Hotel inspector finds signs of death, vermin and ‘gross,’ unsanitary conditions

The state has denied a license for a Charles City hotel where inspectors recently found evidence of a dead body, insect infestations and soiled bedding.

The Hartwood Inn, located at 1312 Gilbert St. in Charles City, was cited for 23 regulatory violations – an exceedingly large number for a hotel or motel – during an inspection that took place on Sept. 28.

The 36-room hotel had been operating without a license since November 2021, according to a report by an Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals inspector. Also, there were no functioning smoke alarms anywhere in the hotel, although the inspector found space heaters, pizza ovens and camp stoves that were being used in some of the guest rooms.

Using terminology not normally found in inspection reports, the inspector stated that 16 of the rooms at the Hartwood Inn were in “gross” and unsanitary condition, had a strong odor, and held unwashed laundry and cooking utensils.

In his report, the inspector noted that “someone was recently deceased in Room 47 and there were blood-like stains and human and animal feces on the floor.”

Police records indicate an individual was found dead in Room 47 three days before the inspection. An autopsy was not performed.

Among the hotel inspector’s other findings:

Walls and floors: Hallway flooring, ceilings and walls were soiled, and paint was peeling on hallway ceilings. Seven rooms had holes in the walls and the air conditioning was not working in one room.

Vermin, clutter: There was an excess of clutter, including broken furniture and old doors with peeling paint, stacked on the patio behind the lobby. Soiled and stained furniture and carpet were found stored in a tornado shelter, and extra bedding in one storage room was soiled, with evidence of vermin in the room.

State agency ignores law requiring the routine inspection of Iowa hotels 

Garbage, flies: An “excess of garbage” was found in Room 51 and the garbage Dumpster outside the hotel was found to be at capacity. The inspector reported seeing a large number of flies in Rooms 38 and 46, and evidence of vermin in Rooms 27 and 53.

Soiled furniture: Some or all of the rooms had inadequate ventilation, and the inspector was unable to open the windows. The bathroom fans in some rooms were not functional. Drapes were soiled or broken in eight rooms, a window and a bathroom mirror were broken in one room, and the furniture in 10 rooms was soiled and damaged.

Soiled bedding: Stained mattresses were found in nine rooms, and one room had no bedding at all, other than two pillows. The inspector was able to locate only “a very small amount of extra bedding” in the hotel’s laundry room, and the hotel had only one washing machine, which was a residential-sized unit.

No towels: The floors of the “toilet rooms” in 20 of guest rooms were not clean, one room had no toilet seat and another had no shower head. Tenants were using bathroom sinks and tubs to wash dishes and laundry, the inspector reported, and the toilet fixtures in 18 rooms were heavily soiled. Hotel towels were not provided to the guests, and none of the guest rooms had glassware.

Hotel records: Room rates and a written list of customers’ rights were not posted in any of the rooms or in the lobby, and the registration records were incomplete. In addition, there were no copies available of any lease agreements between long-term tenant and the management.

City has had issues with hotel’s owner

The inspector reported he visited the Hartwood Inn in response to the owner’s application for a hotel license. The business had been operating without a license since November 2021, and at least 19 of the 34 rooms appear to have been designated for use by longer-term “transient guests.”

The hotel owner, Gilbert Starble, 67, could not provide proof from the city indicating the hotel was in compliance with either fire-safety or building-code requirements, the state inspector noted.

Citing the unsanitary conditions and evidence of an active pest infestation, the inspector refused to approve the request for a hotel license. Starble allegedly indicated the violations would be corrected within 60 days, at which time a reinspection could take place.

Starble, who is the corporate president of Hartwood Hospitality Labs, said Thursday that the inspector’s findings stem from an “unwise decision” on his part to treat the hotel as an apartment complex. That decision, he said, was triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the hotel industry.

“The violations were clearly due to this unwise choice to provide homeless people, addicts, criminals, ex-convicts, recovering addicts and poor people with a place to stay,” he said. “It just didn’t work out.”

Hartwood Hospitality Labs’ website indicates Starble has 40 years of experience in what the site calls “opportunistic real estate development,” and adds that he has a background in “sizing up the competition in sales, construction, development and finance.”

The website indicates the Hartwood Inn has been run as a 36-room motor lodge and a six-unit, multi-family “income property” consisting of what it characterizes as “tiny homes.” The website states this business plan has resulted in a “strong positive cash flow” and adds that “city fathers have also endorsed the planning of the company’s expansion with a planning grant.”

In August, the Charles City Press reported that the city council had refused a request from Starble to rezone the hotel property from commercial use to multi-family housing. That decision was made after the council learned the hotel had been operating without a license since last November.

At the time, council members also expressed concerned with Starble’s plan to convert at least some of the hotel into an apartment complex, noting the number of police calls to the business in recent years.

Starble said Thursday he now intends to treat the Hartwood Inn exclusively as a hotel for short-term guests. A state inspector is scheduled to return to the business on Friday, he said, at which point he will have 15 rooms ready for a reinspection.

He said it’s possible that next year he may seek the city’s approval to convert the property to dormitories for a faith-based school that would be dedicated to teaching “gospel music and spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.”

Hotel owner cited for animal neglect or abuse

Court records indicate that in August 2020, Charles City police seized Starble’s dog, Rudy, after it was seen tied up outside the hotel with its mouth taped shut. The responding officer said the dog was “rolling around on the ground as if trying to get the duct tape off and appeared distressed.”

Court records indicate Starble admitted that he had taped the dog’s mouth shut in an effort to stop it from barking. A veterinarian told police that taping a dog’s muzzle shut can be fatal due to the increased risk of suffocation, dehydration and starvation.

Starble was cited for animal neglect or abuse, but there is no public court record of the case’s disposition. That normally indicates a deferred judgment was granted, expunging the matter from court records.

In a related civil case, a magistrate refused to return the dog to Starble, declaring the city had met its burden of proving that Rudy was a threatened animal. The court authorized the city to place Rudy with others who were better able to meet the dog’s needs.