Econo Lodge Austin South

There were bugs in the bed sheets, and later I found them on top of my pillow. I left during the night and slept in my car, where at least I knew there weren't bugs. Such a waste of money and time.

The price was reasonable, but the place was filthy. I doubt the floors had ever been cleaned, and my room smelled strongly of pot smoke. A woman who seemed to live there sat on the steps outside my room smoking a blunt, day and night. I also had to get the front desk to reprogram my key every time I left. They replaced the room's card reader three times during my two-night stay.

Don't let the low price tempt you. There's a reason this place has two stars, and if someone recommends it, just walk away. Even finding it was confusing because Google showed it as both an Econolodge and a Travelodge, with one appearing when I searched for the other. When we arrived, the lobby was locked and empty. We waited outside in the sun for almost 20 minutes, then had to flag down a cleaning lady to find someone who could check us in. The room had loose doorknobs with missing screws, cigarette-burned blankets, sticky-feeling sheets, and a cigarette smell. I also found a glass pipe with suspicious residue under the sink. After checkout at 11, I realized I'd left a bag on the bed and called around 3. They said housekeeping had gone for the day and told me to call the next morning. I called four times the next day before someone said they'd call back with an update. They never did. When I called a fifth time, the woman sounded annoyed and said the bag had been thrown out the previous day as soon as the room was cleaned, because that was their policy. She already knew housekeeping wouldn't have turned it in, but had left me waiting instead of telling me then.

The front desk staff were friendly, and someone did come upstairs to check the AC after I said it wasn't cooling. They confirmed it wasn't working. I was in a double room, but the choices they gave me were to move to a single or check out, with a refund to be discussed with the manager. It took two days for me to reach him, and I had to chase a partial refund myself. When we finally spoke Monday morning, he kept interrupting and raising his voice, saying the AC worked fine now so I wouldn't get a refund. I could understand that response the next morning after checkout, but two days had passed. The way he handled it was ridiculous, and his staff seem better at running the place than he is.