Hampton Inn Easley

We had room for all our things in both the bedroom and bathroom, which is unusual for a place in this price range. There were plenty of towels, plus body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion in decent-sized containers. The carpet could've used a better vacuum, but the linens didn't smell musty or overly antiseptic. We only stay where we can bring our little West Highland Terrier, and they had a pet-friendly room for us. It was a great two-night stay.

There was a lot to choose from at the free hot breakfast, including eggs, sausage patties, hard-boiled eggs, oatmeal, cereal, yogurt, fruit, waffles, toast, English muffins, muffins, bagels, juice, coffee, and water. My only gripe was that they ran out of cream cheese and regular butter. The staff were very friendly, and the hotel was quiet, clean, and close to plenty of restaurants. You can walk to Outback or Golden Corral.

The blonde man with nose rings at the front desk was professional and helpful. He was the one bright spot in an otherwise miserable stay. After six days with no resolution, my breathing was getting worse, so I looked into the problems I'd already reported. The air conditioner filters were completely clogged, the carpet under the unit was soaked, and there was heavy mold. That explained the strong musty, mildew, wet-dog smell that had made me ill for days. I also found mold in the coffee pot and iron, dog hair all over, filthy carpet I wouldn't walk on barefoot from day one, blood stains on the shower curtain, mold in the shower caulking, and stains across the bathroom tile. When I checked in, the sink was clogged and took almost 30 minutes to drain. I reported that and the odor the next morning, but the staff on duty were unpleasant and didn't help. I asked for housekeeping after the third day, but the room and reported issues were no better. Once I showed the blonde desk clerk photos, he moved me to another room immediately. His professionalism was the only redeeming part.

The breakfast had lots of good options, and both the front desk and breakfast staff were nice. The hotel is on a main road with restaurants nearby, including fast food. Taylor, one of the managers, later gave me a credit for the room not being cleaned and said she'd talk to housekeeping. I appreciated how she tried to fix it. But the room was never serviced during our four-day stay, even though the mirror sign said they'd refresh towels, empty garbage, and restock every other day. We left around 10 each morning. Are guests really expected to leave by 8:30 to get housekeeping? People on vacation sleep in. I had to get towels and garbage liners from the front desk, and our used towels piled up under the sink while we took our trash to the breakfast area bins. I checked the room very carefully before bringing our luggage up. No sign of bedbugs, roaches, or spiders, which was good, but there was some mold in the tub caulking and thick foam spray around the bathtub faucet. At night, huge Palmetto bugs, the flying American cockroaches, were all over the parking lot. I didn't see any inside, but the lot should be sprayed regularly. My family lives in Easley and doesn't see them in their neighborhood. Let them stay in the woods, please. We had to dance around the parking lot to avoid crushing one in our shoes.