Econo Lodge Florence - Darlington

I stopped here in the middle of a night drive. The grounds looked well kept and the building had a fresh coat of paint, but don’t be fooled. My room was disgusting and smelled like a high school wrestling locker room before anyone cleaned it. There were cigarette burns in the bedding and just two thin pillows, one each for us. The couch was so stained I wouldn’t let my dog sit on it, and he’s been dead for a few years. I’ll be checking reviews every time from now on, no matter how tired I am.

We asked for a non-smoking room, but were given one that smelled like an ashtray. When I called the front desk, I was told it was too late to change rooms and they were all taken, even though we’d driven past a lot of empty rooms. I said I wasn’t staying in a room we hadn’t asked for and wanted my money back. He told me to come to the desk. We handed over the key, and he said to contact the booking app. The app says there are no refunds, but I paid with my card, not through the app.

The noise went on all night. I could hear every conversation and door slam, so sleeping was impossible. Breakfast was inedible too, with stale pastries, lukewarm coffee, and what looked like expired items. I wouldn’t feed it to a stray dog. The room was filthy, with stains on the sheets, carpet, and walls. Mold was growing in the bathroom corners, and there was hair all over the tub. It felt like the room hadn’t been cleaned in months. The air conditioning didn’t work, leaving the room hot and stuffy, and I couldn’t even load a webpage on the Wi-Fi. When I called the front desk about these problems, they acted like I was a nuisance. No apology or effort to fix anything. The staff were useless and rude, and check-in was a nightmare. This was hands down the worst place I’ve stayed. It’s more like a dump pretending to be a hotel. I’ve stayed in cheaper places that were ten times better. I wouldn’t trust this place to provide a clean pillow, let alone a decent stay.

Housekeeping deserves more credit. After checking out, we needed another night and asked for the same room. When we came back, the towels and bedding were clean. The room itself was neat and clean, and it was definitely worth the stay. My usual place was full, so I googled this business and the reviews looked fairly good. Renovations were underway, and you could see some rooms were still being updated. The bathroom had issues: the toilet and tub had what I think were cigarette burns.