Best Western Willits Inn Review

This stay is part of my holiday weekend road trip all the way from Seattle to San Diego. My goal was to get all the missing Lighthouse stamps for my Lighthouse Passport. It’s a tough task as the lighthouses open late in the morning and close early afternoon and there is some driving involved in between them as well. I was hoping to get a hotel closer to the coast, probably Fort Bragg, but all hotels were already booked for that night. Luckily, I found the Best Western in Willits. Google Maps helped me, as their app still didn’t get fixed and still has no map feature.

Booking & Stay Details

I started looking for hotels around noon as I knew better where I would be along the coast. As mentioned earlier, many of the coastal hotels were sold out. It is understandable as it is a holiday weekend and people started traveling again after the hiatus because of the pandemic. For my research to find hotels, I used my favorite tool – Google Maps. I also used Google Maps to see if there was any availability and if Google Maps showed me any, I used the app of that hotel chain to try to book the room. The Best Western in Willits popped up for a pretty low rate of just over $160/night which was surprising. I only needed a bed to sleep in and a shower. I would leave anyway early in the morning again. 

I booked the Best Western Willits through the Best Western mobile app. The only thing I hate more than the missing map feature is that the app is just a cheap browser, and you always get signed out. Of all the chain hotels, Best Western has the worst app.

Location

The Best Western Willits is located in the town of Willits, CA. You probably never heard of that town, and neither did I. Willits is located along Highway 101 (Redwood Highway) and is just a little bit over 2 hours north of San Francisco. Part of Highway 101 runs along the coast but at this stretch of the Coast it is actually Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) and Highway 101 runs further inland. 

The Best Western Willits is located at the south end of the town along Highway 20 which runs to Fort Bragg. There are two exits off Highway 101 to get into Willits. Exit 573 is located north of town and Exit 568 is located south of Willits.

Parking

To get to the parking lot you have to drive up a steep driveway. The rooms you enter from this “level” are on the second level and there is a first and third level as well.

Parking is complimentary at the hotel.

Check-In

Oh boy, this was the worst check-in experience ever. I parked in a free parking spot and walked over to the lobby/office building as this is separate from the building with the actual rooms. You can’t miss it. 

I walked up to the lobby entrance and already saw a ton of notices hanging in the window but didn’t read them right away. I pulled on the door, and it was locked. I started reading and one notice was reading:

Sorry. Due to a COVID related incident our lobby will be closed this weekend.

Ok. So, I don’t really know what that means. Is the lobby ground zero for a Covid outbreak? It can’t be short-staffed as there is still a person in there checking people in. I don’t know why you can’t enter the lobby. Makes no sense but ok. I just wanted to get my room key so I can unload and get some rest. Another notice on the door reads that the lobby is always closed and that they will help you at the night window right next to the door. When the lobby is always closed why is there another sign showing it is only closed this weekend? A little bit contradictory. 

Whatever, I decided to go to the night window to get my keys. I pressed the button for the bell and waited. Waited some more and nobody showed up. I pressed the button a few more times and waited even longer. Nobody showed up. I tried to call the hotel, but no answer. I went back to the car and called Best Western Reservation to see if they could cancel it, as I found another Best Western hotel an hour away which still had rooms available, and I wanted to book it before they sell out. The phone agent told me she would try to contact the hotel and see what was going on. She made it through to the person working at the “front desk” and told me to try again at the night window as the agent would be waiting for me. 

I walked over once again and there really was a person behind the window now. We started the check-in process by showing my ID and credit card. I had to sign a paper form and while she was getting my keys, I asked if I could have a room on the parking floor level, which would be the second floor. Luckily, I was already assigned a room on that level, and I was happy. As you know, I have lots of heavy luggage and this motel-style hotel has only stairs and no elevators.

1 King Bed Room (Room 210)

The room doors still have old-school room keys with magnetic stripes. When I walked in, it was quite hot and the first thing I did was try to turn on the air conditioner. Even though the blackout curtains were closed as the sun would otherwise shine directly into the room, it was still hot in here. As I opened the cover for the controls on the AC unit below the window, I wasn’t sure if I walked into a hotel room or a museum. This AC unit was probably installed when they built the hotel. Very old-school mechanical buttons to turn it on and off and just a dial to set a temperature which was labeled warmer – cooler. So, you have no idea what temperature you are actually setting it to. As it was hot as hell in the room, I just cracked the dial all the way to “cooler”. 😮

Besides that, the room is very spacious. There is a big open space at the window end of the room. It’s just a wide-open space. In the corner is a sofa chair which has an ottoman stored underneath it, which you can pull out. In the left corner of the room was a door connecting to room 209.

Next to the door is a work desk with an office chair. To the left of the desk is a dresser with multiple drawers and a TV on top of it. Opposite the dresser and TV is the King bed. It comes with a nightstand on either side. There is also a wall-mounted lamp on either side of the bed which also has one power outlet each.

Besides that, you also have a medium-sized refrigerator in the room as well as a microwave.

The bathroom is located on the right side of the room, next to the main door. The bathroom is of a decent size and the bathroom door actually opens towards the room and not inside the bathroom. This gives you more space inside as you don’t have to dance around the door. As usual with many motels and Best Western hotels, the bathroom amenities are split. Inside the bathroom are only the toilet and a shower/bathtub combo unit with a shower curtain. The vanity is located right outside the bathroom on the left side of the room. The vanity has a single wash basin and a large wall-mounted mirror. A hair dryer is as well mounted to the wall and the coffee maker sits on top of the counter. 

In a little niche to the left of the main door is an iron and ironing board as well as some hangers. A curtain is mounted in front of the niche to close it.

Public Areas & Amenities

Lobby

Looking through the glass window, it looks like a standard motel lobby. Small space with a check-in counter for the guests when they arrive and a TV. I can’t really say much else about it. As the lobby was closed due to a “COVID related incident”.  

Pool

The pool is located outside of the main building with the hotel office. The pool area has a fence running around the perimeter. The door to the pool has a key lock but I don’t know who has the key. You can just take your finger and push the lock open manually from the inside. The pool has a decent size as well as the whirlpool. There are a few pool loungers and some tables with chairs around the pool area. Unfortunately, some people are just idiots and disgusting. Someone was smoking in the hot tub and put their cigarettes just next to the hot tub on the floor and left them there.

Dining

Breakfast

When I checked in, I asked for the breakfast hours and that’s when I got the shocking news. There is no breakfast. They are still doing to-go bags in the morning. The excuse was the lobby is closed. So, I assume the lobby must be “ground-zero” for a COVID outbreak? No! I think the hotel just tries to save money. Maybe there is a staff shortage, and they don’t have any people preparing and setting up the breakfast buffet. I don’t know. This is unacceptable in the second half of 2022. I haven’t seen a hotel still doing grab-and-go bags in forever. This should be clearly marked on the website before you book. When I booked my room, it showed in the app that a “Continental Breakfast” is part of the room rate. A grab-and-go bag is definitely not a “Continental Breakfast”.

So, what’s in the bag? A small bottle of water, vanilla yoghurt, Nature Valley crunch bar, breakfast claw and an orange.

When I asked if they would have any coffee, I just got told to use the in-room coffee maker. To be honest, in a motel like this, I rather not use it. I don’t know what else it was used to before.

Alternative Options

Luckily, the hotel is located across the street from Lumberjacks Restaurant. A restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You need to be fast to cross the busy street or walk down to the end of the block where there is a traffic light. I had dinner there and was pleased with the food. 

Conclusion

After over one decade living non-stop in hotel rooms, my luck finally ran out and I had an unpleasant experience. It was not horrible but bad. First of all, the check-in process was super annoying as I had to call Best Western to get someone to come to the window and then they showed that the room comes with continental breakfast but just offer a to-go bag. This has been going on for a while. On the other hand, when you look for other options in town, this is the best hotel in town.

I later called Best Western and told them about the experience at this location. They also forwarded my complaints to the hotel, and they had some time to get back to me but never did. The only email I received was the copy-paste email after filling out the survey you got from Best Western. Fortunately, Best Western was kind enough to give me some extra points for this issue. I booked the hotel specifically because it mentioned breakfast on the website. 

Everything was fine with my room. WiFi was good and fast as well. The password for the WiFi is printed on the little key envelope you get during check-in.