Quality Inn & Suites Alexandria

The first room we were given hadn’t been cleaned. It smelled, had wet towels on the floor, and seemed as if it had been shut up for a while. They moved us to a serviced room, but it still felt filthy. Walking on the hard floor for a few minutes left our socks and feet dirty, so we kept our shoes on. The whole place felt worn and heavily used, with broken things around the room. The heat barely worked, leaving the room cold for our entire stay. The AC had been left at maximum, and I had to fiddle with an extremely noisy heater just to get it going. The beds were made, but the sheets were clean and such poor quality they felt like cardboard. The bed was slanted enough to be almost comical. The bathroom was grimy, with toothpaste marks on the counter. The sink stopper was missing, so we had to be careful not to drop anything down the dirty, slimy pipe. The shower knob was broken, with about half missing, and the exhaust vent was coming out of the ceiling. The outside looked shabby, as though shutters had been removed and left things exposed. Inside the lobby, old signs said the pool was closed for maintenance and renovations were underway. With no equipment or sign of work, and the signs looking old, I wondered if this was just an excuse for the condition of the hotel. Look for somewhere else. There has to be a better place.

I’ve never encountered a place like this. The tub was peeling and there was urine around the base of the toilet, and that was only the start. I showed the front desk manager the mess, but she did nothing. I also handed her the hair dryer because it was so sticky and gross I had to hold it with a towel. Later the hotel sent me a canned response about upgrades and hoping we’d return. Never.

I was pleasantly surprised. The floors were laminated and everything was very clean. The shower head needs replacing, but the staff were great and very hospitable. Truck parking is always a plus.

At least it was quiet, which is why I’m giving it three stars, though that may be generous. The pool was closed, the parking lot badly needs work, breakfast wasn’t good, and the TV was awful. It seems the hotel is being renovated, so maybe it’ll improve when the work is finished, but I probably won’t come back. What they’ve done so far looks shoddy and already seems to be falling apart. Even figuring out the room numbers was frustrating because their order makes no sense.