Fort Wayne is halfway between Toronto and our destination in St. Louis, so it was our choice for a break from the highways. We picked the Best Western because it was affordable and looked to be clean from the pictures on this site.
We checked in on a Friday night and it must have been a slow time for the Hotel because we were the only car in the lot. The building itself looks very plain and there isn't much around it besides a strip mall and a lot under construction. As we walked in, we were relieved to see that some effort had been put into the Lobby. A nice seating area with a TV was to the left and if you were to keep going, you would walk into a breakfast area. The Front Desk was to the right and we were greeted by Tara.
Tara was very pleasant while checking us in and had a lot of advice for things to see in the area. She commiserated with us that we weren't able to bring our dog with us (as we had indicated in the reservation) and extolled the virtues of the Hotel's pet friendliness and pet rooms on the first floor.
We were moved to a room on the second floor and went on up in the elevator. We saw a few members of staff around; a pair of friendly housekeepers getting off the elevator and what I think was the Hotel Manager passing through to his car at the back door. As we entered Room #205, we had our fingers crossed...
And it wasn't bad. I've attached a picture of the room. It was clean and the air conditioner had kept it cool. Everything worked in the room, bathroom was clean, towels were in good condition. The couch was a bit firm and I could hear the crinkle of plastic underneath the cushions but it was comfortable. The bed was comfy and we slept well.
When we woke up the next morning and went down for breakfast, we found that a lot of other guests seemed to have arrived through the evening and so we had a lot of company for the complimentary breakfast. Biggest plus here, and my wife was looking forward to it, was the breakfast. Good spread of hot and cold food, juices and water.
Checked out with no issues with another young lady on Saturday morning and saw another housekeeper working around the Hotel.
Long story short, for the price we were expecting the worst and were pleasantly surprised by the Hotel and its staff. My ratings for service, sleep quality, etc aren't fives because... C'mon, its a Best Western. Overall I scored it with a five rating because, for its value, the Hotel was exactly what we hoped for.
