This past weekend we planned a short weekend trip over to Indianapolis, Indiana to meet up with a friend. Little did we know just how interesting of a weekend it would turn out to be. The major motivator for going on this short jaunt was not only to see out friend, who we had not seen since the birth of our second son 17 months prior, but also to take part in the big Club Carlson promotion.

Staying just three nights at each of the Club Carlson brands (Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, and Park Inn) will easily earn us enough points for up to 17 nights free in the future. This trip was actually our second planned stay for this promotion. The first was a quick check in-take some pictures-check out at a local Radisson. For this trip we booked one of the four Country Inn & Suites around Indianapolis.

On the ride into Indianapolis, I had my wife call ahead to the Country Inn & Suites, Indianapolis South (4325 Southport Crossings Way) to not only confirm our two separate one-night stays (one under each of our Club Carlson accounts), but also to confirm our late arrival and that they would have a crib available in our room. We were told they were out of cribs but they would call us back to see what they could do. Just shy of two hours later, after not getting a returned call, I had my wife call back again. The response this time was that they did not want to call us back because they did not want to upset us. That was the completely wrong answer and not a way to conduct business. The sad part was all the reviews on Trip Advisor seemed to point to same poor customer service and accommodations at the Southport location. So I had my wife ask about switching our reservation over to one of the other Country Inn properties. The agent agreed they would cancel our reservation if we could provide a confirmation at another Country Inn property.

That is where Jessica from the Country Inn Indianapolis Airport South (5630 Flight School Drive) came in to save the day. Not only was she the most pleasant person to deal with, she quickly rebooked us at the same rate into her hotel, guaranteeing we would have a crib available. She even rebooked us under two separate reservations in the same room to make sure we were still going to be able to maximize the bonus.

Unfortunately, calling back over to the Southport Country Inn & Suites location again disappointed. After talking to the same agent, they gave my wife a hard time about cancelling because it was after 6:00 PM. The funny thing is, the whole issue would have been resolved hours prior if they only had called us back like they stated. However, they still cancelled our reservations, and we confirmed by checking the Club Carlson app.

Upon our arrival at the Country Inn & Suites location on Flight School Drive, we were graciously greeted by the wonderful Jessica. She was happy to see us arrive, quickly checked us in and confirmed our Club Carlson account numbers, and after seeing I was Gold status, thanks to a status match to our Priority Club Platinum, she gave us two goodie bags for our two nights/reservations.

The travel bags would be great for our boys during the drive back complete with fruit, Nutri-Grain Bars, muffins, mints, water, and potato chips. After a long drive, I felt so welcomed to the Country Inn & Suites.

The room was nicely appointed with dual queen beds with ample space once the pack-n-play was set up (which was waiting for us in the room!).

We all quickly changed and headed down to the nice swimming pool. The boys are addicted to water after our 2.5 weeks in Hawaii, and it has been wonderful seeing their swimming skills improve.

Who turned the lights out?

About a half hour into swimming, the unexpected happened…the power went out. We all quickly dried off and headed towards the lobby since there was no way to get into the rooms. Again, Jessica was quickly on top of the situation, updating guests on what she knew of the situation, and doing what ever necessary to determine if anyone was stuck in the elevator. This girl was on top of her game, and so great to make everyone feel comfortable with an uncomfortable situation.

About 15 minutes later, the power came back on, and everyone was headed to their rooms for the night. I love some excitement!

Saturday

Breakfast the next morning was one of the nicer ones I have had at a continental style hotel. Hot assortments included French toast and sausage patties. Guest could use a waffle maker or choose from a selection of breads, bagels, muffins, and pastries. Hot oatmeal and assorted toppings were available, in addition to fresh fruits, chilled eggs, and yogurts. The lady attending the food area was delightful and very much on top of making sure everything remained stocked, clean, and available to assist guests. This was another example that the staff at the Country Inn & Suites (Flight School) were exceptional!

For the day we decided to head to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum (full review to follow).

On the way back to the hotel in the evening, we were again presented with another unfortunate event. As we were exiting the freeway for the hotel, our vehicle got a flat tire. Wonderful! We hobbled the vehicle into the Country Inn parking lot and I got the spare swapped on and made an appointment for the next morning at a local Big O Tires. This was where we got very fortunate in that we purchased the tires at a national tire carrier (NTB) and were able to easily locate a local affiliate to cover everything under warranty.

After getting everything worked out with the vehicle, we headed in the evening, and to our surprise, we were again greeted by our wonderful Jessica. After asking us about our day, and informing her of the flat tire incident, she quickly wanted to jump into action and call someone to assist us. Luckily, we had it all worked out, but this girl deserves an award AND a raise for excellent customer service!

Sunday

I should point out that there was another agent (I did not get his name) at the front desk each morning, who was equally as good at customer service and was a pleasant smile to see each morning.

Breakfast on this day was mostly the same, except the hot sausage patties and French toast were swapped out with potatoes, eggs, and sausage links. I love that the Country Inn switched up the daily offerings so as not to bore the guests.

In case you have not been able to tell, we have instantly become huge fans of the Country Inn & Suites product, at least at the Flight School location. The price could not be beat ($89 that was price matched from our other reservation) for what you receive. Two beds, nice pool, free wireless internet, great staff.

Now as long as our bonus points credit without a problem, we will be happy campers, and well on our way to having enough points to cover free rooms in the future.

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