Peppermill Empress Inn

We just got home from a stay here this weekend. My daughter had a softball tournament at the sports hub that lasted all through the night/early morning until 4am. I told the front desk lady to please not send room service, we were going to be at the sports hub all through the night and early morning and would need to sleep in. Well, housekeeping was knocking on our door at 10am. Waking everybody up. This hotel is extremely basic, nothing special about it. From the moment we checked in on Friday, the staff was all very rude, unhelpful and seemed unhappy about their jobs. One woman in particular always seemed to be watching my girls, looking for a reason to be rude to them. By Sunday morning, when my girls went to grab some of the very basic continental breakfast they offer, the lady was already putting it away. The Breakfast ends at 9:30, my girls got there at 9:32 and were told by this woman "Breakfast is over" as she carried off trays back to the kitchen in front of them. She was not kind, did not offer them a bagel, a cup of yogurt, nothing. There were still two gentlemen sitting in the common area eating. They were not finished, and she was in a race to put everything away. This was the final straw for me with this woman. I confronted her, she was very rude to me as well and almost proud to be so rude. I said a choice word to her in regard to her lack of hospitality and I walked off, just wanting to get out of this place. When checking out, the manager (who lacks any basic management skills whatsoever) was ready to come to the employee's defense. He did not approach me and say, "I heard you were frustrated and I would like to know what the problem is." Like a good, properly trained manager would do. He immediately began trying to reprimand me on what I had said to the rude employee, talking over me as I tried to explain how this woman was behaving. It was mind blowing watching how this "manager" chose to behave and handle the frustration of a guest. My Advice would be, DON'T STAY HERE!! Book Elsewhere. These employees are not properly trained in hospitality. They walk around like they hate their life and their job. It's a miserable place I will NEVER return to. They also, don't seem to like the softball girls, they are very rude to them. So, if you're in town for a softball tournament, please take your girls elsewhere, they are not welcoming to them.

We stayed here while heading back to Seattle. It's a little bit older hotel and the lobby and surrounding area was covered with plastic from water damage. No big issues but nothing special. The mattress was very creaky. Everything else was acceptable and in working order for a value hotel. Some items were a bit dated. The room had a Fridge and Microwave but had no breakfast. The staff was there just to check you in, nothing more, could have been more friendly. Would look for other options if in the area again.

Let’s start with plastic everywhere in the lobby because of construction. Next was the room door that would not accept key cards. Yes, they were replaced and they didn’t work either. Got 1 key to work. One hand towel and wash cloth for 3 people? One leg on a queen bed was broken, collapsed when sitting on that corner. Hot, could not open window because of freeway noise, air conditioner sounded like a vacuum cleaner, could not sleep with it on. Shower screamed when turned on, then it stopped, then it screamed again, really! What “free” breakfast?? Outside view is a huge construction site and the freeway. 3 restaurants nearby with only take out? Hotel receptionist was the one nice thing, felt sorry for her.

Renovation going on, the first floor closed and no breakfast, but there's lots to make up for that! Easy access from the highway, friendly and accommodating front desk help (thank you Jasmine!), elevator, huge rooms with a desk and chair, a table with two chairs, and a sink and mirror in the room (toilet and shower separate). Very close to Safeway, so we bought food in the deli and brought it back to the room to eat.

Hotel does not serve breakfast, despite what it says on their website!! Way too expensive for a room without breakfast in a hotel that’s under construction. That’s about all the information you need, I think.

The lower floor of the hotel had been flooded just prior to my stay. I received a small discount for this inconvenience but the free breakfast was no longer offered. Approximate value of $10 per person. I would say they were less than cooperative to accomodate for the huge inconvenience. Their commitment to cleanliness left a lot to be desired and just blamed it on the housekeeping staff instead of management taking responsibility. The air conditioner was very dirty, the coffeemaker did not work, the toilet seat was almost falling off and none of the vending machines on the ground floor were working. I would never stay here again and do not recommend it.

Several false fire alarms woke us up. No apologies, no communications with us. I left my business card and asked for a manager contact me. Never happened. Called a few minutes ago and got a kid telling he won’t pass my contact info to the manager? Seriously? Worst customer experience I’ve had ar a hotel. Don’t waste your money. It’s not worth it.

I was charged a smoking fee of $270. When we didn't smoke in the room. When I called the front desk, the manager was unavailable both times and I was repeatedly told by the lead that there was proof of smoking in the room. But could not provide the proof of smoking in the room. When the manager Derek Taylor called me back, he said "Yah I heard you have been harassing my staff pretty hard." To which I thought that was extremely unprofessional and as I proceeded to tell my side of the story. He hung up on me and then proceeded to block my phone number. This is all extremely frustrating due to the fact that we didn't smoke in the room, we didn't even smoke on the premises. It is all hearsay and when the management couldn't provide proof, shut me out of being able to discuss the matter. You can't prove what didn't happen. I'm sure they get the run around quite a bit with this policy. But when you are blamed and charged for something that you did not do, it's infuriating. Extremely unprofessional and staff was thin skinned in being confronted with a simple complaint. I was never rude or outlandish, although I was standing my ground in defending something that I didn't do.

We were heading back home and decided to spend the night. Booked King room via *********** at last minute. Total cost with taxes was 150.00. The place was clean and well kept. The person at the front desk was very helpful and courteous. We could not get into our room, unbeknownst to us after inserting the key you have to pull the handle up to enter. He said this happens quite often to guests. Only a couple things were not too good. I prefer a regular shower to a bathtub with a shower head. The bathroom had had a water leak and the base molding was starting to seperate indicating their maintenance should improve a bit. All in all a good stay and we would stay again.