Clarion Inn & Suites Florence - Darlington

We slept in our clothes. The rooms smelled of smoke and vomit, and when our granddaughter took off her shoes and socks, the bottoms of her feet turned black within minutes. We tried to rinse them in the tub, but brown sludge came out. Outside, suspicious people were waiting by their cars, possibly up to illicit activity, and there was peeling paint on the doors and police tape on the stairwells. The pool had green sludge in it and a lawn chair floating on top. We booked a late arrival through Expedia after looking at the pictures, but they don’t show the hotel’s current condition. Stay at your own risk. Stay away.

The view from the room was nice, but we found cockroaches, dirty floors, and yellow stains on the sheets and blankets. The room smelled strongly of cigarettes. The door wouldn’t lock properly, and the bathroom door was missing its lower half. Drains didn’t empty, the furniture smelled moldy, and flies were everywhere. There were sketchy people outside, broken or loose stairway handrails, and barbecue grills with ash all around them and no fire extinguishers nearby. The grills were scattered about, but there was no fire alarm system, and the fire extinguishers weren’t inspected. We were charged $100 per room, not just a hold. The property could be really good, but it hasn’t been maintained. My children and I had to stay here for vacation, and it was absolutely horrible. The rooms were filthy and had roaches. There was black mold on the walls and stains on the sheets, and laundry bleach was sitting in the lobby. The website shows nothing but lies. They advertise a bar that apparently has never been open, and a pool full of scum. This was the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in. Disgusting.

There was hair in the bed and pet hair on the chair, and after walking barefoot for a minute my feet were black. The bigger issue was feeling unsafe, with drug addicts and cars without license plates around. Don’t trust the nice pictures. This is a total scam, and the dirtiest hotel I’ve ever stayed in.

We’d prepaid and checked in during the evening, so it felt like we had little chance to get the problems fixed. There was no hot water, and small bugs, medium-sized bugs, and cockroaches were running around. The linens looked clean but were completely wrinkled. We slept in our clothes on the bed and kept our travel things off the floor. In the early morning, we went to the front desk to explain what happened. The man barely acknowledged the poor conditions. I said room #526 needed fumigating before anyone else was put in it. He said the place had recently been purchased and was being renovated. Under those circumstances, this needs to be reported to the BOARD OF HEALTH.