Americas Best Value Inn Novato Marin Sonoma

Horrible management with no respect for its customers. I had to make an emergency last-minute change to a reservation given a family health issue. The person working at the desk the night before said they would absolutely change it and worked with the booking company to do so. I was told that it had been refunded completely by both the person at the front desk of the hotel and the booking agent. The next morning, when I called to confirm it, there was a rude woman at the front desk who told me that the night manager who showed up around midnight, told her that he would refuse to honor the cancellation that the woman at the desk had committed to the night before. This woman in the morning said that the managers just don't care. From there it turned into a horrible experience of Customer Service. I would avoid this place at all costs.

You can't expect more for that price in America. The breakfast is worth a laugh.

We’ve only been here one night out of six booked. My rating may change, but I don’t know if it will get better or worse. We chose this hotel because it was affordable and available on late notice. My mom died this week and we had to travel from Washington state. I prepaid for the king suite with a jetted tub, hoping for some decompression during a stressful time. Unfortunately, if we check out, the refund process would tie up our funds, so we’re stuck for now. The building looks very different than the photos online. Outside, it’s beige and weathered, not white like the pictures. The booking photos look outdated, though ironically the inside of the room is nicer than the listing. What isn’t mentioned: it’s literally right next to train tracks. Check-in was fine. The front desk clerk was polite and explained pool hours and that housekeeping is “required” every couple of days. Odd, but not a big deal. (Though there’s no “Do Not Disturb” sign in our room.) The room seemed clean and decently sized. Then I sat on the bed—and saw a small baggie of crystal meth by my foot. I used the ice bucket liner to pick it up and immediately took it to the front desk—less than 10 minutes after checking in. The clerk looked shocked, took it to the back, and later said they’d “talk to housekeeping.” That was the extent of the response. I walked back upstairs, met a friendly but very drunk man in the hallway at 5pm, and wondered what we’d gotten ourselves into. Later that night, more issues surfaced. The TV is tiny for the room and mounted too high, basically useless from the bed or couch. The jetted tub is large but square with a weird bench that makes it impossible to lie down comfortably. Clean water, though, and hot. Unfortunately, the bathroom blinds stop a few inches above the windowsill, leaving a gap open to the parking lot—right at chest level. Biggest problem: the internet is practically nonexistent. My Snapchat text took seven minutes to send. Speed test (after multiple refreshes) finally showed 0.26 Mbps download and 0.10 upload. I work remotely and planned to work this week, but now I’ll have to scramble to find usable Wi-Fi elsewhere—while my family is actively grieving. I am frustrated and questioning our safety. If housekeeping missed a bag of meth in plain sight, what else was overlooked? Or was it theirs? If so, are our belongings safe, especially since we’re told housekeeping is mandatory? The room isn’t unlivable, but the drugs, security concerns, and unusable internet are not acceptable. I’ll update if things improve—but right now, this is not the place I thought I booked.