First, let's start with the good. Overall, this is exactly the kind of hotel that I generally love. The staff was incredibly nice and friendly -- among the best I've seen at the hotels I've stayed at recently. They really made us feel right at home. The breakfast was absolutely delicious. The rooms were clean, comfortable, and quiet. I asked for a quiet room and I got it. The location was great for easily accessing Bloomington, and despite being very close to the airport, I didn't get any airport noise, at least on my side of the hotel. I didn't use the pool or the fitness center, but both looked great. I've stayed at this hotel before, and was happy to be back.

Given all that they are doing well, it's hard to understand exactly what's gone wrong with the airport shuttle and the management's (lack of) response to my concerns. One thing to know, first: if you put the address of the hotel (2403 E Empire St., Bloomington, IL 61704) and the Central Illinois Airport (BMI) into google maps, you'll see that they are literally a 1.5 mile, three (3!) minute drive apart. All one has to do to get from the hotel to the airport is to drive down the same road the hotel is on, and take a right onto the airport's main road. Given this, you think it be pretty easy for this airport hotel -- which lists "shuttle service" on its website (I'll attempt to upload a screenshot) -- to operate a shuttle. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

When making the reservation, we asked about shuttle service, because my co-worker was flying into BMI. I was driving from Chicago, and would not need the shuttle. At the time we made the reservation, which was to arrive on a Wednesday and leave on a Friday, we were told that, yes there was shuttle service, but one had to request the shuttle 48 hours in advance. I should have recognized that as the first red flag right there. I've never heard of a hotel requiring 48 hours advance notice for a shuttle -- particularly from an airport hotel that's three minutes away from the airport.

So I call on Monday, in advance of my co-worker's Wednesday arrival, to request the shuttle. The person at the front desk says, "Oh, so sorry -- our shuttle is actually broken, it didn't start this morning. But you can talk to a manager about a taxi." The manager wasn't in, so I made a note to call back the next day.

I call on Tuesday, and the person who answers the phone is surprised to hear the shuttle is broken, "as far as I know it's working fine," and says she would be happy to take my request to for my co-worker to be picked up the airport, but that it's now only 24 hours away, and therefore too late to reserve. I explain that I had called yesterday, and it wasn't an option to reserve yesterday, so it would be great if we could reserve today. She says ok, and adds my co-worker to the list. I also say, "My co-worker is going to be flying out on Friday, so if you could put her down now for a Friday morning 6 a.m. shuttle, that would be great." She says she will.

On Wednesday, I arrive at the hotel in the evening, and upon checking in ask if my co-worker has arrived. The person checking me in says, "Yes, we called a taxi for her -- she's at the airport now." I complete my check in process, and I am unloading my car when the front desk staffer comes out to the parking lot to tell me that my co-worker's taxi has not shown up -- could I pick her up. I said, "Yes, absolutely," and drive over to the airport. My co-worker had been waiting for 25+ minutes for the taxi-- I drive her to the hotel.

On Thursday morning, the first morning of our two-day stay, my co-worker's room phone rings at 6 a.m. sharp, waking her up. It's the front desk calling to tell my co-worker that her taxi is here to take her to the airport. She says, "Oh, no, I'm not checking out until tomorrow." My co-worker says the front desk, rather than apologizing, is actually insistent that she is checking out today. She ends the call by telling them they should call me for clarification, and, luckily, is able to fall back to sleep. Fortunately, the front desk chose not to wake me up as well.

Finally, on Friday, the day we were scheduled to leave, my co-worker goes to the front lobby at 6 a.m. and is driven over in a taxi. Now, I've regularly stayed at airport hotels that have their own shuttle service, but occasionally use taxis to supplement their shuttle service because it's cheaper than having a driver at all times*. But in all of those cases, the hotel covers the cost of the taxi. I had assumed that was the case here, and also guessed that that was part of the reason the taxi was so slow to come on Tuesday night. A hotel may pay a reduced rate, and the taxi just isn't that motivated given the short distance to the hotel.

[*One minor note here: there are some hotels that list shuttle service as being from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. and that one would have to pay for a taxi if one needed to go to the airport between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. That was not the case here -- no one at the hotel indicated the shuttle had limited hours, or that if it did, that 6 a.m. would be an unacceptable time to leave.]

I should have known better than to assume the hotel would pay for the taxi, given everything I had experienced so far, that this hotel would operate the same way as others. So at the end of her taxi ride, my co-worker was told the fare was $8, and she gave him $2 tip, a total of $10.

When she submitted the receipts to me for reimbursement, I was surprised to see the taxi fare included, and called the hotel. I was given the voicemail of the manager, and left him a message, saying that I was expecting the taxi to be covered, and asking for $10 to be reimbursed to my credit card. Given that our stay cost over $400, and I'm a repeat customer, this was a pretty minor amount given all that we had been through that week.

I waited three days, and when I did not receive a return call, I called again. This time the person who answered the phone asked my name, and I could hear him telling the manager my name. They elected to have my call routed to voicemail. I left another message.

Yesterday, I called again, and was told he was "in a meeting." I left a third and final message, politely saying, "I would appreciate the courtesy of a call back." No call. And no credit on my credit card either.

At this point, I'm a bit hurt and insulted at the lack of a return phone call (even if it was just to say, "sorry, we can't reimburse you.") So I go online to see if others on TripAdvisor have had similar experiences. I was shocked to see the management responding to reviews. They can't find the time to return my phone call, but have time to write here?

Given how much I liked other aspects of this hotel, I reluctantly write this negative review. But I've very much appreciated TripAdvisor's reviews when making travel plans, so the rest of you should be aware: I do NOT recommend staying in this hotel if you are flying into the BMI airport, and aren't planning on renting a car. There is no airport shuttle, and the taxis may or may not arrive to pick you up. :-(