I had a perfect stay here. I came for a chess tournament with my son, and was worried after some the reviews. I stay in similar hotels, and this one was nicer than most in this price range. Great pool, inside waterslide kids will love, arcade games, hot tub, staff very nice, quiet on my Saturday night stay, no problems whatsoever. It has conference rooms and a nice large atrium area with indoor-connnected- to outdoor pool. Stayed in Executive Wing, nice large bathroom counter with new granite, nice tub/shower. Breakfast buffet about typical for free continental breakfast. Could use more fresh fruit. My only complaint is that the restaurant/lounge were not smoke-free; owners need to wake up and realize its 2010 in that regard. But there are many other restaurants within sight, walking distance or short drive downtown.

I was attempting to book a room at this hotel and was told because I was local and paying with cash, I would have to pay a refundable $100 deposit ( I later found out that the owner believes that locals ONLY stay in hotels to throw wild parties-my 68 yr old mother and I were not, in fact planning on doing any partying, we had been put out of our home due to a bad water leak that was being repaired, and insurance was paying for us to be put up in a hotel.)
But ok, I was going to pay the deposit; when the clerk asked another clerk how to enter this in the computer, the 2nd clerk informed me that I WOULD give them my credit/debit card info or I would NOT be allowed to stay there! There was a sign present on the desk that stated only a $100 deposit was required if paying with cash, but this woman was INSISTENT that it was to be a debit/credit card (and she kept stipulating the DEBIT part) or I would be UN-registered. She was very arrogant and rude, with an attitude unlike any I have ever encountered in a place of business that I was trying to spend good money in! She became beligerent when I told her that I did not understand why the attitude and I finally told her I didn't want to stay there anymore (because of how rude she was, and also it made me very wary as to why she insisted so that I give her my card info when even her own co-worker questioned why she was FORCING me to give it!) I ended up leaving there shaking, I was so upset by this woman!
After reading some of the other online reviews, you would thing they would bend over backwards to welcome ANY customers that wanted to stay in there, instead of running off someone who was prepared to book as long as 2 weeks in advance! Poor customer service is one thing, but actively running off your clientele is really beyond idioctic! I can't imagine this being a good experience for anyone, with staff who have this kind of attitude.

Quite honestly, I almost changed my reservation after reading the reviews. I'm glad I didn't! The rooms were nice with very plush beds. The room was clean, as was the whole hotel. Breakfast was very good, with a great variety to chose from. The price was great too, as we paid just $62 plus tax for a king size bed with a sofa sleeper in the executive wing on a Sat. night. (AAA member). All the staff were extremely friendly and accommodating. We will stay here again if in the area.

The price was right, a group rate of only $55, but that's the best that can be said for this place. The room was freezing! Early January and no heat was turned on at all. It took over five hours for the room to warm up even enough to remove jackets, and the next day the cleaning people turned off the heat again! The front desk offered to move us to an interior room that might be a bit warmer, but a slight problem was that there were over 100 bikers there at some sort of convention. Faced with dozens of bikers in the atrirum or a cold room, we decided to wait out the heater. By the way, the bikers were no problem, they were polite and well behaved... many Vietnam vets, and I thanked them for their service. Lots of beer, lots of "funny cigarette" smells, but no problems and no disruptions from this group.

Breakfast is adequate, but the dining area was crowded due to the bikers. The scrambled eggs tasted like powdered eggs, the orange juice tasted like water, and the coffee was cold. Hash browns, biscuits and gravy and ham were okay. The best item for breakfast is probably waffles, but the machine had too long a wait for us to find out.

If you need an inexpensive place to spend the night while traveling, and if everything else in Cookeville is booked, then you might find the Clarion to be okay. Otherwise, keep looking, you can do better.