, potato cakes, parfaits, yogurt, milk, juices, waffle maker, cold cereal, oatmeal, apples and bananas.

Business center

I printed a couple of documents at the printer near the front desk and eating area. I thought it was odd that I was not able to print a reservation confirmation from my email for a competitor hotel. When I tried to do this from my email, I received a message that said, "unauthorized cell." I then saved the document to a PDF for printing, and received the same message (the hotel name automatically saved for the file name). After this, I saved it as a PDF, and renamed it "res," and then I was able to print it.

Fitness center
There were three or more working cardio machines with cardio theater in the fitness center. I did not have a problem getting an available machine anytime that I visited. The room also contained a flatscreen TV with remote, hand weights, a water cooler, towels, and sani-wipes.

Misc.
When I left this hotel my last morning, I observed an employee dumping a large wheeled bucket of water in the parking lot, which I thought was kind of odd. The employee was someone I had seen the day before, who appeared to be the manager (or similar) and not housekeeping. When I walked by, I could smell a strong musty damp odor, like the smell in the guestroom.

There are several dining choices near this hotel. I would not recommend Houlihan's across the street. In my home state, we have a Houlihan's in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is fabulous. I have dined there several times, and the food and service at that restaurant have always been excellent, even when it is busy.

The Ahi Tuna salad that I had at the Mishawaka Houlihan's was bland, and the service was terrible. It was over 90 degrees the day that I dined there at the end of the lunch hour (after 1 p.m.). The restaurant appeared to have been busy before my arrival; however, it started to empty out about the time I arrived. After being seated, I was not greeted for 5 minutes, and I did not receive any water for several minutes after this, even though I requested it right away. I waited a long time for my food (unfortunately, I forgot to time this part), and then I had to get up to request silverware and a napkin. My water glass was never refilled, even though it was empty before the end of my meal, and my server did not checkback with me during the meal.