Super 8 Effingham

The price was the best part. They accepted the online rate even though I hadn’t booked through that company, since I arrived after midnight and couldn’t get it to save the rate for the previous day. The room went downhill from there. There was a bag of Cheez-It plainly visible on the floor, someone else’s trash in the bathroom bin, mold spots all over the bottom of the shower curtain, and stains by the bathroom floor and door base. It was a pretty trashy room, maybe because there seemed to be no management there. Check-in and payment are all electronic, with someone on a video screen at the desk. At checkout, they told me to leave the key on the counter behind the screen, where 20-25 other keys were sitting. I never saw an actual person.

There’s no receptionist to help, just someone speaking through a kiosk from somewhere, I don’t know, India. The staff seemed borderline criminal to me. A man who cleans and, I suppose, manages the rooms unlocked my door and walked in without knocking, then did it again after I warned him not to. A woman staying there said the same man grabbed her, kissed her, and then invited her to his room. I didn’t see that myself, but based on what happened to me, I tend to believe her. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone.

The room was clean and spacious, with a fridge and microwave, but it had a weird butterscotch smell. I’m guessing it was from the cleaners. The shower curtain rod had been reinstalled so many times that its screws were coming out and it was barely holding on. The location is great, right off the interstate with restaurants and shopping nearby. The odd part was check-in: there’s no actual person at the desk, day or night. You use a kiosk and talk with someone remotely on the screen. I’m fine with technology, but I didn’t like this setup. It made me feel there’d be nobody to turn to in an emergency or if something broke. I think hotels should have someone on site. I wouldn’t stay again, especially when the king room was $80 a night and there are better hotels down the street for the same price or a little more.

No frills. There’s nobody working there, or maybe someone’s working from home through a kiosk. Checking in that way is pretty fun. There’s no breakfast or anything, but coffee is available all day, and the rooms are clean.