Stay Inn - Bartow

I’ve stayed at cheaper hotels when availability was limited, but this was by far the worst. The sheets were dirty, and the toilet had hair and debris on the seat even though I was told it had been cleaned. The bed was hard as a rock. I asked the manager for another room. He came in, wiped the toilet seat with toilet paper, said this was his nicest room, flushed the paper, and handed me a fresh set of sheets to put on myself. Don’t just walk away from this place, run.

For an $80 place to crash, you could do a lot worse. I’ve stayed in plenty of cheap one-star hotels for work, and this one was better than most, though it’s far from great. You need to set your expectations for a cheap motel. My room was clean, the bed was nicely firm for those of us with bad backs, and check-in went smoothly. There’s a bar on site, so drunk strangers may hang around into the early hours. That might not be ideal for a woman or anyone traveling with kids. The soda machine’s condenser also sounds like a hair dryer running 24/7 in the hallway. Even with my door closed, it made about 80 dB of background noise and needs replacing.

The staff didn’t seem to care, and I’d tell people to stay somewhere else. Outside was noisy all night, with people shouting and a strong pot smell. The floors were dirty, and there was blood and what looked like feces on the bathroom floor. At about 2 a.m., I woke up with something biting my legs. On the way to the restroom, I felt something pop under my bare feet. It was a big roach. There was light coming through the restroom vents too.

I felt uncomfortable and unsafe with people openly using hard drugs, or seeming to be under the influence, wandering around the property. Housekeeping was rude too, knocking and coming into rooms even with the Do Not Disturb sign up. My debit card deposit still hasn’t been returned, more than a month later. On an earlier stay, a female front desk employee took a cash deposit and never gave it back. I wouldn’t recommend this motel.