My husband and I lived in Peoria for over 10 years, but never had the opportunity or need to stay at a hotel. Now we have relocated and decided to visit old friends for the weekend. We were able to snag a reasonable rate and were excited to stay at what is supposed to be one of Peoria's nicest hotels. Unfortunately, I did not head the warnings posted on the internet. The hotel hypes up its remodeled rooms, but it does not mention only 2 floors are remodeled. Remodeling appears to only include new carpet tacked over old trim, a new TV, new bathroom countertop and re-grouting the bathroom tile. We entered the lobby after our trek up & down stairs across half the hotel from the inconveniently located parking deck. We waited in a line of only 3 people for almost 15 full minutes. Once we finally got our room key we were on our way. The first thing we noticed stepping off the elevator was the muggy air which had a strong smell of mildew/mold and a faint smell of stale cigarettes. We entered our room disappointed to find it was not remodeled as we had originally thought. In fact, it was old and dirty feeling. The furniture was clearly purchased generations ago and in need of a good deep cleaning & repair. The bathroom was disgusting and appeared by the looks of the bathtub bottom to not have been cleaned in ages. Some of our towels even appeared to have stains on them. After turning the air-conditioning down to 50, it was still hot in our room hours later. Air circulation was minimal at best. We left for the evening thinking "oh well, we will put up with it for now." Upon our return later that night, we came back to our room only to find that the club music from the local strip club below was playing so loudly I could practically sing along to it in my room. Finally at 1am we went down to the lobby to complain about the noise. We were told there should be a fan in the room for white noise. I informed the clerk there was not, and if they could provide one, we would be happy to try it. Apparently it takes an engineer to hand out box fans, b/c I was told that all the engineers had gone home for the night. The fix was to move us to a smoking room. After informing the clerk that I was not willing to stay in a smoking room (we are non smokers), they were finally nice enough to move us into a room on the other end of the building - 9th floor (remodeled floor). This room albeit "remodeled" still had the same old dirty furniture, same poor air-conditioning, same bathtub, and same mildew smell which was apparent by the mildew caked shower curtain. On a positive note the staff was all very nice to us and accommodating. The bed was fairly comfortable, although there were two small blood stains on our sheets (not from us). Needless to say, we were unhappy and unimpressed with the hotel. The hotel is in severe need of a full blown remodel, including update of all fixtures. It needs a good thorough deep cleaning and an upgraded ventilation system. Until these things are done, I will spend more money to stay elsewhere!

We have stayed at the Pere Marquette twice, for the Proctor Cycling Classic race at the end of June. The hotel is right on the course. Our experiences were very different each year. Both times, we called the hotel directly to participate in a roomblock, with a very good rate - $79/night in '07 and $89/night in '08. The first year they gave us a handicapped accessible double room on the 2nd floor, with peeling wallpaper, hair allover the carpet and the bathtub, dirty windowsill, chunk of plaster missing from wall behind window curtain, smudges on the walls and a FILTHY toilet. I went around the room with a wet washcloth and the filthy result I was tempted to hang on the Sales Office doorknob. We were on the North side of the building, with biker bars noisy and open to 4AM. The non-smoking room STANK when you turned off the A/C and the alarm "Please Evacuate the building" went off just after 12AM. A groggy call to the front desk confirmed that it was an alarm malfunction. Also, breakfast was supposed to open at 6AM but was delayed until 8AM. The cyclists who had early races were really unhappy about that. This past year was much better. We had two (2) rooms - the double was the largest I had ever seen, and was clean and obviously renovated. Same for the king room down the hall, both on the 7th floor, though the houskeeping staff still needs basic instruction in how to clean a toilet. I was very specific about type of rooms and location (away from the biker bars) when booking, and that may have helped. The rooms did not stink of old smoke this time, either, and the breakfast opened at 6AM, as promised. Another pleasant surprise - instant driving instructions to local restaurants from the front desk - just ask and they print for you in about 10 seconds - perfect! Bravo - this is a great service, something other hotels should do. I would definitely give this hotel another chance since for two years, they have been all over the map. I hope next year's experience will be consistant with this past summer.

I got the last room, i junior suite for 1 night. It was the worst hotel experience ever. The electrical outlets were so poorly wired and a major fire risk. The electrical outlets fried my computer battery. This hotel is a fire hazard. Where is the fire marshall or building inspector in Peoria? This is potentially a life threatening situation for guests. Never Never stay here

I stayed here for business in December '07. On arrival, after travelling for 15 hours, not a great start, the front desk computer system was down and apparently this meant I was unable to check-in. I was given some drinks vouchers and packed off to the bar to be called when everything was back-up and running. I took a the opportunity to have something to eat in the bar, a pasta dish with cheese sauce. The pasta was drowned in a synthetic cheese sauce and was very unpleasant. Once I eventually got check-in I was given a room on the upper floors overlooking the road. The room itself was very tired and full of quality classic furniture, but too many textiles gathering dust. The curtains weren't attached to the rail properly. Overall the room was very tired and dusty. The bathroom was also rundown. The wireless internet very slow and temperamental. The gym did not look appealing at all. With the exception of the lobby, the communal areas are very poorly lit, flowery and generally rundown. The only plus points to this hotel are the central location and comprehensive breakfasts.

I recently stayed at the Pere Marquette while attending a conference. The hotel is conveniently located to the civic center, and while it is a relatively populated area, noise didn't seem to be a problem. The staff was pleasant and professional, and the entire hotel was recently renovated. My room was on the third floor. It was clean and comfortable. The bathroom was also clean - in terms of size, it was far more modest than many large hotels, but it wasn't abnormally small. The maid did an excellent job cleaning up the room & was very pleasant when I encountered her while collecting something from the room. The bed was comfortable, though the pillows were a little softer than I prefer. The ballrooms, which were used for some conference events, were very nice as well.