Bienvenue au Manitoba!
I mentioned last week that I was in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Ontario and Manitoba for the purpose of collecting 68 more counties on my way to visiting all 3,143 counties
Now, if you think that certain chains (Hyatt, Starwood, etc.) don’t have a very big footprint in various cities throughout the country or world, just wait until you see the slim pickings in Warroad, Minnesota (pop. 1,778). If you pull up Award Mapper, which was on my list of the Top 10 miles and points tools out there, you’ll see
What’s that? Take off the filters you say? Nope, that’s it. With ~36 hours of driving over a long weekend and a pretty planned route, there aren’t a lot of options – you stop where there are towns to stop in.
So all of this is a long way to say that I spent a night at the Super 8 Warroad, Minnesota Friday night. Not to be outdone, I followed that up with a stay at the Super 8 Osseo, Wisconsin on Saturday night.
Since your typical travel blogger does not deign to stay in such establishments, I thought I’d give a brief review. I mean I’ve stayed in a Rodeway Inn and lived to tell the tale, though you know when they give you signs not to steal the pillows or coffee maker, you’re in a classy joint!
(Actually, to be fair to Rodeway Inns, I ranked the Rodeway Inn and Suites in Gardiner, Montana as #1 of my 8 hotels I stayed at during our Yellowstone trip)
Super 8 Warroad, Minnesota review
The Super 8 in Warroad, Minnesota was…. not so great. I was on the trip with a buddy of mine, and as we walked in, he made a joke about low-end hotels always putting in 25 watt bulbs so you can’t see anything. We flipped on the lights and…. sure thing, a low-watt bulb
Turn the lights on, you say? 😀
The breakfast was…. pretty bad. The only hot selection was a sausage gravy that you could put over not very good biscuits. As much of a sucker as I am for free breakfasts, I passed. No pool nor exercise room (not that I was expecting either).
I will say that the front desk staff was very pleasant, and the beds were comfortable. The best part of my stay was the night after, when, while in the shower, I unwrapped the soap and wadded up the empty wrapper and threw it across the bathroom…. RIGHT INTO THE CUP I HAD LEFT BY THE SINK
Yeah, that’s right – I’m that good!
Super 8 Warroad MN was definitely NOT worth the $90 that we paid, nor would it be worth redeeming 15,000 Wyndham points for it (remember, all Wyndham hotels are 15,000 points no matter what), but if you’re in the area (why?), the beds were comfortable and it beats sleeping in the car (which, really, is your only other option)
Super 8 Osseo Wisconsin
The thriving metropolis of Osseo, Wisconsin (population 1,701) also boasts just one chain hotel, the Super 8. It is not quite as remote as Warroad, being less than an hour from Eau Claire, but Eau Claire was not on the route, and when you’ve already got 36 hours of driving planned, you really don’t want to make (m)any detours.
The Super 8 in Osseo was approximately the same price (~$90 / night), but was DEFINITELY better. The rooms were nicer, and although it didn’t have an exercise room, it DID have an indoor pool (and hot tub)
The breakfast selection was bigger, including some hot items. Okay, okay, it was just your standard run-of-the-mill waffle maker, but it WAS an improvement. And, after creating Roadtrip Rule #1 the day before, involving what you do if you see a giant animal statue, I knew I was in the right place when I spotted this little guy in the hotel lobby
“Giant” bear? I’ll take it!
All in all, My 2 nights in Super 8s (Super 16?) were passable but not exciting. We can’t all stay in the Vendome, and in any case I think generally speaking that budget hotels are WAY better than 5-star hotels anyways! What about you? Give me your best Super 8 stories in the comments!
This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as thepointsguy.com. This may impact how and where links appear on this site. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them
User Generated Content Disclosure: Points With a Crew encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
I have stayed in a number of Super 8s myself, my favorite being in Ft Oglethorpe, GA. Neat, clean, and functional. The breakfast is your standard fruit loops and Danish but it is free! My only rule with Super 8s and hotels in that category is to never use the hot tubs. Have seen things I cannot forget. 🙂
I have stayed in several Super 8s on my current long trip. For about $5 more than Motel 6 you get free wifi that works, free comtinental breakfast, bigger rooms and are staying with slightly better clientele. Also, they have had refrigerators and microwaves in each room. I have been very satisfied with them.
I forgot to mention – that the Super 8 Warroad did have a refrigerator in the room. Of course, that meant we left all our cold snacks there in the morning… 😀
I stayed at a Days Inn last April, booked by Hotels.com, while attending the DFW FTU event. There was mold growing on the gasket of the room small refrigerator. Waiting at least an hour at the airport for a ride back to the motel was the ‘winner’.
Sounds like that’s a great nomination for the worst hotel stay of all time!! 😀
1 – I hope you took your photo with the large chicken and bull at that exit off of I-94 in Osseo, WI. And that you stopped at the Norske Nook for breakfast!
2 – Too bad you didn’t keep going down I-94 10 more miles to Black River Falls. The Best Western there has a large orange moose in the front area! http://www.bwarrowheadlodge.com/
Wisconsin is a land of many large animals!
Jessica – of course I did! You can see some of my large animals at Roadtrip Rule #1: If you see a giant living creature, you…