Best Western Plus Keene Hotel

“Needs some organization”

I've stayed at this motel in years past when "Home" in Keene. It is conveniently located at the intersection of Highways 9 and 10, immediately south of the traffic circle, on Rt 10. The staff are super friendly, warm and inviting ... but their organization/coordination skills need some work. Mak… more

I've stayed at this motel in years past when "Home" in Keene. It is conveniently located at the intersection of Highways 9 and 10, immediately south of the traffic circle, on Rt 10. The staff are super friendly, warm and inviting ... but their organization/coordination skills need some work. Making reservations (by phone) I could not understand the gentleman working the evening desk. The evening when I checked in, I called from the room and asked for a wake up call, he told me to set the alarm clock ... and I informed him there wasn't one in the room. He agreed to take the wake up call, but I never got it. The next morning I mentioned it to the very nice young man working the desk and he apologized, and as long as he was working the desk, I got my wake-up calls. (I stayed for about 9-days.) The room had a bit of a strange layout ... a too large foyer, such that you could not fully close the bathroom door ... it knocked against the toilet seat! Flushing the commode sounded like a shotgun going off next to your ear. Talk about loud! No grab bars for the shower/tub combo in the room, plus the tub is made for someone less than 4-feet tall. I never did figure out the heat-a/c system. The room was chilly, so I upped the temp to 72, then to 76, then to 80 ... and it kept blowing chilly air. Then I set it to heat, and left it at 80 ... No difference. Finally I just shut it off. That made the room a bit cooler than I would have liked while working on the computer at night, but great for sleeping. Really small complaints ... overall the room was large and comfortable, with a nice, large desk for the computer, comfortable desk chair, as well as side chair. And while there was no overhead lighting, there were plenty of table lamps and a LOT of plugs ins for computer, hearing aids, Kindle, and all the other electronic "stuff" we seem to have to travel with these days. :-) Other than a few minutes one night of inconsiderate guests too loud in the hallway, it was quiet for the rest of my nights. The cleaning crew did a wonderful job, when they showed up. A few times, on the 3rd morning, I had to request room service ... which might show up hours later. One time I requested it when I left at Noon ... it wasn't done until after 7 p.m. When I went to the desk about 5:30 to check on it, the fella at the desk had no record of it! He asked if I'd called for it from the room: I told him, "No, I personally requested it from the woman at the desk when I was leaving and she assured me it would be done." The breakfast room is good sized, with plenty of overflow if needed. Standard fare of scrambled or fried eggs ... although one morning there was a delicious quiche and another a bagel topper with eggs, cheese, etc. Again, delicious. Also offered daily were link and patty sausage, mild. Two morning there were potatoes, which unfortunately were made spicy. Heck, this is New England, not Texas! There are cereals, pancakes, french toast, assorted pastries, yogurts, coffee, juices, etc. A very good breakfast, and the woman who oversees the breakfast area is wonderfully friendly and helpful and keeps the place spotless. She and the young man working the desk in the morning (weekdays) into early afternoon are "stars" in my book, wonderful folks. The others, while nice and friendly, need a few lessons in being organized enough to honor minor requests. No biggie, but a bit frustrating ... since wake up calls and room servicing are not unusual requests. If you pull in after about 4 p.m. do not be put off by the nearly overflowing parking lot: It's for the restaurant (Tempesta's) located at the end of the motel ... there is more than adequate parking for the motel after you get through the restaurant area. Locals love the restaurant for lunch and dinner. I only ate lunch there, but it was excellent and reasonably priced with good service. If going into Keene, it is a bit tricky getting out of the motel onto the main street ... the motel entrance/exit drive is very close to the traffic circle to the north and there's a steady flow of traffic from the south ... so you might have to wait several minutes to get out ... and often only by "forcing" yourself into the traffic. Again, I had minor issues, but overall this is a great motel!

less