La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Knoxville West

I arrived at night on Dec 8, 2025, after reserving a room before leaving the Washington, DC, metro area. The place looked dark and eerie, with only three other vehicles in the lot, and I had trouble finding it because it has three names: Country Inn and Suites, Travelodge by Wyndham, and La Quinta. The elevated sign has the first two, while La Quinta is above the entrance. The hotel is under HEAVY CONSTRUCTION, with no lobby furnishings and the indoor pool itself in a separate construction zone. Staff warned about possible morning disturbances on the third floor, so they placed me on the second. There was NO BREAKFAST, free or continental, and NO HEAT in my room on a night with a low of 39°. Even wearing a thick jogging suit to bed, I barely slept. I also still haven't received the credit discount they supposedly refunded to my card. I didn't know that transaction was handled by Priceline, and Priceline still hasn't refunded me. On-site staff said the final transition to La Quinta is planned for May 2026. This place should be shut down until then. Staying open in these awful conditions reflects poorly on all three hotel chains.

The first room had stink bugs on the beds. When I asked the desk clerk to move me, he said, “oh those are just the common stink bug. You just pick them up with a paper towel and flush them down the toilet.” I asked him to handle it himself and put me in another room, which he eventually did. There were easily 8 more stink bugs in that room, and about half were dead and had clearly been there a while. I checked out quickly and left. My refund request was denied. Unacceptable. The hotel is still under major construction, so the lobby, pool, and amenity pictures aren't accurate. All I saw open were the front desk, staffed by one person, and the fitness room. It shouldn't be operating in these conditions. This needs to be investigated and closed down.

Everyone I tried to reach was unhelpful, including the front desk, management, Travelodge, and booking.com. I booked through booking.com for 170 for one night, with no way to know the whole building was under construction, hadn't been renovated, and had bugs in the rooms. The place had no amenities at all.

The whole setup was confusing. I booked what was considered a Country Inn, but the building says La Quinta and has a blue Travelodge banner on the side. Construction has left just the rooms and fitness room open, with nothing else available. There was no breakfast, though County Inn and La Quinta provide it. I have no clue what kind of a jumbled mess is going on here.