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Bienvenue au Manitoba!

Bienvenue au Manitoba!

I mentioned last week that I was in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Ontario and Manitoba for the purpose of collecting 68 more counties on my way to visiting all 3,143 counties

minnesota-counties

Now, if you think that certain chains (Hyatt, Starwood, etc.) don’t have a very big footprint in various cities throughout the country or world, just wait until you see the slim pickings in Warroad, Minnesota (pop. 1,778).  If you pull up Award Mapper, which was on my list of the Top 10 miles and points tools out there, you’ll see

warroad-award-mapper

What’s that?  Take off the filters you say?  Nope, that’s it.  With ~36 hours of driving over a long weekend and a pretty planned route, there aren’t a lot of options – you stop where there are towns to stop in.

So all of this is a long way to say that I spent a night at the Super 8 Warroad, Minnesota Friday night.  Not to be outdone, I followed that up with a stay at the Super 8 Osseo, Wisconsin on Saturday night.

Since your typical travel blogger does not deign to stay in such establishments, I thought I’d give a brief review.  I mean I’ve stayed in a Rodeway Inn and lived to tell the tale, though you know when they give you signs not to steal the pillows or coffee maker, you’re in a classy joint!

rodeway-inn

 

(Actually, to be fair to Rodeway Inns, I ranked the Rodeway Inn and Suites in Gardiner, Montana as #1 of my 8 hotels I stayed at during our Yellowstone trip)

Super 8 Warroad, Minnesota review

The Super 8 in Warroad, Minnesota was…. not so great.  I was on the trip with a buddy of mine, and as we walked in, he made a joke about low-end hotels always putting in 25 watt bulbs so you can’t see anything.  We flipped on the lights and…. sure thing, a low-watt bulb

super 8 warroad room

 

Turn the lights on, you say?  ðŸ˜€

The breakfast was…. pretty bad.  The only hot selection was a sausage gravy that you could put over not very good biscuits.  As much of a sucker as I am for free breakfasts, I passed.  No pool nor exercise room (not that I was expecting either).

I will say that the front desk staff was very pleasant, and the beds were comfortable.  The best part of my stay was the night after, when, while in the shower, I unwrapped the soap and wadded up the empty wrapper and threw it across the bathroom…. RIGHT INTO THE CUP I HAD LEFT BY THE SINK

super 8 warroad lucky wrapper shot

Yeah, that’s right – I’m that good!

Super 8 Warroad MN was definitely NOT worth the $90 that we paid, nor would it be worth redeeming 15,000 Wyndham points for it (remember, all Wyndham hotels are 15,000 points no matter what), but if you’re in the area (why?), the beds were comfortable and it beats sleeping in the car (which, really, is your only other option)

Super 8 Osseo Wisconsin

The thriving metropolis of Osseo, Wisconsin (population 1,701) also boasts just one chain hotel, the Super 8.  It is not quite as remote as Warroad, being less than an hour from Eau Claire, but Eau Claire was not on the route, and when you’ve already got 36 hours of driving planned, you really don’t want to make (m)any detours.

The Super 8 in Osseo was approximately the same price (~$90 / night), but was DEFINITELY better.  The rooms were nicer, and although it didn’t have an exercise room, it DID have an indoor pool (and hot tub)

super 8 osseo room

 

The breakfast selection was bigger, including some hot items.  Okay, okay, it was just your standard run-of-the-mill waffle maker, but it WAS an improvement.  And, after creating Roadtrip Rule #1 the day before, involving what you do if you see a giant animal statue, I knew I was in the right place when I spotted this little guy in the hotel lobby

super 8 osseo bear

“Giant” bear?  I’ll take it!

All in all, My 2 nights in Super 8s (Super 16?) were passable but not exciting.  We can’t all stay in the Vendome, and in any case I think generally speaking that budget hotels are WAY better than 5-star hotels anyways!  What about you?  Give me your best Super 8 stories in the comments!


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