During our six weeks in Wisconsin as part of our 50 state road trip, we stayed for five nights at the Super 8 Wausau.
We’d never stayed at a Super 8 before and from the reviews I’ve seen of the brand in the past, they’ve often been mixed. Some Super 8s have had fairly good reviews, while others have been terrible.
There used to be a Super 8 in Portsmouth VA where we lived which was super-dodgy, but the reviews of the Super 8 Wausau seemed to be good. At less than $70 per night (before pet fee), it was also great value.
Here’s a complete review of our stay at the Super 8 Wausau.
Check-In
We arrived at the hotel just before 7pm. There was a new staff member being trained that evening, so the check-in process took a little longer than it normally would.
The new staff member and her co-worker were both friendly though and let us know about the pet fee. After about 5-10 minutes, we had our keys to room 254. They let us know that our room was at the other end of the hotel so that we could move our car down that end.
The Super 8 Wausau doesn’t have an elevator, so it was a bit of a pain having to manually carry everything up to our room rather than being able to transport it on a luggage cart. We have to bring in several cases and other bags wherever we stay, so it took several trips up to the room to bring it all in. On the positive side, our room was next to the stairwell so we didn’t have to walk down the hallway with our luggage.
Bedroom
When entering the bedroom, the sink was to the left, the bathroom to the right and the bedroom straight ahead.
We’d booked a room with a queen bed – both the bed and the pillows were more comfortable than I was expecting. Above the bed was a large piece of artwork which improved the look of the room.
On the downside, there was only one bedside table, although there were power outlets on both sides of the bed.
To the left of the bed was a good-sized fridge – larger than you often get in hotel rooms. Next to that was a dining table and chair which, while making the room feel a little more cramped, was something we used several times during our stay and so was greatly appreciated.
Opposite those were a desk and office chair. The lamp had a couple of power outlets, while there was also a power strip attached to the side of the desk.
To the left of the desk were a couple of drawers with the TV on top which had about 100 channels to choose from.
To the left of the TV was a low dresser which had a couple of drawers, while to the left of that was an iron and ironing board.
To the left of the sink area was a non-enclosed closet that consisted of a rail with some hangers, luggage rack and safe.
The safe had a sticker on it saying we’d be charged for it every day – even if we didn’t use it – but that if we let the hotel know that we didn’t use it when checking out, they’d remove the fee. This made me frustrated as it’s the same crappy policy that Red Roof Inn properties have.
It turns out that’s not the policy of the Super 8 Wausau after all. I mentioned it when checking out and the front desk agent said there’s never any charge for the safe. I’m therefore thinking the safe must’ve come from a Red Roof Inn, or perhaps this particular hotel was once a Red Roof Inn. Either way, they don’t ever charge you for the safe which is a good thing.
Bathroom
To the right of the closet area was the sink which had the coffee maker on top.
The sink was also home to the toiletries. The Super 8 Wausau provides shampoo, conditioner, lotion and a couple of soap bars.
Opposite the sink was the bathroom which contained a bathtub with shower. The bathtub didn’t seem well supported as it squeaked incredibly loudly when we got in and also when moving around.
I wasn’t impressed with the toilet seat either. I don’t have a particularly big butt, but the seat was the tiniest toilet seat I’ve ever sat on.
Breakfast
Breakfast is included in your room rate when staying at the Super 8 Wausau. There’s a coffee station and juice machine, along with some packets of instant oatmeal.
There was a waffle maker that could make up to four mini waffles. I tried them one morning but didn’t care for the taste of them, even though I’d soaked them with syrup.
Next to the waffle maker were a couple of cereal options, yogurts, breads, bagels and mini muffins. I tried a mini muffin one morning and it was pretty dry.
The first morning we went down for breakfast, I wasn’t overly impressed with that limited selection. That was until I noticed that there was a separate table with a basket of fruit and a couple of hot options. The morning I took the photo there were sausages and scrambled eggs; on other mornings there were biscuits with sausage and gravy.
With fruit and hot options added to the equation, the overall breakfast options were more reasonable. The breakfast area was also a good size, with plenty of tables for guests to sit at.
Amenities
The Super 8 Wausau has an indoor swimming pool and whirlpool. The swimming pool was a great temperature – much warmer than many other hotel pools we’ve gone in.
The hotel also has a fitness room with three pieces of equipment.
In the same room was a guest laundry area with a washer and dryer. Both the washer and dryer cost $2.75 per use which is much higher than guest laundry facilities we’ve used at other hotels.
The hotel has an ice machine, a few beverage machines and a snack vending machine.
Wi-Fi
The Wi-Fi at the hotel seemed decent enough and we didn’t have any problems with a slow connection.
Pet-Friendliness
The Super 8 in Wausau is a pet-friendly hotel. They charge $10 per night which is a reasonable pet fee and is especially good for shorter stays.
There are several grassy areas around the hotel where your dog can do its stuff. The hotel’s also close to a main road which has a sidewalk, so I sometimes walked Truffles along there.
Service
The service we received at the hotel was good overall. We barely had any interactions with staff other than at check-in and check-out though as we didn’t require housekeeping most days.
Location
The Super 8 Wausau seemed to be in a good location and was within walking distance of several restaurants and fast food outlets.
It was also only a five minute drive to downtown Wausau, 15 minutes from Rib Mountain State Park and about 25 minutes to the 45 x 90 Geographical Marker.
Cost
Our room rate was $66.61 per night including tax, while we also had to pay the $10 per night pet fee as we’re traveling with our dog Truffles.
Ultimately though, our cost was less than $66.61 per night. Last year, there was an Amex Offer which offered $10 back when buying a $50 Hotels.com gift card. Shae and I have multiple American Express cards, so we stocked up on ~$1,000 in Hotels.com gift cards to lock in the 20% discount.
We booked this stay through Hotels.com and paid for it using some of the gift cards, so our effective nightly rate was only $53.29 when taking into account the 20% discount.
In addition to that, Hotels.com has their own rewards scheme called Welcome Rewards. This offers 10% back of each night’s pre-tax rate. Once you’ve stayed 10 nights, you can use the total credit from those 10 nights towards the cost of another hotel night. That means our five night stay earned us five night credits in the Welcome Rewards scheme which are worth almost $30.
Super 8 is part of the Wyndham group and so is bookable using Wyndham Rewards points (not the same as Welcome Rewards from Hotels.com). If we’d gone that route, it would’ve cost 15,000 points per night. That would’ve been a terrible use of points as all properties in the Wyndham Rewards portfolio cost a flat 15,000 points. Those free stays using 15,000 points per night are therefore better used at much more expensive hotels rather than ones that cost less than $70 per night.
Final Thoughts
Given my initial trepidation about staying at a Super 8, we had a good stay at the Super 8 Wausau. Our room was clean, comfortable and better appointed than I thought it would be. The bathroom wasn’t great due to the tiny toilet seat and squeaky bath, but it was clean.
The breakfast didn’t have a huge number of options, but there was enough to fill us up each morning. We also loved how warm the swimming pool was.
The biggest downside to the property for us was that there was no elevator. If you’re staying on the first floor or don’t have many bags to carry, that’ll be less of an issue.
Truffles Approval Rating
Truffles gives the Super 8 Wausau in Wisconsin four paws out of four – pawfect! There were plenty of grassy areas and the reasonable pet fee meant we have more money for treats for her 😉 It also wasn’t a noisy hotel, so that didn’t disturb her.
Our Rating
Room = 4.2 / 5
Hotel Amenities = 4.2 / 5
Food = 4 / 5
Location = 4.3 / 5
Service = 4.2 / 5
Overall Value = 4.4 / 5
Total = 4.22 / 5
Address
Super 8, 2006 Stewart Ave, Wausau, WI 54401
Leave a Reply