Days Inn Rochester Downtown

We have stayed there 30 days in the last 6 months and would prefer to stay there every time we stay over night in Rochester, which we be periodically for a long time. The building is also historic in the fact that it was originally built in the 1800's and is still functional today. It does need renovated and probably part of the structure replaced to reduce the maintenance costs and functionality. But it would be nice to at least keep part of the old building, so it can retain its historic character. We also like the older windows that open and allow fresh air into the rooms and the size of the larger suite rooms.

This one screams "please kill me". The building is over 100 years old. You'd expect some peculiarities and a bit of charm. Sadly, this building has been stripped of all it's historical charm. What remains is run down, dingy, and neglected. Squalid is a good word here. The lobby is the only nice space. The hallways are narrow, poorly lit, and covered in old worn out carpets. The curtains were billowing on the second floor, as a window was open to the roof of the property next door. No screen to keep out insects, and no safety or security precautions in place at all. The doors to the rooms are stout old wooden doors, unfortunately, they have been outfitted with multiple lock sets over the years and there are still holes that go all the way through. Some were cleverly stuffed with wadded up paper. The rooms are cramped with oversized mismatched furniture. The bathrooms require you to step up. Certainly not ADA compliant. The tubs are old cast iron tubs with high sides- again, not ADA compliant. And the retrofitted plumbing is..inventive, with exposed pipes INSIDE the tub basin attached to a handheld showerhead. The shower surround looks to have been salvaged from a 1960's trailer house. Nonslip strips in the shower, along with peeling paint on the basin appear grungy and unclean. If you wanted to shower you'd have to remember the one bar of soap left on the vanity on the sink outside the bathroom. Charming signs are posted in the room reminding you to save the planet from all that wasteful sheet washing. The window a/c units are choked with dust and do not function efficiently or effectively whatsoever. The beds are rock hard. The pillows are worn out and lumpy or flat or somehow both simultaneously. But there's free parking and a dorm fridge and microwave in the room and a tv, in case you want to hang out in this dingy run down place. You will find no historical charm here, just neglect, apathy, and disrepair.

We have stayed at the Rochester Days Inn a couple of times because of its close proximity to the Mayo Clinic and free parking (other hotels downtown no longer off parking passes). Days Inn rooms are dated and public areas could be cleaner but this hotel offers value for money and rooms are clean if quite basic. Unfortunately the hotel will soon close. Kudos to David at the front desk for helpfulness and friendliness and competence (hey other hotels in Rochester pick up this guy!)