"I rarely leave negative reviews, but our stay at the AmericInn in Clear Lake, Iowa was one of the most uncomfortable hotel experiences I’ve had. We booked rooms for my daughter’s birthday pool sleepover and properly reserved for the correct number of guests ahead of time. We were not trying to sneak people in or cause issues — we simply wanted a fun night for our daughter.
The biggest problem was the way we were treated by the front desk employee throughout the evening. From the moment we arrived at the pool area, our group was singled out and watched closely in a way that made us feel completely unwelcome. My son was spoken to rudely for dripping pool water outside the pool area, despite being a child leaving the pool. The employee repeatedly approached our group with a hostile tone, demanded my name, and questioned why we were having a “party,” even though staff had already been informed at check-in about the birthday sleepover.
The entire night felt tense, like we were walking on eggshells. Ironically, management later handled the door lock issue professionally and kindly after our keys stopped working entirely. By that point, though, the damage had already been done. This experience completely overshadowed what was supposed to be a special birthday celebration for my daughter. "