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Country Inns & Suites By Carlson – reviews, photos

2.5 of 5
8311 Ohio Street, Merrillville, IN 46410
Hotel amenities
Country Inns & Suites By Carlson
Country Inns & Suites By Carlson
Country Inns & Suites By Carlson
Country Inns & Suites By Carlson
Country Inns & Suites By Carlson
Country Inns & Suites By Carlson
Ranked #7 of 21 hotels in Merrillville
3.5 of 5 stars 15 Reviews
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15 reviews from our community

    Trip type
Traveller rating
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Date Rating
Indiana
Contributor
16 reviews 16 reviews
Reviews in 12 cities Reviews in 12 cities
13 helpful votes 13 helpful votes
“STAY AWAY - Poor Amenities and Dishonest "Service"”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 25 July 2007

My brother and now sister-in-law chose this hotel for the weekend of their wedding for both their bridal party and relatives as it was relatively new and a seemingly nice facility. When I arrived with my wife and 2 children on Friday afternoon, we were hoping to use the swimming pool until the rehearsal that evening, but as we walked by the pool an employee informed us it was not available due to some sort of electrical heating issues. When we inquired at the front desk later when it might be repaired, they stated that it should be fixed by that evening.

We then proceeded to our room which seemed rather warm. We adjusted the thermostat and waited 45 minutes to notice that the room had only gotten warmer to 83 degrees. We called the desk and after various questioning of us, the young man decided to come up and check it for himself to discover that it probably was not working. He offered us another room and a $10 discount for the inconvenience, which seemed fine at the time until we found our new room also did not cool down much below the mid-70s at best but were willing to deal with it to get through the weekend.

The next morning we awoke to find that we (and seemingly everyone else with whom we spoke) had no hot water to shower. We confronting the front desk, they stated that it would be resolved by the afternoon. It was related to the pool issue, which still was not working. We left for the wedding assuming it would be resolved for our next morning showers and maybe let the kids swim before we left.

However, we once again awoke to no hot water. My father, who had booked the rooms for our side of the family, asked the front desk employees and then the on-duty manager about what compensation would be made due to our troubled stay. The manager shared that she could only offer $30 off for each his and the newlyweds' room, to which he was not satisfied and I believe continues to be discussing with the company.

What I found perhaps the worst of all about this was their dishonestly in not being up front with their problems with the new customers we saw checking in (whom my father warned when he noticed the desk staff shared no information) in addition to those who had experienced such a poor stay. To consistently tell us it would be resolved and then not fulfill their statement and then essentially offer a very meager compensation does not strike me as a business putting the comfort of their customers first in hopes of return business.

The only exception to the entire miserable stay was the decent breakfast area. Batter to make your own waffles using their 2 irons as well as an assortment of various breakfast pastries and beverages were available. A kind female employee worked hard to consistently restock the food in addition trying to clean the area due to some kids from a travelling team that were rather messy.

  • Liked — Breakfast
  • Disliked — No hot water, warm rooms, out-of-order pool, dishonest and unproviding service
  • Stayed June 2007, travelled with family
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 2 of 5 stars Location
    • 1 of 5 stars Check-in / front desk
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
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Ask Jason_W_in_Indiana about Country Inns & Suites By Carlson
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Sanjay Patel, Owner at Country Inns & Suites By Carlson, responded to this review
27 January 2008
Jason,

I am very sorry you had a horrible experience at the Country Inn & Suites Merrilliville. What happened during your stay was not acceptable. I can assure you every measure has been taken to minimize this ever happening again. I have also brought in a new management team to my hotel. I hope you will give Country Inn & Suites another chance in the future. Thank you once again for choosing us.

Sanjay Patel
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Chicago
Contributor
20 reviews 20 reviews
Reviews in 16 cities Reviews in 16 cities
31 helpful votes 31 helpful votes
“Nice Hotel”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 10 July 2007

This newer hotel is very close to the expressway and near a huge shopping Mall. The staff was very nice, the pool (perfect temp) and hot tub area clean. The breakfast in the morning gave you cook your own waffles, yogurt, cereals, bagels, tiny breakfast sandwiches, OJ and apple juice. We stayed here because we wanted to go to the Deep River Water park and this hotel gives you FREE tickets ($18.95 each) with an overnight stay. The room was $129 so we felt that was a good deal.

One negative is that it's described a smoke free hotel but when we walked into our room, we got hit in the face with smoke. The front desk was nice enough to move us to another room and I know they can't patrol that....but the cleaning folks can at least spray the room with something to get rid of it.

The only other negative is that they don't have any fresh fruit available for breakfast. Some bananas or apples would have been a nice add on.

Otherwise we'd stay there again and recommend it to others.

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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Indiana
Senior Reviewer
6 reviews 6 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
12 helpful votes 12 helpful votes
“big disappointment”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 8 June 2007
2
people found this review helpful

We booked a block of rooms for our son's wedding at the Country Inn & Suites in Merrillville, Indiana. The family gathered together for what we thought would be a lovely wedding and great times around the pool / hot tub sharing memories. Imagine our surprise when we found out that the pool and hot tub were closed - but should be re-opened soon. Did not happen. No mention was made of the fact that there was a problem with the hot water heater for the entire building that effected not only the pool area but the guest rooms as well. No hot showers for guests Friday, Saturday or Sunday . Our son had booked a jacuzzi room for his wedding night ....obviously not the perfect setting for the start of his honeymoon or the experience we all had hoped for on this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Despite our tight wedding schedule, we would have researched alternate accommodations had we been told of the problems at this facility prior to our registration. Guests should be able to expect the basics: a clean room, comfortable bed, and hot shower. The recreation area was an added plus for our grandchildren who were very disappointed that their mini-vacation was ruined. When we expressed our displeasure and requested compensation for these shortcomings, we were offered $10.00 off per room (not for each night). That was inadequate considering the inconvenience and disappointment we experienced. Their final offer was a total of $30.00 credit for our 2 guest room rooms ($15.00 off per night) and a $50.00 credit for our son's honeymoon suite.

On the positive side, it is a newer building and was clean and nicely furnished. The complementary breakfast was well stocked with a variety of breakfast offerings and the attendant on duty was friendly and eager to please. Unfortunately this could not override the shortcomings of the facility and its management.

  • Liked — clean with nice breakfast bar offerings
  • Disliked — no hot water or use of pool / hot tub
  • Stayed June 2007, travelled on business
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Check-in / front desk
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
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Ask klwIndiana about Country Inns & Suites By Carlson
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Sanjay Patel, Owner at Country Inns & Suites By Carlson, responded to this review
27 January 2008
klwIndiana,

I believe this could be the same wedding party as in the July 25th review. I would like to apologize to you also. Since the occurance,
the management at the time is no longer working for my hotel. I have personally seen to it that everything was fixed under my supervision. I hope you also would give Country Inn & Suites another opportunity
to serve you.

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Additional Information about Country Inns & Suites By Carlson

  • Country Inn Merrillville
  • Merrillville Country Inn
Address: 8311 Ohio Street, Merrillville, IN 46410
Price range (per night):* INR5,796 - 7,189

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