I stayed two nights in Room 206 during a busy tourist weekend in September 2011. My room cost $130 a night, which I thought was terribly overpriced, especially given the conditions of the hotel.

I ended up getting sick during my stay and would have gone home a day early, only there was a two-night minimum stay that weekend and I'd already paid for my two days. I figured I would get my rest and leave early the next morning. This is exactly what I did -- I slept from noon one day straight through until 8 a.m. the next morning. Then I checked out and drove home. During my drive home, I began to feel itchy. When I arrived home three hours later I discovered small insect bites covering my entire body, literally hundreds of bites all over -- on my arms, fingers, hands, legs, feet, back, tummy, even on my face.

I don't travel much and did not even think to check for bed bugs. I didn't notice any itching until after I had checked out of the hotel. It's too soon to know if any of those bugs hitched a ride home with me. So far I don't see any, and I was careful to wash the items I brought back into the house, but it is very possible that my home is already infested with bedbugs. The cost is adding up quick -- medical bills from a doctor visit, missed time from work, plus if I need to hire an exterminator or replace infested items, that will be an even bigger cost. Then there is the itchiness, the blotches everywhere that will probably scar my body, the constant "creepy crawling" feeling I am getting, and the inability to get a good night's sleep in fear that I will end up with more bites.

Even if you stay at this hotel and don't encounter bed bugs, you will surely notice other things that amount to an unpleasant experience. The walls were so thin, I could hear every sound my neighbors made . The room smelled of smoke, even though I was in a non-smoking room. The water pressure in the shower was terrible. The room was hot and stuffy. The location was in a dumpy spot in West Duluth.

Do yourself a favor and DO NOT stay at this hotel!