Decatur Conference Center & Hotel

We recently travelled with our daughter's hockey team to Decatur and selected the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel for our 2-night stay. From the cleanliness of the rooms and common spaces, to the numerous 'out of order' amenities (hot tub, sauna, sports bar, lobby bar), to the deceitful and intimidating staff, this trip was disastrous. A few matters of fact from our stay: > Bus tubs in the center of walkways being used to catch water dripping from ceilings > Mold in the bathroom tub > Months of dust/mold on the room air conditioning/fan unit (cleaned as much of that up as I could myself...you're welcome DCCH) The worst part of our visit came on our last night when roughly 12 children were swimming around 10:00 p.m. accompanied by no less than 7 parents (pool hours are clearly posted as 7:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.) and a member of the DCCH staff entered the pool area and turned the lights off while informing everyone that Management has decided to close the pool that evening at 10:00. All of the children were either in the pool or on the wet pool deck when this individual turned the lights out, one child with autism was brought to a panic due to the situation. No apology or empathy shown from the DCCH member. Sickening. If you are traveling with a youth team of any sort or happen to have more than a handful of children yourself, I would strongly suggest you find another hotel in the area. You will be bullied into having to leave any common area and told you're being too loud regardless of your volume and whether you are near guest rooms.

We stayed in October for girl's golf tournament. The reviews had me a little skeptical, but it was fine, even a little better than I expected. We usually try to upgrade to a suite when we travel, but none were available. The regular room with king bed included a couch and overall room was a little bigger than I expected. We were also surprised that complimentary breakfast was included: eggs, sausage, waffle maker, pastries, oatmeal, biscuits, gravy, and more. It was better than average free hotel breakfast. The exterior is underwhelming and parking lot is so big it looked empty even though they said they were booked to capacity. It is located on the edge of town in almost a rural setting. It's easily accessible. Staff was nice. On Friday night at the bar there was a couple performances by comedians with no cover charge. That was a nice surprise. This is a solid "good" hotel considering it is a convention center in Decatur, Illinois. We travel multiple times a year to Mexico, the Caribbean, Sawgrass Marriott, Opryland Resort, etc. This hotel is fine for what it is. For 2 nights, including taxes was $262. My only complaint is that the pillows were toddler size and small foam pieces. Hotels are going to these pillows and I hate them. I also prefer shower gel over bar soap. Our daughter swam in the pool, but I don't know anything about it. The receptionist recommended Pop's Place Bar and Grill. It's less than a mile down the road. Food was cheap enough and typical good bar food.

My wife and I were on a business trip in Decatur and looking for a nice hotel with good rates for our 2 night stay. I found the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel with what I felt was a SUPER rate. The photos looked amazing, the restaurants seemed lively, bright, and cheerful, and the rooms looked well kept. OMG...was I ever wrong! When we arrived I felt like we had stepped into the Twilight Zone. The hotel portion looked really worn, the paint was faded, there were cigarette butts all over, the walkways were dirty, there were just a few cars in the HUGE parking lot, and every restaurant and bar in the hotel were closed...and it was around dinner time. The hallways were dark and the elevator looked like something out of a 1960 hotel with faded numbers and a dark and dirty interior. When we got into our room on the top floor we found that the room was very dark due to drawn curtains and it was very hot due to the AC system being turned off. My wife went to the bathroom and as she was finishing up she said, "Oh Gross! There are someone else's underwear hanging on the back of the door!" Luckily we had not unpacked and immediately made the long trek back down to the lobby (expect to walk about 100 yards from the lobby to the hotel portion.). Jessica, the woman at the front desk, was most apologetic and immediately put us into a different room. When we got into that room we found the same dark, hot room and when we pulled the sheets back we found 3 black hairs in between the sheets. Not to mention that all of the light bulbs in each room were different types and colors. One was a CFL, one was an old incandescent, one may have been LED, there were warm hues and soft hues so it made the rooms feel even more bizarre. Mortified, we made the football field length trek back to see Jessica. We explained the situation, showed her the pictures, and explained that we were not going to stay and were planning on going to another hotel. She completely understood, apologized again, credited our account, and even made some recommendations for different accommodations. While Jessica was helping us finish getting checked out, we heard another couple come up to the desk and say to Jessica, "Just wanted to let you know that we were able to change rooms and this one is better." After flying overnight and only getting 2 to 3 hours of sleep, making the 3 and a half hour drive from Chicago, and then working all day long, we were exhausted and just wanted to go to bed which made this experience even worse than it was. The only positives in this situation were that the main hallway had old chandeliers in it that gave it a Stanley Hotel, The Shining type of vibe which I actually thought was kind of cool. Jessica at the front desk was absolutely FANTASTIC in handling a poor situation that was absolutely not her fault. If you're planning an event, go to Homewood Suites or Hampton Inn just don't stay here.

My husband and I stayed here last night; splurging on the "honeymoon suite." While the in-room jacuzzi tub was nice, this room was really just a suite in general. There was absolutely nothing romantic about it to justify the high price. The room was very clean and comfortable but the decor was a bit outdated with earth tones and typical drab hotel wall decor. Replacing those with some contemporary wall hangings containing romantic quotes, along with some tasteful romantic pictures would be a start. Wouldn't cost a thing to at least have a towel folded in the shape of a heart on the bed. Some synthetic rose petals and/or chocolates would be a nice touch. We had to leave a $150 CASH deposit upon arrival to ensure that we wouldn't smoke in, or trash, the room. Our room only had decaffeinated coffee; which we didn't notice until we went to make it in the morning. Also, extra towels and wash cloths would've been nice--especially towels, due to the jacuzzi tub. While we won't be wasting our money on a honeymoon suite here again, we DID love the hotel, pool, hot tub, and breakfast and we do plan to return and stay in a regular king room next time.

We rented the hall and had a block of rooms. The hotel staff was kind and helpful the entire time. We enjoyed our time together and are very thankful for the wonderful service! They went above and beyond!