Roosevelt Inn FAQs

   We're a small family owned and operated hotel. Our emphasis is on clean and comfortable rooms at moderate prices. Our rooms have all the modern conveniences such as private baths, heat and air conditioning, satellite TV, direct dial phones, coffee makets, hair dryers, radios and clocks. We also have a pool, hot tub, family recreation room and a guest laundry. We're not a resort, a quaint country inn or a bed and breakfast. If this is what you are looking for, you'll be disappointed. Nor are we a link in a huge chain of motels. So if you expect a Motel 6 or a Holiday Inn or some other national outfit, go there. 

How much are your rooms?

   We publish our rates at http://www.rosyinn.com/2000.htm. When it comes to rates, there are two things you should keep in mind: Not all hotel rooms are equal and rates for similar rooms at any given location will generally fall within a narrow range. Stop to think about it. If you were buying a car, you'd expect to pay more for a Mercedes than a Kia. Price alone is no guide to value. In the lodging industry, similar properties in any given location tend to be closely grouped in terms of price because they all have roughly the same costs. So if there's a big difference in rates between two properties, there's probably a big difference in quality too. Also don't be fooled by a seemingly big discount. Unfortunately in the lodging industry some properties offer huge discounts off of artificially high prices. You need to look at what you actually get for what you actually pay when it comes to measuring real value. Finally the room rate may not be the whole story when it comes to room costs. For instance, some places charge 50 cents every time you use the phone or only let kids stay free if they are under five years old.

If you are so small, how can you have so many amenities?

     In the trade, small hotels are sometimes called "boutique hotels." These are properties usually of 60 or fewer rooms that have many of the features of their larger cousins. The advantage, of course, is that the facilities are spread generously among the guests. We are not a boutique hotel. Our rooms are not as luxurious and our prices are lower than a typical boutique hotel.  Also we do not offer a 24-hour lobby or room service. That said, we think what we do, we do well. 

How can I contact you?

   When you dial our toll-free number (1-800-257-8923) you reach a real person right here at the hotel. It might come as a surprise that a lot of 800 numbers in the lodging industry connect you to a centralized phone center where you talk to someone who knows almost nothing about the place where you plan to stay. If you call us, you get us. Here's some more contact info:
Switchboard: 605-666-4599
email: info@rosyinn.com
Snail-mail: PO Box 709, Keystone, SD 57751-0709
Physical Address: 206 Old Cemetery Road, Keystone, SD 57751

How big is your pool?

     It's 30 feet long and 14 feet wide. That's a good size if you have small children but not so if you want to do laps. Anyway, the pool seems plenty large enough for the number of guests we have. Some places with over 100 rooms have pools only a few feet larger. Of course, we think the setting is terrific. The pool is indoors but has a small sun deck for guests who wish to enjoy the outdoors too.

Where can I eat in Keystone?

      During the height of tourist season, Keystone has about a dozen restaurants that are within walking distance. Most, but not all, offer good food at reasonable prices. There's not much in the way of fast food nearby. None of the burger chains are located in or even near Keystone, so if your idea of a meal is a hamburger from a national chain, try Rapid City. We have the Big Time Pizza restaurant on-site. 

What is your AAA rating?

       Zip. Nearly 10 years ago we opted out of the AAA partnership program. As a result we do not carry an AAA rating. We took this step because we believe AAA  lost much of its relevance when the information that used to be published in their travel guides is now widely available on the internet.  Moreover, mistakes in the AAA Tour Guide continued year after year despite our best efforts to correct them. In the end, we decided that the hassles of trying to work with AAA simply weren't worth the effort. ...and cost. (A listing in the AAA Tour Guide is not free. Only properties that pay get listed. This fact alone ought to undermine AAA's credibility.)  The bottom line is that the AAA listing did little for us and maybe less for their members. Apparently we are not alone in this belief as numerous other poperties, including some national chains, have dropped AAA.

Can you see Mt. Rushmore from your rooms.

       You can see the mountain from many of our rooms but the faces are below the tree line. This is true for almost every property in Keystone. Unfortunately some Keystone motel operators imply that you can see the faces on Mt. Rushmore from their rooms. These claims are misleading. (One motel suggests that you "join them on the mountain." But it's not the mountain you think!) We dislike these misleading trade practices and have supported efforts to have them stopped through legislation. All we can do is suggest that if anyone promises you a room with a view of the faces on Mt. Rushmore, try to get the promise in writing with a money-back guarantee. If you want a view of Mt. Rushmore, we've got that. And we are clear about what you are getting. We would hope that you'll want to do business with people who will be honest with you.

Do you allow (pets?) (smoking?) (children?)

       No. No. Yes.

Why not?

       We have nothing against pets. Unfortunately even the most well-behaved pets leave traces of themselves behind in guest rooms. For instance, pet dander or hair which can adversely affect guests with allergies. Unfortunately, pet owners may not be aware of this and have a hard time understanding why everyone doesn't love their pet as much as they do. We're hard-liners when it comes to smokers. We think that the use of tobacco products is a nasty, obnoxious and filthy habit. If you smoke you probably don't want to be around people like us.

How far are you from ___________? (fill in the blank)

       Nothing in the Black Hills is more than an hour's drive away from the Roosevelt Inn. Devil's Tower and the Badlands are somewhat further, but not much. There's a local mileage table at http://www.rosyinn.com/4110.htm. The boundary to Mt. Rushmore is just a quarter mile away and the visitor center is up on the mountain about two miles. Custer State Park is about three miles as the crow flies, but since most visitors aren't crows, they will need to drive about 12 miles. Crazy Horse is about 17 miles. Rapid City -- for those who like to be near Walmart, fast food and busy roads -- is about 29 miles to the Interstate Highway Tourist Ghettos. Deadwood is 52 miles up the Black Hills Parkway.