Suzanne H.
Yelp
I really would have given this hour a 4.5 had that been possible. Summary because this is long...I highly recommend booking a room at The Vault. We'll be back.
The Vault is a great hotel and a lovely option of the moderate chain-based hotels in Houghton. The staff is friendly, the rooms are well-appointed and interesting. Our room had a very comfortable bed (tempurpedic-ish mattress) and feather and synthetic pillow options. There was also a small sitting area featuring a fold-out couch. My son rates its comfort as "the most comfortable fold out but still not that comfortable." The room also had a nice bar area with coffee service (French press and locally roasted coffee), fridge, and microwave. The bathroom was also well-appointed with a large shower, thick towels, and lit mirror. The breakfast service was great...locally made mini-quiches and baked goods. The location is great...walking distance to KBC, which is really all that matters. The parking is convenient. The lobby is non-traditional...no front desk, which is a neat touch. The staff greeted me with laptop to complete the transaction.
So why not 5 stars? 1. Value. The rooms are expensive. I would file it in the "if you really want to treat yourself" category. Last time I stayed at the Country Inn in Houghton it was $160 (total rip-off), so it makes it easier to justify the cost of The Vault (we paid $260) 2. In-room microwave...oddly you have to remove the microwave from a storage cabinet and move it to the countertop to plug it in. This could easily be solved by putting a plug in the cabinet. 3. The bed frame is an ankle biter. It is a low wooden platform frame. The mattress is smaller than the platform by design (aesthetically pleasing), but this leaves the corners of the platform exposed. We all clipped our ankles (not a whiner...ouch!). It seems like we aren't the only ones because the sharp corners were chipped on both sides of the bed. 4. Now this is picky...I travel a lot for work and *hate* the super-sized pump-driven body wash/shampoo/conditioner. I travel with my own shampoo, but I really prefer a bar of soap. There was one bar of soap for hand washing, which we moved back and forth from sink to sink to shower. The soap, btw, is lovely (very high quality for hotel soaps).