Hotel Ruby Sandpoint | Ponderay

This hotel was a hidden gym. Looking for a quick room for the night came upon this one, but was only listed as two stars. Obviously a big mistake. This was five stars. Great location, clean rooms great accommodation, nice fire pit, patio, pool, hot tub, all amenities, A+ Offers a discount at the restaurant next-door as well as a free buffet breakfast in the morning. Breakfast was absolutely fabulous.

Enjoyed the stay. Safe,clean and the pool was great with the outside seating. Staff were all friendly and helpful. Loved the breakfast. Only thing to complain about was the door going outside woke me up when guests took their dogs out during the night. Would stay again and recommend to friends.

Art the manager is an awesome person. DOC the chef and his FARMHOUSE team cook an amazing breakfast buffet. I took my 98-year-old Mother to a family reunion on Center Valley Road. Our room was so nice. The breakfast was out of this world. Thank your team for a great 4th of July Weekend in Sandpoint...TEE

Rooms were small but fine. Ac in the room wasn’t cold. No elevator so we had to carry heavy bags up the stairs. Buffet breakfast was delicious! Staff was friendly and overall a good, budget friendly place to stay.

Honestly this place has everything! It's a very nice hotel. The only thing that kinda sucked is there's 2 yards next door that have forklifts going at all times. Otherwise this place is incredibly dog friendly, the best dog friendly hotel I've been to, and the breakfast buffet topped all other hotel breakfasts. Thank you guys for a great experience!

Definitely a little gem. I was skeptical when I booked it through Expedia cause of the price. I travel for work and live basically in hotels, so was a bit apprehensive on what I’d get. But very surprised. Rooms are a tad on the small size. But that being said it’s situated nicely in the space. The bench on the window is a cool touch. The pool hot tubs are nice and the fire pits. (Weren’t on when I was here but very cool). They have a nice little path to stroll on behind the hotel with a little pond and fountains. Was nice to listen to the fringe singing away. Definitely be a spot I come back to for sure. Great place.

The Ruby Hotel is close to everything we wanted. Plus the included breakfast at the farmhouse restaurant was very good and was cooked to order. It’s nice to have a change from the chain hotel premade reheated breakfast food items. The hotel was clean and quiet. It has 2 floors but no elevator so be sure to keep that in mind when booking. We would definitely stay again! ||

The front desk in the evening was extremely helpful. The gentleman helped me get booked in while I was gaming issues with Hotels.com. The representative went out of his way to help me. The next morning upon check out I asked for a few extra minutes as I had so much to repack up. The front desk gal was extremely rude and advised they would have to charge me $15 for a late check out which was extended to noon. I explained again I was only looking for 15 extra minutes. I asked them not to charge my card. The check- in representative in the evening was wonderful. He shared all the extras the hotel had to offer. The hotel is very classy and had numerous different options such as a pool table, a sitting area with additional couch sofas, swimming pool and more. In the late afternoon they offer cocktails at discounted prices accross the parking lot. This restaurant is where you receive a discounted dinner as well as complimentary breakfast. Overall the hotel was very nice and classy. I would recommend this hotel as my stay was very pleasant, minus the grumpy young lady at the front desk.

Nice hotel with decent rates. Similar sized room to comparable hotels. Seems the free continental breakfast has fewer items than last time I stayed; wasn't impressed with it this time. We were given a handicap room even though we didn't request one; it's not the best option if you don't need it (small bathroom sink with no counter space, tub is a bit inconvenient to use, and nothing to sit on in the room except the bed). The room itself was clean and the HVAC worked well and was fairly quiet. There was no microwave in our room and the mini fridge was very small. The employees were all pleasant. The pool is currently closed. They have a pool table near the front desk. Be aware it's two-stories and they have no elevator if you're on the second floor. Can be noisy if there are heavy-footed people in the room above yours. Plenty of parking out front.

This is a well-maintained property and we enjoyed our stay very much. The room was clean and decorated nicely -- just a bit small. I liked the indoor pool and hot tubs. I also appreciated the longer hours that the pool room was open, compared to other hotels where we have stayed. The breakfast included hot items (waffles, egg & sausage biscuit, oatmeal) as well as several continental-type offerings. Check-in clerk was friendly and efficient.

This is Northern Idaho and people might not expect too much from available motels, but the Ruby chain did great with this property, and they are known for upgrading older places. It's very clean, in a safe area, and right by stores and dining. The people who work here are so friendly, and want you to enjoy your stay. My daughters and I liked the amenities and certainly took advantage their continental breakfast each morning. It was waffles, fruit and microwave sams, and we had no problem with that!

Loved the place. Easy to find. Plenty of parking. Friendly staff. It didn't bother us at all that there were fresh cookies at the front desk at all times. restaurant across the parking lot.

I needed a hotel to break a long drive and found Hotel Ruby to have an Excellent reception, comfortable rooms. Nice breakfast, I highly recommend

I want to add to anyone planning on staying here. Comb through the reviews and see for yourself that this hotel will over charge guests. Everyone in my party was charged a security deposit and never was issued a refund (I have video proof that no damages were done to their property during our stay. Which would be hard to do anyways since we were only there at night to sleep.) If you don't want to take my word for it here's a screenshot showing how they double charged me the first night then we had to ask for the refund the next morning (some of us were charged multiple times and our bank stopped the charges because it was flagged as fraud.) Then you can also see the security deposit that was never refunded to me. It's been six business days. They told me upon checking out that it was already refunded to me and that it would take 3-5 business days for "my bank" to release the charges to me. It was never released because they never refunded me it. We all have had to file a dispute of charge with our bank because according to the front desk girl "there's nothing they can do about it."

My mom booked this room before we checked Yelp. I will say that our room is better than most of the pictures posted by others; however, you can tell it was a remodel done on the CHEAP. Very simple things in the rooms were left as they originally were (probably 50 years ago). For example, there is wall-mounted sink in the bathroom - NO COUNTER AT ALL. There's also no mirror in the rest of the room which means there is nowhere to do your hair/makeup easily. The bathroom has linoleum that you can tell is much older than their remodel. There's also one of those old-school twist timers in the bathroom that I haven't seen since my grandmother's house that was built in the 50s. Some of the electrical has been run inside the walls (like what would be expected) while other wiring is run on the outside of the walls under covers. The room appears to be pretty clean, but it has the smell of sawdust when you walk in and the air blowing from the heater smelled like a blow-dryer with burning hair caught in it. The bed was decently comfortable - a step up from most Motel 6's I've stayed at; however, be prepared to wake up several times throughout the night because you can hear EVERYTHING in the rooms next to you, above you, and in the hallway. It's a VERY LOUD hotel with little or no insulation between rooms/floors. With regard to the staff, our main interaction was with the young man at the front desk. I'm really not sure if he was trying to joke around with us or if he thought we were morons and was being condescending. For example, when he told my mom that they were going to charge a security deposit to her credit card and she said she'd never had a hotel do that before, his response was, "well, then you need to stay at more hotels." And when she questioned why we were put in a king room rather than two queens, he said, "You booked it..." Each of these was followed by a pause and then a little laugh - so I really couldn't tell if they were just bad jokes that weren't landing or if he was actually being purposefully rude. I will say there was cleaning lady tin the hallway when we arrived and departed. She was very friendly and wished us a safe drive home. Overall, our room is better than some of the other reviewer's rooms and is decent enough that we didn't leave or demand a refund, but I'd book elsewhere in the future.

We stayed in the Back to the 50s Suite for 2 nights. I'm a huge Elvis lover and having a hot tub in your room is pretty fantastic. The decor of the room is a bit kitchy but just added to the fun. Patrick the Hotel Manager was amazing. So accommodating and even gave us a better price once we arrived. When we had to check out 2 days early he was more than understanding A free Continental Breakfast was included but it was so frustrating trying to eat it almost wasn't worth it. It was supposed to be available at 6am until 9 am. Each day they set up was about a half hour late and the young man who I think was supposed to get it out on time had no sense of urgency at all. Then if you got there by 8am it was done. In other words the times meant nothing. I tried to cook a waffle and pancakes in this pre set up arrangement. They took forever and when the timer dinged they were so hard they would have made great rocks. The next day I stopped them early and they were like runny half cooked cake. I asked if they could adjust them to work correctly and they just said no this is how they work The breakfast staff needs to have some training from Patrick on how to treat customers I know many Yelpers have had this same experience so I'm at a loss as to why they don't fix it The website also made it seem like it was close to the lake. It isn't and traffic around it is crazy. They built up too fast and didn't have roads to match the growth If I could clone Patrick I might stay here again but until that's possible I will probably look elsewhere

Killed the day when mountain had rain. Friendly staff, a few games to use, pool, hot tub, very clean

Every hotel in the Sandpoint/Ponderay area is way overpriced for the amenities this time of year, and this hotel is no different. The one thing that differentiates this hotel from the others I stay at in the area is the staff. They go out of their way to help you with anything you may need and they keep a smile on their faces always. Absolutely nothing negative about the people here. Now, amenities. They have a nice pool with side by side hot tubs. The hot tubs were both cool when I checked, so kind of a bummer there. The fitness center is light on equipment with three treadmills, one elliptical, some bands and medicine balls, but it does the trick if you're just looking for a lighter workout. Breakfast is similar to what many places seem to be moving to. Waffle maker, cereals, toasts, prepackaged hard boiled eggs, and juices are about it. There are no coffee makers in the room, so you'll have to get dressed to get some in the lobby where it's available 24 hours a day. Overall a clean secure hotel with great employees.

Our room was a dump The room I was put in was a dirty dump. Walked in and was instantly put off. Room stunk, the window sill was disgusting, bathtub had private part hairs in it. I called to office and was told place was full. I was on the phone to another hotel and placed a hold on another room elsewhere. Heck to the no was I going to stay in that room.  After going to lobby and insisting on my money back, another room magically was available. I inspected with one of their employees. Room was cleaner but what a serious pain. The room they put me in first should be condemned.

This was a cute little hotel. It was very clean. Has a continental breakfast. Fire pits outside the pool area. Staff was very friendly. They even have a pool table. Just a cute, quaint, nice hotel. I highly recommend.

Well this place is not the Ritz Carlton but it's definitely doable for a ski weekend. The staff is friendly and the place is clean. You can't expect much for $100 a night. I will be back when skiing in Schweitzer

This is a great hotel with a European accent. The hotel is an unknown gem!

Everything is great except the general manager ( heavy set & blondish) has a personality disorder. How can whomever is above her not see this? Look at all the other reviews! I was told when I made the reservation and again when I checked in that I could check out one hour late -- at noon-- and if I went later then I'd be charged $25. I attempted to check out a few minutes before noon and was told that coming a few minutes before noon was unacceptable and I would be charged. I was more astonished than angry. Eventually they relented but I was told that I was not welcome to return. I wasn't the kind of person who should stay there. Too bad because I love the Ruby Spokane and was hoping to love this one too. I wouldn't trust this manager's judgement on anything-- my first guess is a really bad childhood. If you set her off, watch out! And it seems that anything might-- not a rational person! I have lost faith in the chain now. How could they let her manage one of their properties?

First, absolutely wonderful staff. Very accommodating. Second, the hotel is clean and welcoming in appearance. Third, there's a wonderful restaurant/bar just a short parking lot walk away with the best food and the hotel staff gave us a 10% off coupon. Fourth, our queen/non-smoking room was very 'compact' with no microwave or fridge but it had everything we needed at a great price and we really did lack nothing. Fifth, the bed!!!! This is our only complaint. It was comfortable enough but you couldn't breath without the bed wiggling. It was like sleeping on a waterbed. We both got very little sleep as the bed was moving so disruptively. A minor complaint is that the room was super warm for my husband (I was fine). He opened the window to cool the place down only to find that we were very near an extremely active, loud railroad. The temperature and railroad are in no way the hotels fault, however, something some might want to consider. I will say that with the window closed the train was not a problem. Yes, there was an heat pump in the room but it didn't seem to want to pump cold air. Sixth, the continental breakfast. I saw other reviewers who complained about this, saying it was unimpressive. I disagree. The breakfast area was large and inviting, the tables were so luxuriou, I could have hung out there all day. The food was great! Here's what we had on offer: blueberry and regular batter for - pancakes or waffles - both machines worked great and very quickly. Blueberry muffins, English muffins and bagels. Condiments: peanut butter, jelly, butter, cream cheese and syrup. Fresh fruit - apples and oranges, bananas would have made a nice addition. Yogurt in four flavors (this was actually the only item that was not a hit since it was a low-fat yogurt which had some artificial sweetener in it and was super gross). Oatmeal in four flavors. Two kinds of cereal - looked like Cheerios and Raisin Bran. Fresh milk, orange juice, tea, hot chocolate and coffee. Oh, it is also walking distance from a very good Mexican restaurant and a Wal-Mart. We would heartily recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Sandpoint and would definitely stay here again. We have also stayed at the La Quinta in Sandpoint and enjoyed that hotel as well. Ruby's has a slightly better breakfast and atmosphere in our opinion. Although, La Quinta is walking distance to the actual city of Sandpoint, so I guess it's a toss up. Update: we've stayed here three more times since my initial review and every time they do the same fabulous job and our room is clean and comfortable. The absolute best hotel for your money.

We stayed three days in the pend oreille 234 room. King bed with good linens. Fireplace that warmed up the room quickly. Jetted double tub that actually fit both my husband and I. Nice thick towels that were soft. We should have taken pictures because they have certainly remodeled and updated since any other photos. The room was clean and well done. The side chairs were comfy to sit by the fire and watch tv. They always had coffee ready downstairs. Breakfast was limited but good waffles and fresh fruit. It's been a long time since I have yogurt so that was a nice change. All of the staff were friendly and polite. We overall enjoyed our stay and will only stay here when we return thank you!

I'll be honest I didn't expect much for the price. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Hotel Ruby has tried to stay up to date. We stayed in the Pend Oreille Suite. The room was much more modern than I expected. The jacuzzi and Fireplace were to die for and the bed was comfortable. The room was very very clean and had no hint of the musty smell you would expect with the jacuzzi. The negative things about the room were that it was right above the parking lot so there was a lot of noise and the refrigerator with the microwave stacked on top really took away from the theme and luxurious feel of the room. There was also no coffee in the room. They offer it in the lobby. The rest of the hotel has been updated and is clean. The lobby boasts a large media room with a comfy sectional and two dining areas; one large and open, one small and private. The breakfast was underwhelming ah best. We arrive 20 min after it opened and meager pickings look ransacked. All in all I thought you got your money's worth. We will stay here in the suite again.

Expect very small rooms with no amenities, like a dorm room. If that is all you need the rates are reasonable for what you get. Pool is very small, only 3.5' deep but there are 2 separate tiled hot tubs, which people seem to prefer over actual swimming. The HIE across the street has a better pool, for $40-50 more. Staff seemed friendly, they comped my room after the first had no working TV and the second had no hot water. Probably just an unlucky coincidence and they were fair about it. A/V warning: the TV remotes have 50 buttons and a slide switch, very confusing and the TVs all have a satellite box hanging over them with cables everywhere.

We are halfway along our preplanned 30 day car trip from Nevada to Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Callfornia. We made advance reservations almost 2 month prior to our trip to make sure we had secured the reservtions. All was going pretty smoothly until we arrived for our reserved stay at the Hotel Ruby in Ponderay (Sandpoint). We drove from Kalipell MT. to Pondertay and arrived around 2:30 PM. We went into the lobby in Ponderay and asked if our room might be ready knowing that the check in time was 4 PM. The clerk told us yes it was ready but i we wanted to check in early we would need to pay a $25 fee. We told him we had never ever been requested to pay an early check in fee if the room was ready. The clerk made a statement that "then those other hotels are losing money). So we had a dinner planned with relatives about half an hour away and we come back later that night. So we didn't see the room or really know what it would look like. Upon checking in around 9 PM, very tired and anxious to get some rest. We are both 75 years old and now anxious to get into our room. I asked then female desk clerk when we checked in if we could get an early check out discount since they charge an early check in fee. She explained that is not how they do things. I said well, we had never encountered this type of policy in any of the thousands of hotels we have stayed in during our long life times. She told me that i was unreasonable and that she would cancel our reservation then and there. We said no that wouldn't be possible as we might not be able to find another vacancy at the time of night and we were staying. So we get into our room. It was unbelievable how bad it was but we were too exhausted to have any more interaction with the desk clerk. Please see the photos of this horrid room. The queen size bed had approximatley 30" on all sides to walk around. It had three small pillows, the bedspread cover appeared to have come out of laundry bad all crumled and messy. The room smelled like a wet dog. The shower rod was coming loose from the wall and floors in the bathroom were filthy. By far this is the worst hotel we had stayed in many years. It was no bargain either at $165 per night. We weren't about to take a shower and left soon after we woke up the next morning which was around 7 am. We couldn't wait to get out of this place. We got dressed grabbed a couple of things from breakfast bar and left with no showers. Actually the local health department should inspect this property.

Hotel Ruby is promoted as a boutique-like hotel, but it is clear from the room size, design and noise level that this is a former Motel 6, a fact I confirmed after staying there by doing some online research. This wouldn't be so terrible if they charged Motel 6 prices, but they do not. My room was small, outdated and noisy. There is only one elevator, which means unless you're one of the fortunate few that gets to park directly in front of the lobby, you will likely be carrying your bags a considerable distance. I did appreciate that the room was clean and that they gave me a coupon for free toast and eggs at a neighboring restaurant. Hotel Ruby was the most disappointing lodging of my weeklong trip. I will not be staying there again.

The RUDEST most un-welcoming staff I've ever experienced. I would not recommend this place to anyone. The pools were dirty, and not even working properly. The lady at the front desk was mean.

(Pics on yelp must be outdated because it looked much nicer in person) Great hotel for the low price! My friends and I stayed here for New Year's Eve and we loved it. For just $80/night during busy holiday time it was a steal. Also when we booked online we didn't even have to pay which was convenient - instead we payed in person. The whole place looked brand new and recently renovated. They have a nice lobby with couches, tables, books, and plenty of free coffee. Honestly nicer than some expensive Hilton hotels I've been to. Staff was really chill and friendly and got us in/out quick. Rooms were a bit small but during the winter time felt pretty cozy, and the huge mirrors made it feel much bigger. Also I really liked the heater inside the room, it was quiet and worked well - and didn't just blow dust everywhere. Location was great too. Close to restaurants and only a 20 min uber from Schweitzer mountain. Would definitely stay here again.

Very friendly staff. They got us checked in fast, even though we showed up a little early. Our room was clean and no issues. A nice breakfast was available every morning. The pool and the 2 hot tubs were open with no restrictions. The fitness center was also available. We had a microwave and fridge as well. No issues and no Covid fear. Thanks

Unfortunately, there was an overbooking problem and they did not have a room for us even though we had made the reservation weeks before. We arrived around 11:00 PM. Even though the problem was caused by a third party agency the Ruby staff did all they could to ameliorate the situation by setting up a bed in the conference room. There were no nightstand or table lights but the bed was very comfortable. There was a traditional motel type bathroom attached to the conference room so that worked out OK. The motel manager did not charge anything for the room or breakfast. They made the best of a bad situation and I appreciate that.

We stayed here for few days to go skiing. We were pleasantly surprised with the Ruby. It was very convenient to stay in Ponderay (just a quick 25 minutes up to Schweitzer Mtn). We did get a larger room with 2 beds and it was very clean and efficient. The lobby was decorated nicely with a big TV and comfortable couch to hang out. The complimentary breakfast had some basic choices that were good to grab when you're headed out to hit the slopes. The front desk offers discount lift tickets. There's a drive thru Starbucks close by that's an easy in and out on your way up. After skiing, we enjoyed using the bathrobes provided in our room to go to the jacuzzi and pool. The indoor pool area was great! There are a couple of restaurants that we walked to from the Ruby. We enjoyed Sweet Lou's that is directly across the street. Great food and nice bar. We also walked to a good Mexican restaurant around the corner. We will stay here again! So convenient and clean.

Staff were unpleasant, they obviously hate their jobs. Rooms were just ok. WiFi sucks. For the price I at least expected a mini fridge or coffee maker but neither were in our room. The breakfast was ok, pool was over chlorinated and made our eyes burn just from the fumes. The overall esthetics of the hotel were nice but when you look close it's disappointing and we probably won't be back.

Outstanding, friendly service. Clean rooms, great location!! Close to everything. This is the best place to stay in the area.

My experience with this business is a painful disappointment, made far worse by high expectations from the brand. I had stayed in another one of this entrepreneurs' chain, and we loved it quite a lot (same price for that other great place!). This was a *really* big letdown. We were coming for a reserved night of "babymoon", foolishly not checking Yelp beforehand. We tried to get out of the reservation upon arrival (which she was kindly amenable to) but we couldn't find something else in time. Room/experience: The rooms are really small and just a "redone" version of an old and ugly motel. Crappy textured white walls, boring modern-ish motel furniture. The bedding was very simple, with one thin unremarkable blanket and a gross polyester cheap one (that I wouldn't touch) as the backup. Our view was also an eyesore- the location of this place is an awful place. Warehouses left and right around, in the middle of an industrial looking lot area. The location is ugly and off putting- a remodeled Howard Johnson lot. Really an ugly updated motel, at best. I recommend not trusting the photos they provide- very doctored to show the best/newest parts. Next door to a Wal-Mart on an ugly commercial highway. Inconsistent with the brand/their advertising! My biggest visual qualm was with the HORRIBLE white lighting in the tiny room. Our room included a bright white fluorescent bar! One yellow lamp out of 6. It made the cheap-motel appearance much worse. I experienced a very low-occupancy night with no noise, so we had a good night of sleep. The beds are fairly comfortable. The bathroom was just bad. Awful formica-type countertop, really lame plastic shower, scary old laminate floor with smeared caulking all over, etc. Just the bare bones of acceptable. Our shower curtain was splattered with brown stuff on the inside, to boot! The staff was pretty weak- somewhat unprofessional. Amenities: The pool area looked pretty boring and outdated and had one of the two hot tubs off, partly filled, with insects floating in the sitting water. What? The "pool" is extremely shallow, 3 and a half feet at maxium depth! The only good thing I have to say about it is the chemicals were not horribly bleachy/smelly. The complimentary coffee/tea/breakfast were all just plain gross. I'm usually one to gorge on these things on vacation, but I partook in near nothing! The creamer was the powder kind (look into ingredients & how horrible they are)! The breakfast was nasty, all processed carbs besides two sad withered fruit choices and some horrible quality poison yogurt (full of fake additives, flavors, colors, and sugar). Literally not even food. I ate one thing out of pregnant desperation. I have been at actual *motels* and see much better, folks. One more tip: I found the associated across-the-street restaurant pretty bad- great decor/presentation, but the menu was pretty gross to my personal taste (healthy eating). I could hardly find something to eat. I'm sad to have wasted our precious limited money on this crying-heartbreak-result of an attempt at a "babymoon" night. From what I understand, this owner has a ton of new places he has been working on to make a fancy-yet-accessible brand including a vintage hotel and an event venue. I can't believe he put his name on this! Most definitely would never stay again. Only good points: - Fairly clean - Working hot tub was nice a dip - Nicer newer furniture in lobby - Survivable for desperate travel rest stop (though overpriced) - Decent night of sleep

Stayed here last week and while the facility was clean, it was very dark and underwhelming. Rooms are VERY small with limited amenities and the continental breakfast was very skimpy. My husband was so disappointed in the limited options and lack of tidiness in the food areas, we left and ate elsewhere. Our bathroom appeared clean but I could smell mildew. The worst part of the stay for me was that I couldn't sleep all night because the sheets smelled so strong with bleach, it was making me sick. I tried to sleep with a cloth over my nose and mouth. I guess one could take that as a positive that the sheets are clean but it was nauseating and gave me a headache. On a positive note, we did enjoy the pool and hot-tub.

I had high expectations from the other reviews but was extremely disappointed. The first room we got was the tiniest hotel room I've ever been in - it didn't even come with a fridge or microwave. That night our neighbors decided to hash out marital problems and I was able to hear every word they said. The walls are paper thin. After that terrible night sleep we requested to move to another room so as not to have a do over of the previous night. Thankfully this room was slightly larger but had a pungent odor that didn't go away even after we bought an air freshener. The one plus is that it was a fairly inexpensive hotel - and there aren't many other options around.

Adequate at best. Bed was hard small, skimpy comforter. When they patch painted the walls the color wasn't even close to a match. Vent in bathroom filthy makes you wonder about the rest of the cleanliness. Air conditioner is on the floor, sensor there too, have to get down on all fours to adjust the AC. Check in was quick and efficient other than that not impressed, don't plan on staying here again.

Nice deceiving outdoor decor to find a horrible closet of a room inside , the lobby smells like cigs and an overfilled portable potty ( yet it says no smoking, maybe it's the people working the front coming off a smoke break who knows ? But it smells terrible) ... and then you get to your room that looks like it hasn't been touched since 1989, murky back mirror behind the bed. was this an old swingers motel once? It's TINY... for the price this is worse than a motel 6. Old carpet. Smells. And smaller than a run down room you'd find in a hostel somewhere. Give me some time and I could help these owners design this crap into something nice. So confused on how the rooms can look this shit but they spent all their money on the outside. Hopefully they are just re doing the entire place cause I'd rather stay in a nice room than just look at the outside of the building and be deceived. Oh and they don't tell you it's next to a Home Depot and another wye sore store. Should have stayed at-least across the street at holiday inn . They look like they at-least have a view other than lawn equipment .

This place is great for the price! It was the best price I could find online so that is why we choose to stay here and we were not let down. We stayed in a standard queen bed room. It was clean and had a comfy bed. Nothing special or unique to the decor. The amenities are great though! It has a pool with 2 hot tubs, an awesome outdoor seating area with the fire pits along with a small dog park. The walls aren't noise proof- you can hear the TV in the next room along with their barking dog but we did not mind. The breakfast is free which they had the standard waffles, fruit, bagels and cereal but that was good enough for us. All of the staff were very friendly and answered any questions we had. We would definitely stay here again!

We asked for a king bed, not realizing that all the king rooms are suites. Ours was 50's themed. It was great looking, very well done, clean and comfortable. Even a hot tub that we didnt have time to use. Front desk staff wasn't having a good day, but she wasn't rude. We would stay here again in a heartbeat.

Let me say this...The Hotel Ruby was beautiful inside and out! Don't stay at the well known hotels. Try something New! Love the staff, pool, hot tub, and fire area. Modern and cozy, we will be back. And the price was $40.00 cheaper then the hotel across the street (Holiday Inn Express) !!! We will be back.

Got a "remodeled room and it was great. Really like the Hotel Ruby concept. Have also stayed at the one downtown Spokane. They do a nice job with ecelectic remodels and a great price. Perfect for the people who like and appreciate that :). Pool and hot tub and gas fire pits. Restaurant and bar across the street is great too.

Rooms were clean and affordable. They are pretty small and it would have been nice to have a small fridge. Low rating as we had a dog barking for hours right next door to us at night and in the morning which almost the entire hallway could hear and the hotel got numerous complaints about. Someone even called the police/animal control because you could hear non stop barking through the walls. Our experience would have been a lot better if the owners of the dog didn't leave him in the room/and/or the hotel could have done something about this, but we cut our stay short because we couldn't sleep at all.

Customer service here is terrible. My wife and I came in for our honeymoon (or what was supposed to be) on our wedding night it our wedding dress and tux and waited for about a half out for someone to even help us and nobody showed up. And we finally saw someone on the cameras and tracked her down at the pool only for the front desk lady to tell us that the king suite we had booked had been given to someone else and that they had given us a regular one queen bed room, after asking them what they could do for us they upgraded us to a two queen bed room, which honestly is kinda pointless for one couple, so we requested to be moved into a king suite ASAP since we already paid for it. They said they had one available the night after that, so we said we'd take it, and we came back in the morning and they again had given it to someone else after they said we could have it. And that there would be one available for the last night we were here so we said we'd take it, again, no refunds for the other nights we didn't get the king suites, and they told us to come back the next morning to switch our rooms over, and we did, and they said they couldn't comp it for us so we would have to pay 150 for it for the last night, keep in mind it was suppose to be 240 for two nights and we already paid for it. So no king suite for our honeymoon at all and no refund for them not giving us one. We were there for five days and even after asking if room service was available nobody came the entire time we were there, my wife and I actually had to go buy ourselves shampoo and body wash. We had to share one towel for two days. There were random families playing around in the pool area that weren't even staying at the hotel they just jumped the fence and hotel staff refused to do anything about it. Out of the 30+ hotels I've stayed in this was by far the worst. Not worth your money or time, and for it being a previous motel 6 you'd think the prices would be better. Terrible place, don't recommend it all.

Love this motel. Found it by accident three years ago when I visited the Ponderay/Sandpoint area the first time. Clean rooms....friendly staff....easy access. If you are going to be staying for more than a day or two I recommend a two-bed room for the space as the one-bed rooms are tiny.

I was very surprised to see a listing of them for 57$ a night and the room is so clean and nice. The front desk is really helpful and the furniture are clean and arranged. Their pool is open till 10pm. And they have a continental breakfast starting at 6am to 930am. Will definitely come back!

I stayed at the Hotel for a week, and during that week my iPad was stolen by housekeeping. The management was not willing to admit that this theft was their fault. They have tapes of two housekeepers leaving our room with a "clipboard". The iPad was hidden in a drawer underneath my clothes because there was no safe in the room. The hotel reimbursed me for the purchase of a new iPad, but was not willing to reimburse me for the trouble and anguish that I went through to protect myself from the stolen iPad. Also, the front desk was maned by a "maintenance man" in jeans and t-shirt with his fix-up belt on when no one was available. The rooms are very small and the breakfast was minimal. We would not stay here again and would not recommend it to any of our friends!

This has been one of my worst experiences in a motel.Rooms are small no sound proofing heater hard to control temperature in room.Children unsupervised yelling and screaming slamming doors late at night then 5:30 in morning at it again.Would not recommend if you're wanting to get any sleep.

I'm not one to post reviews. But the impression I got from researching Hotel Ruby Ponderay as compared to what it was actually like was a big disappointment to my family. We were expecting something with more character - instead from the lobby and downstairs (very bare, no rugs, lots of empty space) to the rooms themselves (so small it was hard to turn around, although very clean and well appointed I say somewhat grudgingly), and the prices were not the bargains others have talked about - we were quite disappointed. Also right next to a Walmart and on a very commercial stretch of the highway - not the impression I had gotten from research including their website. This was a trip that my son, daughter in law and I took during the worst of the fires which did affect us, and in talking to hotel staff, we were told the air quality was terrible - which was true when we pulled in, but luckily it rained overnight and that improved drastically. I also felt the front desk staff (basically the same guy over the whole time we were there) was barely friendly - this won't be a place we return to. And all other places we stayed, most of which we found online, were the complete opposite of this hotel. Personable help, comfortable rooms with SPACE, interesting stuff in the lobby to investigate.

The hotel was ok. One notch up from motel 6. The hotel has thin walls. You can hear your neighbors and what they are doing. First night was good, second night the neighbors was fighting and yelling. The third night the new neighbor checked in and woke me up at 1:45 AM. The free breakfast in the morning was ok. The rooms were small, fits a queen bed and 2 night stand and that's all. This place is ok but I choose the holiday inn express across the street next time around. I guess I would stay here if there was nothing else. The staff was ok. They didn't really invest much effort in customer service. We just left our card key at the front counter when we left because there was no one to check us out at 5:30 AM. Also there is no microwave and no refrigerator. Yes, there is a small hairdryer and a closet to hang your clothes. The bed was somewhat comfortable. I didn't use the extra blanket ontop of closet cabinet because I saw some hair left on it so that was oblivious that it hadn't been cleaned. I struggled with the thermostat and would set the air to a cooler temp but the thermostat would do its own thing. It may be controlled thru the hotel and even if I tried to change it, there is no change.

Walking into the lobby I was impressed by the cleanliness. The staff was very welcoming and gracious. My reservation was ready and then I got surprised by the cost of the room but at least I got 1 free night of the 4 I was staying. Ok, I can live with the cost then ... until I got to my room. One queen bed... no fridge, no microwave, no morning coffee in the room. For $100 per night..??! It would be a comfortable room for one person staying alone, but with 2 of us, it got a little crowded. Definitely would re-think this one. But again, the staff were very polite, helpful and friendly. I just think it was a bit over-priced. The continental breakfast was bare-bones, not what I have experienced at other places. (Also, I could have sworn when I was first researching hotels that the price was $64 per night but I cannot find it again, so will let that point go.) Nice hot tub and pool if that is something you enjoy.

I hate this one specific branch of Ruby motel and I travel a lot. Management at this location does a truly horrible job. On my first night the heater would not shut off automatically leaving my room either too hot or too cold all night. So in the morning feeling dry and quite horrible I complained and their response was to overcharge me twice for having a pet which I never did???When I asked for proof he shrugged his shoulders...don't stay here is my advice and the rooms are really small budget orientated hotel in more ways than one.

This hotel was fantastic. First of all, they allow dogs, which was great. Second of all, they had a little goodie bag for our pup at sign in. Third of all the little dog park out back was super convenient; our pup could run and play. Fourth of all, the pool and hot tubs were clean and well maintained, and had awesome views of the mountain. The staff were beyond friendly, the facilities were clean and and stylish, and our trip was more or less awesome. The dog park outer gate didn't have a working lock, but the inner gate did (the double gate was a nice design- that way anyone entering the park won't let the dogs out), and the room we had was right in front of the parking lot. Looking right past the lot is the mountain though, so it wasn't too bad. Room decor was a little out of date, but the price was right. When we visited, the glass window near the outdoor patio was shattered, so we couldn't relax by the fire pit, which was a disappointment, but overall the trip was great thanks to Hotel Ruby. We would return again for sure, and recommend our guests to do so. The Farmhouse restaurant is RIGHT outside (but wasn't open when we stayed), which is great food literally just steps away from the hotel. Good stuff.