I am a young professional and had just been offered a job in Saskatoon and needed to scout out accommodations in advance of the start date. I had stayed at a Country Inn before in Calgary, and was impressed, so I decided to try the Country Inn in Saskatoon.

Problems began as soon as I attempted to check-in. Normally this process should take five minutes at the most. I requested to pay for my room in advance and leave a cash deposit, because I knew that the authorization would exceed my credit card limit (for reasons that are entirely irrelevant). The clerk looked at me like I was a deviant. She told me she had to get the manager who was on the telephone in the other room.

I waited as the clerk proceeded to take two telephone reservations. I stood there and couldn't help but hear the manager engage in a clearly personal conversation, as evidenced by the familiar tone and the occasional bursts of laughter. When the manager finally appeared after several minutes of happy chatting, she told me I would need to pay for the room up front and leave a cash deposit. This is precisely what I wanted to do when I walked into the place a full ten minutes before. I paid for the room up front, and left a $160 cash deposit (which in my view is excessive for this class of hotel).

When I finally got to my room, it was ordinary but appeared to be clean. I spent a pleasant enough night: the windows opened for fresh air, and my room was quiet because it was located on the North of the hotel away from the very busy Circle Drive.

When I attempted to check-out the next morning, however, things deteriorated rapidly. I was fully expecting the return of my full deposit on my departure without fuss or incident, as I did not incur any incidental expenses. This was not to be. I was informed by the desk clerk that she had been instructed by the manager to "check the room" before my deposit was returned to me. I was flabbergasted. The clerk then got out from behind the front desk, and made good on her word. She left me standing alone in the lobby while she climbed the stairs to the second floor to make sure that I had not... what? Taken a towel with me for the road? Left the toilet seat up? Took an extra pouch of cheap coffee? I can't possibly imagine, given that my $160 far exceeds the combined amount of all the items in the room (e.g., cut-rate 27 inch t.v., telephone, alarm clock, some towels, and that's pretty much it). After several humiliating minutes, the clerk returned, but for some reason was still not prepared to return my deposit (maybe she had forgotten to take a key card and had been unable to obtain access to my room). The clerk then asked a chambermaid - who happened to be in the lobby at the time - to go back up and "check my room". That was the last straw. I demanded my deposit back in no uncertain terms. The clerk begrudgingly thrust the envelop of cash into my hands and shouted at my back as I left the hotel "I don't have to take this kind of treatment!".

Never again will I return to this hotel, which by the actions of the staff indicates that it is geared towards a much, much lower class of people than typically frequent Country Inn & Suites. I can honestly say I have never been treated worse by a hotel staff in my life.