Yale and it’s location in New Haven has created many boundaries regarding
“good” neighborhoods - near the main parts of the campus; and not very appealing areas. Having stayed at some of the properties closer to Yale, I ventured a little further to check out this Courtyard. First of all, it’s quite a long walk from most of the campus. It’s also in an unsavory area: surrounded by a gas station and the closest food is a Popeyes...nothing like many of the cute cafes and eateries in the neighborhood where most of the other hotels are in. Moreover, the street it’s on is so noisy! It’s almost as bad as staying in a highway. The building is old: built in the mid sixties. From the street the windows are covered in dreary, dingy white sheers - something that’s been replaced seemingly everywhere but here. I’m beyond shocked that it’s never undergone a real renovation. I was shown to a king guest room that was terribly dated, dingy and depressing. When I asked the woman at reception if the rooms were due to be renovated, she said the hotel had undergone renovation “2019”. She didn’t say will be: she said it in the past tense. I’m not sure what was renovated. Perhaps the lobby as it certainly isn’t fifty years old. I’m shocked considering the neighborhood, the distance to the shops, restaurants, museums, theatre, Yale campus, etc, that people actually choose to stay here. Then I heard the room sells for $295 per night. After I looked and saw this so-called renovated room, I brought my bag downstairs and I told the woman at the front desk that I wouldn’t be checking in after all. The disconnect between the price and the poor quality of the room I was assigned (and its unsavory location with a gas station as it’s major landmark) has my head spinning.
