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MUSKOKA DELIVERY BARRIE - 800-565-9559
10/8/13
IA-ALTOONA - MAX'S HIGHWAY DINER - POSTED
I think that's what the heading for this location is supposed to say
is (formerly Grandma Max's).
I have eaten at a few of the Grandma Max's in
the past, including this one, and not been impressed (They are all owned by
Bosselmens). But I fueled here and decided to give it a try. I was on my
½ hour break so I skipped the menu items and went for the buffet.
They talked me into the whole buffet for an extra $1 instead of just the soup
and salad bar. Two kinds of soup, salad toppings were fresh but limited, other
misc items all looked fresh too. It was noon on a weekday.
For the extra
$1 there was meatballs, they were good. Potatoes, they were instant. Plus
chicken, about a ½ dozen items total. There were also desert items, not
sure if those were included in just the salad bar or not.
Service was
basic, just clearing the plates when you have the buffet.
MI-BENTON HARBOR - AMERICAN INN - STUGIS INN - POSTED
It's a truckstop
motel.
… measuring it by those standards it is an OK place.
Did find a couple of maintenance issues. 1) There isn't a door stop on the door
so the handle and security lock have put holes in the wall. 2) The tub has
cracked and someone has done a pretty bad job of 'fixing' it. With all that
ruff surface it is not something I would take a bath in.
Big plus's …
Cheap and lots of truck parking next door at the Flying J. Check in went fine,
got my receipts then so no check out.
The room it's self was a mix …
The floor was a 'Motel 6' style wood floor, The furniture looked fairly new,
but the sheets were old and the walls were in real need of a make-over.
Various signage on the property said 'Super 8' and Knights Inn, but today's
receipt was calling it the 'American Inn / Sturgis Inn.'
Only food in the
area is Wendy's next door at the truckstop.
I did not have any of their
breakfast, but they had two name brand cold cereals plus bread for toast and a
couple of other basics.
Meets my basic's of clean, quiet and temperature
controlled, so I'll be back if I am in the area.
… maybe I should
start reading TripAdvisor BEFORE is check in instead of after when I'm writing
my reviews. I likely would not have stayed here … 22 terrible and 1 poor
… out of 23. But I'll give it their best review so far … average. It
is a truckstop motel and I did not experience the issues listed by others.
MI-BENTON HARBOR - WENDY'S (not listed)
Son of
Baconator … service was great and so was the sandwich. .. No line when I
got there no line and I was waiting on right away. By the time I was putting
away my change they were calling my order. That is the way I remember 'fast
food.'
Burger was great.
10/9/13 ON-TORONTO - QUALITY
INN - POSTED
My place in Toronto.
I think I have now stayed
here a half dozen times over as many years. Never had a bad experience.
This trip I was being dropped off by a shuttle service and even the shuttle
service wondered why I was staying 'so far from the airport.' It is because
this Quality Inn has always been good to me.
The service here was great,
the person at the front desk listed off all the answers to my questions before
I could ask … where is food, about Wi-Fi, airport shuttle, etc.
For
me there are two down sides to this location. They do list truck parking, but
the only big rig parking is in the adjacent lots which is a problem on weekdays
(Hours of Service requirements), the 2nd issue is food. The 'Alder & the
Sparrow' is in the motel but a little pricey, nothing else is within walking
distance.
BUT, the service great, the rooms are great, they have a 24 hour
airport shuttle if you need that (I do this trip in the AM) and it is easy on,
easy off the '401' if you are just passing through.
Of all the motels I
have stayed at (many nights a week), this is the only location I stay at that
has had people dropped off by the (tour?) bus load, luckily I have not had to
wait in line either in the PM or AM for this crowd. This is at least the 2nd
time at this location I have seen them lined up. Only an issue if you are at
the wrong end of that line : … they do have two clerks on staff.
ON-TORONTO - ALDER & THE SPARROW - POSTED
Like most motel
bar/restaurants I have been in, this one had lots of tables but very few
customers.
At this location, the bartender was also the sole waiter, but
with this size of crowd it was not an issue. They were busy with a customer so
I was not seated quite right away but it gave me time to look at the menu.
My order was taken promptly but the food took a while (not too long, I was in
and out in under an hour). Food was good but different, I think it was the
cheese. I had the lasagna and it had a couple of different kinds of cheese, I
am used to just mozzarella.
I tried to take a picture with my cell phone
but it didn't do it justice. What would have made a good picture was the burger
and salad the people at the next table got. Someone it the kitchen is good at
putting on those 'extra' touches.
Eating in saved me $3 plus 15%
'gratuity,' as comparted to room service. (OK, it did not save me all of the
15%, I did leave a tip.)
10/10/13
VT-BURLINGTON -
TRAVELODGE - POSTED
Quaint
… is how I would describe it.
The bathroom sits opposite the front door in about the middle of the room, a
place to hang your clothes on one side of the bathroom and a table/desk in a
little nock on the other side.
Everything seems to be clean, sheets, ect
look new. Bathroom only has a shower and that is what dates the motel. It's not
a 'shower shell,' it's built right into the wall (no picture). Three 'new'
lamps in the room, the kind with a power outlet on them, sure beats the power
strip, the '6 outlet adaptor … or just no available outlets that are still
in most low and mid-ranged motels.
No room for big rig parking on site or
anywhere close. Only food within walking distance is Olive Garden across the
(very busy) street (it was good.)
Google 'Street View' still shows this
place as a Rodeway Inn, as is noted on this TripAdvisor listing.
It was
the coupon that got me here, but they wouldn't take it on this Thursday night,
I wasn't given a reason and did not push the issue.
Breakfast … they
do have eggs over hard and sausage plus the other basics. Nice setup and the
room was full at 7 AM.
VT-BURLINGTON - OLIVE GARDEN - POSTED
It was the only place within walking distance
… of the
Travelodge across the street. Not that I have anything against Olive Garden, I
just like to try 'local,' when I travel if I can.
I was there at about 6
PM on a Thursday night and there was a line and when I left at 7 PM there was
still a line so a few people must think it is worth waiting for.
I usually
order the 'Tour of Italy,' (yes, I have been to a few Olive Gardens, a few
times) but the 'Tour' leaves me with lots of leftovers and because I am
traveling I had no way to deal with leftovers so I went with the slightly
smaller, slightly less expensive Lasagna Classico and soup. It was some kind of
mushroom soup that I cannot find on their on-line menu, but it was good.
Maybe Olive Gardens have changed their menu, because our local one used to only
offer one type of soup or their unlimited salad, now I see a number of soups
available.
Did have to wait a bit for bread sticks the first time (they
were out) and had to wait for my check, but like I said, they were busy.
10/11/13 NY - FREDONIA - DAYS INN - POSTED
After
much thought, I am leaving my rating for this location at 'Average.' 'Very
good' would be a stretch.
Check in / check out, the front desk was
pleasant, no issues. The room it's self was clean. I did have two maintenance
issues. 1) Wi-Fi was not working anywhere except the lobby. Re-booting the
system didn't help, and seeing others in the lobby on their laptops confirmed
it was not 'my' issue.
2) No hot water, I ran the sink and the tub for
<> 5 minutes before accepting that was all I was going to get. Then as I
am finishing up, it gets hot. (not sure where the water-heater is, but I was
only three doors from the front desk)
The place looks like it was built as
a Best Western / Holiday Inn, something more than the Days Inn. And they seem
to be keeping it up quite well. Entry / lobby is 'very good.' There is also a
huge 'breakfast area' that used to be a restaurant, the bar area is not being
used right now.
For such a nice area for breakfast area, it was just your
basic 'Daybreak' breakfast. At 7 AM on a Saturday, not even a ½ dozen
people using the 30 plus tables.
Besides my rig, there were two tour buses
in the parking lot so there is some 'truck/bus' parking, but it is not an area
I would try to get a semi into. (But there is a big lot at the Home Depot next
door)
NY - FREDONIA - BOB EVANS - POSTED
I had
been told by my motel that this location was open until midnight, when I walked
in I saw a sign that said it was only open until 10 PM and that only gave me 20
minutes. So I asked which was correct, then they said 10 PM I turned to leave
as I need more than that amount of time to eat … but they would have none
of that. And this as not one of the managers, it was my waitress. Most people
are focusing on cleaning up at that time of day, not trying to squeeze in one
more customer.
I had to order their potato soup, it was great last time at
another location, and was again tonight here.
I wouldn't have needed soup
and I ordered a 'Farmers Choice,' eggs scrambled, bacon, wheat toast and home
fries. All was good.
And I didn't feel rushed to get out of there …
but I did eat as fast as I could without inhaling it.
10/12/13 OH-PLAIN CITY - WAFFLE HOUSE - POSTED
On que, everyone says
'Hello' when you walk in the door. If you know what you want the service is
quick, I wasn't sure so it took a little longer. I was still in and out easily
in my 30 minute break.
This locations has one building between it and the
truckstop. There are a ½ dozen big-rig spots at the Waffle House or a
one block walk from the truckstop.
This time I had the 'bacon texas
cheesesteak melt' with smothered / sauteed onions in my hashbrowns.
The
only downside of todays visit was one of the help who's voice was loud enough
that they could command the attention of a who stadium without a microphone or
having to yell. Glad I was only on a 30-minute break and was not trying to
carry on a conversation with anyone else.
IL-PEORIA-COMFORT
SUITES - POSTED
I've never stayed at a Suites before, but have stayed
at a lot of Comfort Inns and other Choice motels. I travel alone and don't have
the need, but tonight all the Super 8 had left was smoking rooms so I paid the
extra to stay at a 'smoke free' motel.
They say they have 'bus / truck'
parking, but it is not a 'dedicated area,' it is wherever it fits. (Make sure
you ask, so you don't get towed)
I normally stay at the Super 8 /
Econolodge class motels so this one is at the top of my list. Great place, no
issues, pleasant help.
Their website lists 'eggs & meat' as part of
their breakfast, if there were eggs, they were hard boiled and in the fridge
and I did not see any meat. NOT complaining. They did have biscuits and gravy,
hot waffles, yogurt and the usual motel breakfast items. I did notice that
their pastries/muffins looked 'fresh,' not pre-packaged and lots of them.
It was Sunday morning for breakfast and I was the only person eating at 7 AM,
but based on the crowd at the pool last night, it would become a busy place
before they closed the area. Unlike the 'mid-ranged' motels, this location has
a person assigned to the breakfast area.
See photo's for power outlet
options at the desk.
IL-PEORIA-PERKINS - POSTED
Perkins, the only place within walking distance of my motel.
I had a
French Dip and subbed the tomato soup for the fries … I was expecting a
cup, not a bowl. Soup was good, I did manage to eat it with only the two
packages of crackers they gave me, I usually use twice that many just on a cup
of soup.
Sandwich was good, but did have one spot of gristle I had to pick
out. Bun was fresh, did use all the au jus sauce that is a sign the meat may
have been a little dry.
Waitress forgot my drink order until I was almost
done, then brought it in a 'to go' cup instead of asking if I still wanted it.
All in all not a bad Perkins.
10/13/13
IA-GRIMES -
MAID-RITE - POSTED
I was fueling next door when I saw this place, and
heard of them, seen signs for them but had never eaten at one.
I didn't
realize it was 'loose meat,' instead of a burger. Most days I'm moving new
vehicles so eating anything that could spill when I drive is not an option. Not
a problem today.
I got the original with cheese, sandwich was good but
seemed to be on a 'Wonder Bread' type of bun, I much prefer a bakery type bun.
Service was quick and pleasant. I wouldn't say the food was 'great,' but
it is a nice change from Mc'D's, BK and Wendy's. |
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