Depot Inn & Suites
.1245 North Brown Street
.LaPlata, Missouri 63549 United States
Received from a
57 year old
male
traveler
from Long Beach, CA
on
Thursday, January 15, 2009:
"Depot Inn, La Plata Missouri - Everyone likes trains and this place is as well done as some museums with its railroad theme - articfacts, pictures, and historical information artfully displayed throughtout. All the while it is also a GREAT hotel, even without any of this. It is COMFORTABLE, COZY, FRIENDLY with a great surprise awaiting many guests in the indoor swimming pool! Rooms are roomy, clean as can be, and very tastefully done. The hotel is as first class as any family hotel I have ever seen. The lobby is a place you will want to be, by the fireplace reading a book, getting your family together, or just relaxing. It's roomy, very tasteful and of course full of great railroad items! "
Received from a
56 year old
male
traveler
from Atlanta, MO
on
Tuesday, January 13, 2009:
"Depot Inn & Suites; La Plata, MO - The Depot Inn & Suites located in La Plata, Mo is a gem. I would highly recommend the motel anytime to any one travelling in Northeast Missouri particularly in the La Plata-Kirksville area. Outstanding...the service is excellent and the Rail theme is suberb. You won't regret it."
Received from a
52 year old
female
traveler
from Huntington Beach, CA
on
Tuesday, January 13, 2009:
"Depot Inn and Suites - Mother and I had the pleasure at staying at the Depot Inn & Suites in La Plata, MO. We loved the rail theme and the great service from the staff. "
Received from a
59 year old
female
traveler
from Brockville Ontario, Canada
on
Monday, January 12, 2009:
"Depot Inn & Suites - I had a terrific five day four night stay at this wonderful inn in LaPlata MO. A friend recommended the Inn when she knew I was looking for a respectable safe place to stay with my ten year old granddaughter on a sort of mini-holiday. We were picked up at the train station by the Inns shuttle service and transported directly to the Inn. First impressions were very favorable, and the front desk staff went out of their way to be most helpful. Everything about the place was first rate, the rooms were very clean and tastefully decorated, and the beds were so comfortable. They did not have a restaurant on site, but next door was a great place to eat, and again, the staff were very nice. "
Received from a
27 year old
male
traveler
from Los Angeles
on
Monday, January 12, 2009:
"Depot Inn and Suites is Top Notch! - The Depot Inn an Suites is definately one of the best hotels I have stayed at. The craftmanship of the hotel is beautiful and gives the hotel an authentic feel. The staff treats you with such great hospitality you may never want to leave. The hotel is train themed. If you are a train enthusiast, your stay will be a memorable one. "
Received from a
25 year old
male
traveler
from Los Angeles
on
Monday, January 12, 2009:
"Depot Inn and Suites - I stayed at the Depot Inn And Suites for million mile train event, and I had a very pleasant stay. Very comfortable and affordable. "
Received from a
female
traveler
on
Sunday, 08-Jul-07:
"The Depot Inn & Suites in LaPlata, MO - I loved the decor, the cleanliness, and the
comfortable bed.
I hated Having my Reservation Messed Up.
To explain: Some of the quilters had
arranged privately with the Inn, to check in
a day early. When I arrived after dark on
Tuesday evening I was told that they did not
have a room for me as the entire place was
full, and I was also told that there were no
other motels anywhere nearby. I knew the
name of the person who had taken my
reservation but that did not help. One of
the other attendees fortunately shared her
bed with me or I would have probably slept in
my car.
I hated the Disappointment. To explain:
Our group of 40 quilters entered into an
agreement with the management for exclusivity
at the Inn for the duration of our quilt
retreat, and instead, outsiders were allowed
to check-in. With 10's of thousands of
dollars worth of sewing machines and quilts
in the lobby, not to mention digital and
video cameras, cell phones, fabric, sewing
tools, and purses and cash, it was obviously
disconcerting to have strangers wandering
through. (We have photos of people checking
in and walking around.)
I hated the Rudeness of the Owner and
Employees. To explain: The owner met with
three of the retreat organizers and showed up
with a defensive, "I dare you" attitude,
spoke down to us as though we were stupid,
challenged our statements, indicating he
thought we were liars, and offered NO
solutions or apologies. Some of the weekend
employees not only were not at all friendly,
but actually were seen by witnesses making
fun of and mocking some of the quilters
behind their backs. Not one employee said
goodbye to me or thanked me for our business.
(I need to say here, however, that two of them were just GREAT!)
I hated that we were Taken Advantage Of and
Placed at Risk. To explain: I was a
little alarmed when I saw two people with
cameras wanting to talk to us. Someone from
the Inn had apparently invited a local
newspaper in to take pictures for an article
without our consent. Published photos of a
quilt destined for a National or
International quilt show would have caused
that quilt to be ineligible for competition.
Also, the Inn was apparently listed as a
site in the town-wide garage sale. When
folks off the street came in and asked us
about it, we told them it was in error, but
they still rifled through our things. (We
actually took photos of them doing so.)
Not only was a long-awaited, fun, relaxing
retreat turned into a disappointing,
stressful, and worrisome situation, but
it could all have been avoided if we had been
told ahead of time that the owner would not
honor our original agreement."
Received from a
female
traveler
on
Friday, 06-Jul-07:
"The Depot Inn and Suites in LaPlata, MO - I am another quilter who was so looking
forward to our annual get together.
Unfortunately the Depot Inn and Suites did
not live up to our expectations. While the
rooms were nice the staff was not. Except
for two of them they were rude. Odd
that housekeeping would be rude when we gave
them little work to do while we were in
attendance. As long as extra towels and
things were set out for us we got them for
ourselves and also brought out our used ones,
so they did not even have to enter our rooms.
Management did NOT hold up their end of our
contract in which we were to have full and
exclusive use of the inn and its amenities.
Despite this contract they allowed other
customers to rent rooms which meant all of
our quilts (some of which are priceless
heirlooms) expensive equipment and other
items were out for anyone to look, see,
touch, etc. Management also took it upon
itself to invite the public in to see what we
were up to, which was to be a private
gathering. I would not stay at this place
again, nor would I recommend it to anyone."
Received from a
female
traveler
on
Thursday, 05-Jul-07:
"Depot Inn & Suites, La Plata, MO - The
Owners and current Manager of The Depot Inn
and Suites have proved that. A word given is
not a word to be taken seriously.
In a necessary meeting the Coordinators of
the Retreat in the Middle ’07 requested with
the above-mentioned people, much was learned
about their commitment to integrity, honesty
and respect not to mention what they
originally called a contract.
We had a contract that was signed a year ago
with the management that gave us exclusive
occupancy. Imagine our surprise to find
folks checking in during our stay! The
Depot's response was that the signed paper
and verbal commitment was not a contract and
they were not bound by it. Hence opening the
Depot to the general public.
Before I add to what has already been stated,
I do want to mention that had we been told we
weren’t going to have the Inn exclusively, as
promised, 2 weeks or even 2 days prior to the
1st day of the retreat, we would have had the
option to seek out and negotiate with other
local hotels such as the Comfort Inn or Days
Inn who offer larger conference rooms that
can be secured. After all, the owners and
manager told us we didn’t really have a
contract, so we would have been free to do
that.
I asked the Manager if the person manning the
front desk during the night would be at the
desk 100% of the time as tens of thousands of
dollars of sewing machines, equipment and
quilts (some priceless, some irreplaceable
antiques) would be vulnerable to theft by
other hotel guests. She assured me, one of
the Coordinators, in the presence of the
owners, that indeed the desk clerk would be
watching with out so much as a bathroom
break. Really? Not even to use the bathroom?
Imagine my surprise to find the desk
attendant going in and out of the laundry
room checking on hotel laundry that she’d
been assigned to do. This laundry room was
around the corner and down the hall from the
desk. Her duties also included cleaning the
bathroom, also out of sight of the front
desk.
When I mentioned this to the Manager the next
day, she nodded agreeing that indeed those
were the duties of the night desk person.
What happened to her word? What happened to
her reassurance? We would have appreciated an
honest answer in the 1st place.
Imagine this Coordinator’s surprise when
aerobics classes were being held in the pool
(the room adjacent to, accessible to and
viewable from the lobby where the retreat was
held) during times other than the Manager’s
word that the only time classes would be held
would be very early in the morning, again
leaving RiM property vulnerable. Why was
this information withheld? And what about
the folks using a different door to access
the pool, as promised, instead of wandering
and perusing through our retreat? Again,
what about the truth?
I am the Coordinator who intercepted
newspaper photographers the Depot owners
asked to come in for a photo shoot one
afternoon. I felt bad for them. They were
only doing a job they’d been asked to do but
they were doing it for someone who never
asked our permission to have our private
retreat documented for their gain. Why did
the owners not ask our permission? And once
those photos where taken, how many public
venues would we find them splashed across?
Of course the photographers were not the only
ones I intercepted at the front door. I
became the designated greeter for the Depot
as I was constantly spending time stationed
there deterring garage sale folks who had
learned via their itineraries that there were
quilts to see, newspaper photographers asked
to come by the Depot, the general public who
’d been told we’d be available for a tour
from 2PM to 4PM and the list goes on. And of
course this does not include hotel patrons
who had reservations they weren’t supposed to
have who wanted to wander and look. Perhaps
the Depot would like a bill for my services?
The Coordinators asked the manager if we
could make her housekeeping staff’s job
easier by placing towels, soaps, toilet
paper, etc out in a designated area for the
ladies to serve themselves. We would gladly
deposit our soiled towels in bins and
replenish our own rooms. Seemingly very
happy with our offer, she established a
location. Imagine our surprise when after
beginning our 2nd day, there were still none
of the above-mentioned items available for
our ladies. Because the manager had shown
the Coordinators where to find these items,
we stocked the area ourselves.
Would now be a good time to mention the heavy
mildew on my roommate’s and my shower
curtain?
A beautiful train themed Thank You Quilt was
made prior to RiM, complete with the name of
the hotel and it’s location pieced into the
border, with the signatures of all attendees
added to it upon their arrival. It was to be
presented to the owners and manager on Friday
evening thanking them for making us feel so
welcome and cared for. That quilt was never
presented and is now in the hands of a
charitable organization.
While the facilities are very nice sans the
bathroom mildew, The Depot Inn and Suites was
a disappointment. And you can be sure that
my family’s yearly trip to the Kirksville
area will be with out frequenting this hotel.
Our 5th Annual RiM will be next year. Due to
previous bookings, last year’s RiM hosts
could not accommodate us this year, hence the
need for a brief stop over somewhere else.
The day before our retreat this year, the
hostess called one of our coordinators to
wish us well this year, let us know she was
thinking about us and misses us and to tell
us she cannot wait for RiM 08 to have us
back. How contrary to the Depot owner who
told one of our Coordinators that he could
not wait for us to leave……….
"
Received from a
female
traveler
on
Friday, 29-Jun-07:
"Depot Inn and Suites, LaPlata MO - I am one of 40 quilters from around the
country who attended the RIM (Retreat in the
Middle) June 13-17. Our organizers were
promised in 2006 the entire hotel would be at
our disposal and that no other guests would
be there, thus enabling us to leave our rooms
unlocked, quilts displayed, and sewing
machines unattended. This unfortunately was
not the case! The owners decided to
capitalize on our being there and invited the
public to come and see what we were doing,
including putting the information in the
local paper. No one in our group was asked if
that would be acceptable. In addition, a
number of the rooms were rented to other
guests even though that was not supposed to
occur.
We tried to keep the staff workload to a
minimum but, except for two of them, the
staff acted as though we were a huge
inconvenience! The rooms were clean and
comfortable but the lobby, which we were
assured would accomodate us all, our
expensive sewing gear, and our priceless
quilts was cramped and uncomfortably warm and
humid.
I looked forward to being able to recommend
your hotel to family and friends but, in good
conscience, I cannot do that. I would hope
that in the future ownership would honor
their contracts something they failed to do
this time. We will not be staying at Depot
Inn and Suites in the future."
Received from a
female
traveler
on
Friday, 29-Jun-07:
"Depot Inn & Suites, La Plata, MO - I wanted to express my extreme disappointment
with the above-mentioned Inn. On June 13,
2007 our annual quilting retreat took place.
It is an event we look forward to all year
long. It is suppose to be a gathering of
friends who travel long and far to be
together in fellowship and love.
Imagine our surprise upon arrival that our
agreement was not to be honored by the owner
and management of the establishment. They
went against every thing that they had
promised us in the original agreement. This
was very disheartening to many of us who had
traveled across the country with great
expense and time to get there.
While the Inn was clean and very interesting,
the same cannot be said for its staff. I
found the housekeeping staff to be very rude,
and dirty in their appearance. On one
occasion they had family members/boyfriends
in the rooms with them while doing their job.
There were thousands of dollars worth of
quilts, quilting supplies, sewing machines
and other essential tools that were placed at
great risk due to the owners inviting the
public to come in and see what we were doing.
I was even asked by one lady who came in if
any of us would be willing to sell the quilts
we were making or that we brought along. I
politely told her that no, none of the items
were for sale. These are just a few of many
disturbing incidences that happened while on
our stay at the Inn.
Overall, I would give this establishment a
very poor grade for their handling of the
situation. I would not under any circumstance
recommend the Depot Inn & Suites to any one I
know."
Received from a
traveler
on
Thursday, 28-Jun-07:
"Depot Inn and Suites, LLC, LaPlata, MO - The manager and owner made promises prior to my arrival that they could not keep. I felt insecure during my stay, and I felt as if I had to keep a constant eye on my belongings. I was not able to enjoy the pool nor visit the surrounding area for fear my expensive equipment may not be there when I returned. Some motel employees were obnoxious and rude and acted as if they had a chip on their shoulder because I voiced my concerns. Unfortunately, I had booked a reservation for 4 night and moving to another motel was not an option.
If you are looking for a safe, relaxing vacation accommodation, this is not the place!"
Received from a
female
traveler
on
Thursday, 28-Jun-07:
"The Depot Inn & Suites in LaPlata, MO - The Depot Inn & Suites in LaPlata, MO has
left a bitter taste in the mouths of about 40
woman who "under contract" held a quilt
retreat there. The Inn is very beautiful and
clean, but management did not follow through
with their contract with us to a tee. They
exploited us. We had several thousand $$$ of
machines, quilting supplies and quilts on
display for ourselves, but he invited the
newspaper to come without our permission, put
us on the list for a city wide garage
sale,but worse yet, rented out the few
remaining rooms in the Inn. All this put our
belongings in jeopardy where strangers were
allowed to come in, see what we had, touch
our quilts (a no-no in the quilt world), help
themselves to our "swap room", help
themselves to our food that we had set up in
a meeting room for ourselves. We are from
all over the US, California to Virginia and I
am sure there is not one of us who will give
this Inn a rave review. We were treated
poorly by most of the management and that is
too bad since he could have had wonderful
reviews from all over with some of planning
on trips to the area with our families.
Don't think that will happen now and we
certainly won't hold another retreat there
again. "
Received from a
traveler
on
Thursday, 28-Jun-07:
"Depot Inn and Suites, La Plata, Missouri - First I want to say that the Depot Inn is a
beautiful facility. The rooms are comfortable
and the appearance of the Inn is clean and
definitely interesting.
I personally had a very unfortunate
experience with the Depot Inn. I am one of 3
coordinators of an annual private quilt
retreat for 40 women who come in from all
over the United States. On July 20, 2006,
when the Inn was a struggling new business I
signed a “contract” with the manager (at that
time) of the Inn to host our 4th annual
retreat to be held June 13-17 2007. During
this time our business was welcome and looked
like a gold mine. Two weeks prior to our
scheduled retreat the new manager of the Inn
started emailing me questioning the occupancy
expectations of our group. After a phone
conversation discussing my original agreement
with the Inn, which was to commit to a
minimum of 20 rooms to secure the Inn
exclusively for the retreat, the manager
assured me that they would honor that
agreement. Because this came up so close to
the time of the retreat I asked for a meeting
with the manager and the owner to avoid any
surprises since I had 40 people, traveling to
Missouri from coast to coast, depending on me
for this event. The manager was quick to
respond with assurance, the owner was too
busy to be available. Two days before the
first day of our gathering one of the other
coordinators and I met with the manager and
went over everything, including comparing
what was given to me to sign the year before
as a “contract.” At this point everything was
set and agreed on. We met with housekeeping
to help keep things simple for them, yet
accommodating for the attendees. We made
things easier for them as far as moving
furniture out to convert the lobby to meet
our needs.
On the first day, as the retreat members
started gathering, we also noticed people we
didn’t know checking in. We asked for a
meeting with the owner, who showed up
immediately. He was opening up the Inn to the
public regardless of what my agreement was
with the previous manager or current manager.
He was giving public access to a room set up
with over $60,000 of machines, supplies &
materials that we had been assured would be
private. He was opening up to the public
access to thousands of dollars worth of
quilts that would be on display. When I
mentioned the contract, he refused to
acknowledge it as a contract and held it up
in my face and in so many words called me a
liar and refused to allow me to call in the
previous manager. We lost our privacy and
security as was assured to us.
Needless to say, with the public wandering
through our retreat we had 4 days of stress
and anxiousness as a group. Someone even
invited the newspaper in to take pictures
with out the consent of the women. And
someone did a public invitation between 2 & 4
pm on the 3rd day to come through and see
what we were doing, without the consent of
the women. We have pictures of people
wandering throughout our retreat at all times
of the day and night.
With the exception of Harold and Sally, who
were the only positive and pleasant part of
making us feel comfortable and welcome, the
rest of the staff was cold and wouldn’t have
anything to do with us. On two occasions
staff members were caught making fun of us
and mocking us.
On the day of checkout not one person said
goodbye to us. Not one person thanked us for
the $7500 that the retreat paid to be there.
Even though the manager was there helping
with housekeeping, she avoided us as
completely as possible.
After reading all the great reviews for the
Inn, it’s obvious that they’re much more
accommodating to travelers and construction
workers and prospective financial investors.
It’s unfortunate that the owner and the
manager sacrificed their integrity for deceit
and profit. "
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