Sleep Inn Decatur

The warm pool was amazing, the warmest I've ever swum in. But the hot tub was closed, and the rest of the stay was awful. In the first room, half the lights didn't work, the phone was torn off the wall, and the TV wouldn't turn on. Everything smelled strongly of cigarette smoke, especially the second-floor hallway. I kept going out there thinking someone was smoking, but the front desk woman just said okay and seemed bothered when I told her. We were moved to another room, where the lights still didn't work. Its shower door wouldn't shut, and the bottom had no grip, so my kids fell several times. There was also what looked like actual human or dog poop on the floor, crusty as if it had been there a while. Outside the hotel, the town smelled so bad I gagged. The front desk woman called it the smell of money, but it definitely wasn't. Decatur felt like the scariest place I've been.

This wasn't our first visit, since relatives live nearby, but my wife and I will probably choose somewhere else next time. The hotel isn't in nearly as good shape as when we stayed years ago. We come for the price and location, but this stay left us with serious concerns. At 3:44 am Sunday, we heard our electronic lock click and the handle move, then bangs as the door stopped against the brass catch we'd set. I heard footsteps walking away. The door was left open against the catch, and the next morning neither key card worked. The desk clerk said he couldn't access the cameras but would have someone review them. No one has called with an update. Earlier, the elevator and third-floor hall had a strong pot and mold smell. My wife woke up sick Friday and stayed elsewhere that night. I reported it, and by Saturday morning the smell was much better. There were also problems in the room: weak water pressure, a broken TV remote, two dead outlets, and a barely working bathroom fan. I told the young man at the desk on Sunday, and he wrote them down to get fixed. After we got home, I realized I'd left an expensive rapid Android charger plugged into the desk outlet. The hotel said it wasn't in the room or the maid's lost and found, though I know that's where I left it.

There are EV chargers here, and the people are nice. The rooms were fine, if dated. The hallway carpet has an odor, probably from years of pool traffic. The building sits behind another one and the sign wasn't lit, so I thought the hotel had closed until I drove into the lot.

The staff were friendly, but the place is worn and dated. The beds were stained and worn out, the bathroom sink faucet leaked water everywhere and was hard to shut off, and the WiFi barely worked most of the time. The hallways smelled like marijuana, and there were missing ceiling tiles and spots with water damage. The hot breakfast was sparse. I wouldn't stay again.