Super 8 Cuba

My boyfriend and I drove cross country to visit my folks and this was our first stop. We found it very clean and the room was very big..(we had a room with a king sized bed). There was a nice comfy recliner in the room as well. We were impressed by the friendliness of the staff and how they were promoting several local music festivals because many of the people were staying there. There was easy access to the highway. We did have a room that faced that gas station next store and the room never got really dark which was annoying..

We had the morning breakfast and it was adequate. We were impressed with how the staff seemed to take pride in their motel and had pictures of awards they received and letters they had gotten as well. It made it feel less like a chain to us. We will stay there again..

My traveling companion and I happened to arrive just after a huge group had checked in. There were only two rooms left and they were both expensive ones. They offered a pretty good discount so we decided to go ahead and take the "Amanda Suite" (room 301) for $80 for one night (a Saturday.)

The suite had a living room, a bedroom and a bathroom. On one side of the bedroom was an alcove with a large jetted tub. There were tiled steps leading up to it. The bathroom had a tub and shower, too. In the living room there was a refrigerator which was about three feet tall (larger than the typical dorm room frig) and a coffee maker. I can't quite remember but I believe there was a microwave too. Both the living room and bedroom had air conditioner and heat controls, and both rooms had televisions.

Everything was nice and clean in the hotel - the rooms, hallways, lobby, area for guests to do laundry, elevator, etc. The decor was pretty good for a budget hotel, too. In the afternoon when we arrived, there was fresh popcorn available in the lobby and a juice machine that offered orange and apple juices. Of course there was free breakfast in the morning featuring hot biscuits and gravy, but they also had white bread bagels and some excellent oversize muffins - blueberry, chocolate-chocolate chip and other varieties.

Conveniently located next door on one side of the hotel is a Country Kitchen. Next door in the other direction is a more unique restaurant called the "Huddle House."

This Super 8 is located right on Interstate 70 and is across from a very large truck stop. There really aren't any trees around, so the immediate vicinity is not exactly picturesque. Despite the truck stop I did not notice any deisel fumes around the Super 8.

We weren't bothered by highway noise in the least because the A/C blower in our room drowned out any outside noises if there were any.

I would suggest before checking in, to look in the hotel lobby literature racks for a free local newspaper targeted to tourists. In that paper, we found a 10% discount coupon for the Super 8 hotel in Cuba. We didn't need it because the hotel offered us a better discount than that, but still I thought it worth mentioning in this review.

For Memorial weekend, my friend and I decided to take a trip to explore some of the beautiful caverns located east of Cuba, Missouri. There were only a few hotels nearby (only three) and this was the only one I found that would allow for me to bring my dogs along. The hotel only had two rooms designated as "pet-friendly" in the entire hotel. I have two dogs- a labrador retriever and a great pyrenees.

I had no problem checking in late afternoon. My friend and I went out to pick up boxed-dinner and returned shortly after to settle down in the room. While I was sitting on one of the beds, the one in which I planned on sleeping in, I felt something crawling on me. Fearing the worst, I looked down and noticed that I had a very tiny tick crawling on me! I had lost my appetite.

To be honest, bugs (including ticks) do not bother me. What I was mostly concerned about was the tick getting on any of my dogs. I didn't give it any more thought after that assuming that it would be the only one I'd encounter. However, about an hour later as I was watching television, I noticed another tick crawling on me. This time, instead of just flushing it down the toilet, I decided to drown it and leave it in the sink as proof (incase the staff questioned me as I was now going to make a complaint).

I called the front desk very calmly and I explained to the lady who answered what had just occurred and requested to be moved into another room. I explained that my concern was mostly with my dogs getting ticks all over them. The lady said that she had to call her manager first to get approval to change my room. A few minutes later, she calls back.

"I called my manager. I'm sorry but there is nothing that we can do for you. The only other room that we have available for pets is the suite and my manager did not approve of you moving into the suite." I had lost my calm.

"Uhm....what am I supposed to do in a room full of ticks?"

"I'm sorry ma'am but if you wish, you may stay at another hotel tonight." (Were these people trying to kick me out?)

"There are no other hotels. Why can't I be moved to another room? You can't possibly expect me to stay in a room full of ticks."

"Well, maybe your dogs brought the ticks in," she said very cynically.

"What?! Uhm....." I didn't know what to say. I was in such disbelief that she had just implied that I was a liar and my dogs were tick-infested. I was highly insulted!

Since there was nowhere else for me to go with my dogs, I stayed in the hotel that night but did not get a good night's rest as I stayed alert for any more ticks and in fear for my dogs (who did not and do not have any ticks). I checked out early the next day and was charged the full amount for the room! When I told the new shift staff what had occurred during the night, they all looked at me as if I was indeed lying!

Never in my life have I had such rude and distrusting service at a hotel or anywhere else for that matter!!!!!! I travel often with my dogs and this was the worst "pet-friendly" hotel we have ever stayed in. I can understand if the staff thought I was lying and they probably assumed that my dogs were just measley obnoxious beasts, but I really feel that they could have dealt with the situation much differently. I left feeling horribly for the next family that would drop by with their pets and fall asleep to disease-carrying ticks in that room.