Microtel Inn & Suites By Wyndham Chattanooga/Near

The location seemed good, with other nice motels on the block, but there were lots of homeless and questionable-looking people on the grounds and inside. Our rooms were horrible and nothing was clean. Furniture was falling apart, and the TV didn’t work or have a remote. The desk attendant gave us one, but it didn’t work either. She said maintenance would have to program it and that she’d send someone shortly, but he never came, and she didn’t have his number. We went out for a couple of hours hoping he’d show up, but nothing had changed when we returned. The woman at the desk then offered another room. It was in the same condition, though it had a small fridge and a working TV. Service was very rude. We were repeatedly asked if we had a room there. Housekeeping didn’t clean while we were out. When we asked for clean towels, we were told to bring our dirty ones to exchange. We did, and she made us take them to the laundry room. I’m surprised she didn’t ask us to wash them too. I could say more, but I think you get the point.

My partner and I felt unsafe here. There were what looked like serious health and safety code violations in the hotel and around the parking lot. I don’t understand its 4.4 rating. We booked online and check-in was easy, but the room had huge gashes in the walls, furniture, bathroom fixtures, and door, plus a 5-foot water stain on the ceiling above the bed. The curtains had stained, crusty debris on them, the carpet hadn’t been vacuumed or cleaned, and the hallway smelled musty and like cigarettes. I didn’t want to take my shoes off. The bathroom was visibly dirty. The sheets looked clean, but everything else clearly wasn’t. We checked for bugs and didn’t see any. I canceled online through the site we booked with within an hour of making the reservation, before 6 p.m. The front desk staff were nice, but said the booking website had to call them to confirm the reservation for the refund. When I called for help, every customer service representative hung up on me, at least 10 times. Each said I needed to call the hotel front desk, that they wouldn’t take responsibility and had no control over the hotel’s money management, even though they were the ones processing cancellations. I explained what the front desk had told me, but I’m still not confident I’ll get my money back.

I was relieved we only booked one night. The rooms had an odd smell, and my mom and aunts were uneasy about the surroundings. People were smoking by the entrance, and later I saw people staying under umbrellas beside the building. Parking at the back meant I had to walk past people coming out of their spaces when I went to get the car at 5 a.m., which felt unsafe. Ally was kind and did try to help. She noticed the notes at checkout and found us connecting rooms. The accessible bathroom sink was clogged, and she cleared it herself because Maintenance wouldn’t be around for hours. But the other room had a leak, and she already knew about it. She seemed a little embarrassed, but the room was still being rented. That wasn’t okay. There was a huge globe over the bathroom that I couldn’t turn on, and it made me feel watched. I wanted a refund, but Ally said I’d been in the room for 30 minutes, so I couldn’t get one. My elderly aunt, who has a disability, was upset too. We’d been getting settled and moving things around, so that time had passed quickly. Once I’d paid, I felt stuck sleeping in a room with a leak staff already knew about. I hope they get the building in shape and stop refusing refunds in situations like this. I’m bringing it up with Wyndham. Surely leaking rooms have to violate some kind of code? I should’ve gone back to LaQuinta, where I’ve always enjoyed staying. I won’t choose this location again.

The noise went on most of the night. A fire alarm sounded in the hallway after someone burned something in a room, and guests were up talking loudly and banging doors. We barely slept. The place looked rough before we even got inside. Curtains were torn and blowing out of open windows, and the doors and flooring by the entrance were filthy. At the desk, the employee had her feet up and was on her phone. We had to call out to get her attention. I asked for their best room, and it was even worse than the lobby: dirty walls and floors, plus broken bathroom tiles. Rooms should be clean regardless of the nightly rate. The owner and manager should be ashamed of this property. It shouldn’t be listed as a hotel, especially since many of the guests seem to live there. Never again.