Econo Lodge Billings

The front desk woman, Amy I believe, was super kind and compassionate. An ex-employee told me they don’t always get paid on payday, and I think Amy might have given me the money herself if she could afford it. I paid cash for a week as a local, and they required a $100 deposit. They gave me a paper to bring back at checkout to get it, but that was about a year ago and I still haven’t been reimbursed. I believe maintenance looked at my room and told the front desk it was in good shape and I deserved the deposit back. One employee disappeared during her shift and left without notice. They said they’d check the cameras to see if she took it or if the money had been deposited by mistake. I felt bad for bothering Amy endlessly, so I contacted the owners, Iffy and his wife Nasima, but they wouldn’t cooperate or even talk it through. They just said to have a nice day and hung up. I still have the proof paper, and I hope it’s not too late to contact the Better Business Bureau. I deserve interest for the way I was treated, being hung up on, and not getting my $100 deposit back. There was no housekeeping, and getting clean linen was a struggle. They said people ruin or steal it. I asked for what a double queen room requires, four bath towels, four hand towels, and four washcloths, and she gave me the amount the room required, but was still shitty when I came for clean linen. The hot tub was broken down, with no discount and no shits given. Terrible way to treat guests.

The clean bedding and towels from the new woman on staff were a relief after the first couple of nights. She was very nice and gave them to me without hesitation, though I can’t remember her name. I left four nights early after a week there, and they didn’t refund the nights I wouldn’t be staying. My husband told me to accept the loss and get out. I had another week and a half before going home, so I found another hotel. It was a breath of fresh air and made me realize what I’d been missing. Locals called this place a dump when I told them where I was staying. I won’t come back. I’d stayed here about a year and a half earlier and it had been fine, so I expected the same. This time my room was never cleaned, even on days I didn’t have the do not disturb sign up. I mopped the filthy floors on my hands and knees with wipes, took out my own trash, and changed my own sheets. In the afternoons, the hot water came and went. The mini fridge outlet wouldn’t hold the plug, so food went bad when it switched off one night. I managed to keep it plugged in, but then things froze and a couple more items spoiled. The part that really got to me was the dark-haired front desk woman putting on gloves and counting my towels before giving me clean ones. Why ask how many I had if she was going to count them anyway? She could have simply asked me to put them there and explained that towels are exchanged one for one. I thought she could have been more polite.

The coffee was at least fresh and hot. The place itself felt old and outdated, and the vinyl floors were sticky and dirty. The hot tub was empty, the pool was covered, and an employee said they hadn’t worked during her whole time there. Our room was never cleaned, and the garbage wasn’t emptied; we had to ask for toilet paper and garbage bags. There were lots of signs of bed bugs. The area felt sketchy, and police showed up several times.

After a long day of traveling, good water pressure and hot water matter to me more than almost anything. Both were fantastic here, and the room was comfortable. I’m usually easy to please with a place to stay. If the bed is clean, that’s good enough for me.