My girlfriend and I are from Rapid City, but we have many friends down in Spearfish. For the weekend of July 4th, 2014, we decided to visit this little motel - it is within easy walking distance to the bars and gas stations, so we could get drunk and buy cigarettes with a short walk.
We were checked into our room by a slight Asian woman named Sunshine (who turned out to be the owner's wife), who could barely speak English in an intelligible manner, and was bouncing a young baby on her hip and yelling at a few other workers, housekeepers from the garb, in a foreign language.
She finally turned her attention to us and we were told that for two double beds it was going to cost 110 plus tax. Well, it was our fault for getting a hotel on July 5th, so we bit the bullet and ponied up 120.27 for our smoking room. Had to run out to the car to grab some more cash. Upon coming back in, she told us that she had a non-smoking double for 99 dollars, but one of the beds was busted, but we only needed one, right? We looked at her strangely and told her we'd take the room that wasn't all messed up.It was a smoking room and we'd been driving for the past hour or two, so we light up and head up to our room. It's dingy. Absolutely reeks of smoke (I know, a smoking room, but ever heard of Odo-ban?) Little flying bugs cover the walls. But it's a no-tell motel, right? We just wanted to get drunk. Whatever. Suddenly we realize, this smoking room has no ashtray. I trudge back down two flights of stairs and across a parking lot to get an ashtray.
Sunshine took five minutes to find me an ashtray. Asked her several times where the advertised hot tub was, never got an understandable answer, so I gave up.
Went back upstairs, we finished our cigarettes and left. Didn't look at the rest of the room - if I were in a generous mood, I might concede that to be my own fault.
We get back at about one, one thirty AM. Bugs have multiplied. They're swarming the little box TV the room has (we'd watched a few minutes before going out, left it on).
Going to wash my hands of some whiskey that spilled on me, I notice that there is still a bar of soap sitting in the soap dish. Then noticed that there's cigarette ash all over the sink. And bug guts smeared all over the wall. Look in the bathroom, there was used toilet paper in the trashcan, no shower curtain, a dirty towel with hair all over it hanging behind the door, and a smear where someone had put out a lit cigarette on the shower wall - not a burn, just an ash smear.
I'm very upset at this point, so I start poking around the room. I found what appeared to be bloody booger on the wall, water in the bottom of the fridge, hundreds of bug guts smeared on the walls and even on the shower wall, dead bugs in the windowsill, hair on the pillows and more. Oh, and one of the beds was wet, so we probably didn't even sleep on clean sheets.
I'm furious at this point, taking photos of everything. But it's about 2:30 in the morning and the office was dark, so I, having worked in the hotel business for about eight years now, from front desk to night audit to housekeeping, figured this wasn't an establishment to keep a nightly crew. Most big chains don't even have people to clean your room in the middle of the night - they shouldn't have to. Rooms should be clean by check in times.
We wait it out until morning, take some more photos and head down to talk to the desk. There was a woman there named Jenny, who was very pleasant, highly apologetic, acted in the manner that a Hotel Management Team Member SHOULD. Spoke to us at length, looked at our pictures, apologized profusely, that we absolutely deserved a refund... Said she needed to call Sunshine. We said okay, we're gonna go eat, just give us a call.
We came back an hour later to found out that Sunshine had JUST gotten back to Jenny and was on her way, that Jenny was about to call us. We waited ANOTHER ten minutes in the lobby, talked to Jenny for a while.
Jenny, dear, I would like to point out, you were fantastic and the best part of this whole ordeal. Thank you for your time.
Anyway, Sunshine shows up, looking livid. Speaks at us so rapidly we have to ask her to repeat herself several times. As I'm trying to show her pictures, she tried multiple times to take my phone out of my hands without asking permission.
Then this woman has THE NERVE to blame US for not calling down at 2:30 AM while completely hammered to have our rooms clean. I told her that we were completely drunk, that her check out time was in seven hours, we drove a while, and needed sleep, that the lights at the office weren't on... So, she blustered, made excuses, but then said she'd give us a refund. At last, thank you! That's all we wanted!
She pulls out twenty dollars. Tries to give it to us. I literally laughed in her face. She pulled out another five dollars. Said "This is twenny pahcen! I give you twenny pahcen, no mo!"
I told her I needed at least fifty percent on a refund or I was, for the first time in my life, actually going to take the time to go onto TripAdvisor.
She stares at me very angrily, bends down, digs around, WALKS AWAY FROM US and starts telling Jenny that she needs to type up a CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT saying I can't post anything about her hotel on TripAdvisor, or she would contact someone, I didn't hear who, I think she implied the police, and if I didn't sign it, I wouldn't get my 25 dollars back. Needless to say, that is Co-ercement, which is illegal. I told her I would pay the 120 again just to make sure her company got less business and walked out, absolutely disgusted.
Forty five minutes later, she calls us, tells us that she's offering us a voucher for one free night. But we can't use it on weekends in the summer. Or during Sturgis. Or during any other event. But, if anything shows up on Tripadvisor, then she won't honor it!
So, Sunshine, here's me telling you that you have no right to run a business and I couldn't give one single ***** less about your free voucher. This is going up on TripAdvisor, every business page like Priceline, Rip Off Report and more!!! I have never been so insulted in my life. Saying that to get my refund for your dingy little motel, I have to agree to not tell people about my experience?!
You have no people skills, no business skills, you are rude, unapologetic and pretty much the WORST hotel manager I have ever met in my life - and I've worked for a few doozies!
I would not recommend this hotel to my worst enemy.
The Crow Peak Lodge Reviews
My girlfriend and I are from Rapid City, but we have many friends down in Spearfish. For the weekend of July 4th, 2014, we decided to visit this little motel - it is within easy walking distance to the bars and gas stations, so we could get drunk and buy cigarettes with a short walk.
We were checked into our room by a slight Asian woman named Sunshine (who turned out to be the owner's wife), who could barely speak English in an intelligible manner, and was bouncing a young baby on her hip and yelling at a few other workers, housekeepers from the garb, in a foreign language.
She finally turned her attention to us and we were told that for two double beds it was going to cost 110 plus tax. Well, it was our fault for getting a hotel on July 5th, so we bit the bullet and ponied up 120.27 for our smoking room. Had to run out to the car to grab some more cash. Upon coming back in, she told us that she had a non-smoking double for 99 dollars, but one of the beds was busted, but we only needed one, right? We looked at her strangely and told her we'd take the room that wasn't all messed up.It was a smoking room and we'd been driving for the past hour or two, so we light up and head up to our room. It's dingy. Absolutely reeks of smoke (I know, a smoking room, but ever heard of Odo-ban?) Little flying bugs cover the walls. But it's a no-tell motel, right? We just wanted to get drunk. Whatever. Suddenly we realize, this smoking room has no ashtray. I trudge back down two flights of stairs and across a parking lot to get an ashtray.
Sunshine took five minutes to find me an ashtray. Asked her several times where the advertised hot tub was, never got an understandable answer, so I gave up.
Went back upstairs, we finished our cigarettes and left. Didn't look at the rest of the room - if I were in a generous mood, I might concede that to be my own fault.
We get back at about one, one thirty AM. Bugs have multiplied. They're swarming the little box TV the room has (we'd watched a few minutes before going out, left it on).
Going to wash my hands of some whiskey that spilled on me, I notice that there is still a bar of soap sitting in the soap dish. Then noticed that there's cigarette ash all over the sink. And bug guts smeared all over the wall. Look in the bathroom, there was used toilet paper in the trashcan, no shower curtain, a dirty towel with hair all over it hanging behind the door, and a smear where someone had put out a lit cigarette on the shower wall - not a burn, just an ash smear.
I'm very upset at this point, so I start poking around the room. I found what appeared to be bloody booger on the wall, water in the bottom of the fridge, hundreds of bug guts smeared on the walls and even on the shower wall, dead bugs in the windowsill, hair on the pillows and more. Oh, and one of the beds was wet, so we probably didn't even sleep on clean sheets.
I'm furious at this point, taking photos of everything. But it's about 2:30 in the morning and the office was dark, so I, having worked in the hotel business for about eight years now, from front desk to night audit to housekeeping, figured this wasn't an establishment to keep a nightly crew. Most big chains don't even have people to clean your room in the middle of the night - they shouldn't have to. Rooms should be clean by check in times.
We wait it out until morning, take some more photos and head down to talk to the desk. There was a woman there named Jenny, who was very pleasant, highly apologetic, acted in the manner that a Hotel Management Team Member SHOULD. Spoke to us at length, looked at our pictures, apologized profusely, that we absolutely deserved a refund... Said she needed to call Sunshine. We said okay, we're gonna go eat, just give us a call.
We came back an hour later to found out that Sunshine had JUST gotten back to Jenny and was on her way, that Jenny was about to call us. We waited ANOTHER ten minutes in the lobby, talked to Jenny for a while.
Jenny, dear, I would like to point out, you were fantastic and the best part of this whole ordeal. Thank you for your time.
Anyway, Sunshine shows up, looking livid. Speaks at us so rapidly we have to ask her to repeat herself several times. As I'm trying to show her pictures, she tried multiple times to take my phone out of my hands without asking permission.
Then this woman has THE NERVE to blame US for not calling down at 2:30 AM while completely hammered to have our rooms clean. I told her that we were completely drunk, that her check out time was in seven hours, we drove a while, and needed sleep, that the lights at the office weren't on... So, she blustered, made excuses, but then said she'd give us a refund. At last, thank you! That's all we wanted!
She pulls out twenty dollars. Tries to give it to us. I literally laughed in her face. She pulled out another five dollars. Said "This is twenny pahcen! I give you twenny pahcen, no mo!"
I told her I needed at least fifty percent on a refund or I was, for the first time in my life, actually going to take the time to go onto TripAdvisor.
She stares at me very angrily, bends down, digs around, WALKS AWAY FROM US and starts telling Jenny that she needs to type up a CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT saying I can't post anything about her hotel on TripAdvisor, or she would contact someone, I didn't hear who, I think she implied the police, and if I didn't sign it, I wouldn't get my 25 dollars back. Needless to say, that is Co-ercement, which is illegal. I told her I would pay the 120 again just to make sure her company got less business and walked out, absolutely disgusted.
Forty five minutes later, she calls us, tells us that she's offering us a voucher for one free night. But we can't use it on weekends in the summer. Or during Sturgis. Or during any other event. But, if anything shows up on Tripadvisor, then she won't honor it!
So, Sunshine, here's me telling you that you have no right to run a business and I couldn't give one single ***** less about your free voucher. This is going up on TripAdvisor, every business page like Priceline, Rip Off Report and more!!! I have never been so insulted in my life. Saying that to get my refund for your dingy little motel, I have to agree to not tell people about my experience?!
You have no people skills, no business skills, you are rude, unapologetic and pretty much the WORST hotel manager I have ever met in my life - and I've worked for a few doozies!
I would not recommend this hotel to my worst enemy.