Howard Johnson by Wyndham Daleville/Roanoke North

The bed was super comfortable, and I liked the outdoor pool and hot tub, the plentiful parking, and having exterior room entrances. It’s a large property with four buildings. I had to drive back to the first building to get toilet paper. When I returned, I noticed there was no coffee or cups either, but I wasn’t going to drive back again. There was an oily-looking splatter on the mirror behind the TV, which I didn’t investigate. The microwave looked rough but seemed clean. The area behind the bedside stand hadn’t been cleaned in a while. It wasn’t terrible, though it could have been better.

We were too exhausted to look for another place after a 14-hour drive, so we stayed despite the room seeming as if it hadn’t been cleaned in months, maybe years. The bathroom floor got wet and there was brown water. There were strange stains on the ceiling and in the toilet, and when we checked under the beds before leaving, we found trash and empty pill bottles. There were no towels in the bathroom for my husband, son, and me. I drove to the front desk to explain, and the woman gave me just one small towel, even though she knew there were three of us. It felt rude and insulting. Don’t trust the stock photos. I wouldn’t stay here.

The shower didn’t work at all, and the room was dirty, with a grimy, dusty feel to the surfaces and carpet. The coffee maker had been used and left half full. The mattress wasn’t stained and I didn’t see bugs, but there was only a thin sheet over it, and the bedding was very worn, with what looked like hair and fibers still embedded after washing. The box springs were wrapped in tattered plastic. We should have left when we first saw the room, but it was very late and we didn’t know if we could find somewhere else. It was a bargain stop, and I’m usually relaxed about road trip motels. This seems focused on Appalachian Trail hikers and longer stays, which means it serves some valuable needs, but it also seemed barely maintained and minimally cleaned. The kitchen-type equipment didn’t look very functional either. Hikers might be satisfied, but I wouldn’t recommend it to people just passing through.

The beds were decently comfortable. That was the only good thing about the two nights we paid for. We chose the place for the pool and hot tub to use during downtime with our son, but they were closed. The room smelled off as soon as we entered. There were scratches and “Hi” written on a wall. The bathroom looked okay at first, then I saw the tub, which was disgusting, and paint peeling from the walls. The areas behind the TV and on top of the fridge were dirty, and there were burns on the sheets. The advertised hot breakfast buffet wasn’t there either morning. We expected little given the price and the exterior, but I’ve stayed in much cheaper, cleaner motels. It looked sketchy, and I was furious about paying that much for what was offered. Maybe it’s fine if you need a last-minute room and will barely be in it, but I wouldn’t pay this again.