Shady General Manager and Housekeeping
To start, this review should not be applied to all La Quinta properties. In fact, I was made whole by La Quinta Corporate so I actually recommend La Quinta as a company, except for this location.
I was traveling with a non smoking partner so the non smoking policy didn't bother me. I have been traveling with my friend for years and we have never had a problem with non smoking properties over the past four years of traveling. In fact, we even stayed at a La Quinta Inn in Ventura two weeks prior with no problems.
The problems began after we checked out. My friend left her almost new hiking boots ($200 value) in the room after we checked out. We called the property and was told that they would have to call the housekeeper to find out if anything was found. This was the first red flag. If a guest left valuable property in the room, why would the front desk have to call the housekeeper to verify that. It seems that an honest establishment would have their employees check any lost items at the front desk. The fact that the front desk seemed to be aware of the situation and balked was even more suspicious.
The day after the call about the boots, my credit card was hit for $200. The most suspicious part is that it wasn't charged for $200 straight up, but for $100 then $80 then $20. I called the front desk to complain and was told that I had been charged a smoking fee, which was a load of crap as my friend would have never let me smoke in the room. I did dispose of some cigarette butts in the room trash can however as I despise littering. I'm a volunteer US Forest Ranger and spend too much time picking up cigarette butts in the national recreation areas I patrol to even think about littering.
I was told that the General Manager would call me back to explain the charges. I never received a call. I had to complain to LQ Corporate to get a refund, which I had to wait for a check in the mail as this location in Mission Bay is privately owned and they did not have access to my credit card information.
La Quinta Inn as a corporation has shown honor and good customer service. This particular location however is SHADY!!