The Boulder Broker

Last Choice in Boulder! From our stay on 27 June2021 How does one begin...? First, the positive: Rodeway Inn Boulder - Broker has one of the most comfortable beds I have slept on from about any hotel that I have experienced. A wonderful night's sleep! Now, the downside. I have stayed at Choice Hotels before, and the experience has always been positive. Not this time. Not even close. The warning signs appeared the moment we approached the threshold. Pothole in the parking lot marked the entrance to the property. The building décor had not had any investment in being updated or maintained in some time, but the issue was the cleanliness of the interior, in that the carpet was very filthy and had not been properly cleaned except by a tired under-powered vacuum cleaner. There was only one Host at the desk checking in two guests, while a third separate guest was spouting to him an incessant flow of loud profanities about a basketball game and other personal issues in the presence of my wife and child. Asking him to mind his language around my family, he makes a feeble argument that my child has 'probably' heard worse on Youtube, all the while the Host is acting oblivious to everything around him and ignoring us entirely. Saying, "I'll catch you later.." (!) to the foul-mouthed 'guest' who proceeds to leave, the Host finally checks us in. No attempt at apology for the "guest", much less acknowledgement of the incident...! Proceeding to our room, the carpet in the hallway is as dirty as the lobby. The room was even worse, with stains on the wall and ceiling(!), holes in the wall from removed fixtures and decorations. Dust was apparent on the ceiling texture, and the air-conditioner vent was so dirty that we were concerned enough not to turn it on. The bathroom, while "clean", looked like something from the aftermath of a fraternity party with patchwork repairs to damage and fixture replacement. Cigarette fumes, while not overpowering, were present in the room. Furniture was frayed and worn, the outlets were loose in the mounts, the carpet (again) was so obviously dirty that we wore socks until it was time to get into bed. The coffee maker in the room had not been cleaned in sometime, so we declined to use it. Being already 9:00 PM+, we were too road weary to decline the room and search another hotel, so we made the best of it. The next morning, the complimentary "Grab & Go Breakfast Bag" consisted of a single muffin in a plastic wrapper. No juice, milk, coffee, or any additional item. The swing shift Host was quite ambivalent about the set-up and disinterested in addressing our inquiry regarding the advertising of the breakfast bag. Another guest was checking out the same time as we were and noted that their room was not the upgraded/renovated room that they had requested and were 'guaranteed' in their reservation. The morning Host replied, "oh, none of our rooms have been renovated..." - this was symptomatic of our entire experience. But the bed was comfortable.

Former Glory Not Enough Recently, we had the misfortune to stay at the Rodeway Inn and Suites in Boulder, Colorado for 3 nights. Although this Rodeway is on the lower tier of Choice Hotels, at one time it had been the Boulder Broker Inn, a place that catered to the University of Colorado community, and had a decent lunch buffet. If you are checking boxes, it did have a working refrigerator, TV, and coffee maker in the room. The beds were adequate and the sheets were clean. The shower and toilet worked. There were other boxes that remain unchecked. The Internet in the room was spotty and some got it and some did not. A call to the desk for help resulted in the clerk coming up to our room to show us on his laptop that the internet did work. (No offer of assistance of getting it to work on our devices, though.) The hotel was advertised as having a continental breakfast as a grab-and-go (a reasonable pandemic solution). There was no continental breakfast in any form on any day we stayed. The clerk at the desk was friendly when we checked in, but her subsequent replacements were indifferent, unhelpful, and inhospitable. The rooms were stuffy as the windows did not open and the room A/C also seemed indifferent and unhelpful in bringing in any fresh air. We finally had had enough and checked out early to another hotel. We were unable to get a copy of our folio at the desk. A promise to e-mail it to us went unfulfilled, and we had to call Choice customer service to retrieve the points we had surrendered for the remaining days. We have been Choice members for 10 years and have come to expect certain minimums from this chain, even in the lower tier. This hotel is a sad and unwelcoming place, management apparently disinterested in trying to restore any past glory, and disinterested in ensuring staff know they are in the hospitality business.

Terrible Smell Do NOT stay here. The entire hotel stinks and is dirty. There was trash under one of our beds from a previous occupant. The hallways smell like an ashtray and it seeps into your room. The decor is from a 1970’s yard sale. The elevator has a different terrible smell and the floor was always sticky. This place is a total dump. The ac unit is also old and turns off and on every 2 minutes. I wore my covid mask with hand sanitizer on it just us a to try and nullify the smell of the hotel. I would not return if it was for free.

Good, bad, ugly I struggled between a 2 and a 3 rating. Look, we knew we were getting a discount hotel, and that it was a little dated. Here’s the good, bad and ugly: Good: Bed was comfortable and clean. Great AC, fridge, microwave, coffee maker. Plenty of clean towels, water pressure and toiletries. Breakfast was pretty decent. Front desk responsive and flexible for issues brought to their attention. Close to the University. It’s kind of historical. Bad: This place is desperate for a renovation. It smells old, and the hallways smell like the aftermath of a frat party. Lots of things didn’t work or need repair. It was the weekend of student check in. Traffic was horrible, and students drive FAST! Ugly: My husband checked in the day before I did - and reported the bathroom had a strong urine scent. Housekeeping was very responsive and did a deep clean, plus put up a new shower curtain which solved the problem. So, we got a good nights sleep, showers and breakfast. On we go.

Haunted...avoid!! Avoid!! Stayed one night and all I can say is that this place is haunted. First the tv turns itself on, then during the night I had a ghost in my room. Didn’t sleep all night (obviously)! Never believed in this stuff, but now I have to. There is nothing in this hotel that is worth this bad experience...unless you’re a ghost hunter. Would never ever go back here.