La Quinta Inn Tallahassee South, Tallahassee

The last leg of our long trip from South Florida north to Gainesville (1 night), Atlanta (2 days), then back south led us to Tallahassee for 1 night. We had stayed at 2 excellent La Quintas in Gainesville and Perimeter Medical Center/Atlanta. Our Tallahassee-South price was $59 and the reservation was booked at LQ just like the other La Quintas on the the trip. We expected the typical La Quinta features: a clean room, Free High Speed Internet, a continental breakfast, etc. This chain had been excellent in Gainesville and Atlanta, but this location really let us down. The first thing we noticed is that this hotel is the same style as the Gainesville La Quinta with exterior hallways, but the floorplan was a pain because the rooms were not in the same building as the lobby. This meant breakfast would be a walk as you have to go from one end of the property to the front to get the breakfast. The lady at the front desk was nice at check-in, but somewhat clueless. A Federal Government employee checked-in behind us and was given a room in the same area of the hotel. She was given a smoking room, she had requested a non-smoking room. We asked for non-smoking and got a "non-smoking" room that stunk of cigarette. The room was not very clean and fresh smelling in feel. In fact, it felt like someone had cleaned it 2 weeks before and the room was left unused until we checked in. The room had no towels, no soap, no shampoo, some lights did not work, the TV was almost dead, the high speed internet was wireless but malfunctioning. The hotel offered towels, soap, was out of shampoo, a La Quinta complaint form, and a PC in the lobby. We spent the night, checked out the next morning as soon as we woke, drove around Tallahassee, ate breakfast at a wonderful Waffle House on Monroe and S. Capital Circle, enjoyed visiting FSU, and drove back home to South Florida. This location has the potential to be as nice as the other La Quintas, but they need to maintain the building! The doors could use re-sealing, the lights need bulbs, the pool needs some cleaning, the housekeeping needs to catch-up on their customer's needs and overall this hotel needs to get a clue that management is what makes or breaks customer satisfaction.