While the room itself was as expected, this turned out to be the worst hotel experience of our lives. We are a family of five (three kids and a service animal) traveling cross-country, checking in close to 10 PM for a quick overnight before an early departure. Instead, we spent the night breathing acetone fumes.
Around 11:15 PM, a strong, acidic nail salon smell flooded our room from next door, making my fiancé physically ill. The front desk confirmed a guest was “professionally” doing nails in their room with no ventilation. We were offered a room change, but with three kids finally asleep and a 5 AM alarm set, it wasn’t realistic. Towels under the door barely helped as the fumes lingered.
At 12:30 AM, I spent 40 minutes on the phone with customer service, only to be told they could “pass a message” to the owner since this was a partnered hotel. The owner called me around 10 AM, hours after we had left with splitting migraines, promising a resolution and to call me back “in an hour or two.” It’s now been over 20 hours with no response. A “future stay credit” was also offered, but we’ll never return to Merrillville, making it useless.
Between toxic fumes, yelling neighbors, zero real resolution, and being ignored by management, this was an absolutely miserable experience. Comfort should be embarrassed to have their name on this property.
