Rodeway Inn Gastonia East

The room was in pretty good shape for an older place, and the TV worked great. I stayed Monday the 20th through Tuesday the 21st in a smoking room with one king bed. The bathroom and sink were clean enough, and the bed was usable, though the sheets had a few holes. There was some noise, but it died down later at night. The charger sort of worked, but you had to fiddle with it on the bedside table.

Rates seem inconsistent, and the deposit requirement changed between stays. There also seemed to be more of the owners’ family living here than paying guests. The hotel is poorly maintained, with dirty rooms and lights, TVs, and other things that may not work. You’re lucky if you get a room without an issue. I’d go a few miles down the road instead, where there’s a better, cheaper hotel with more amenities.

The bed was badly burned, and the bathtub was awful. It was so dirty I had to buy my own cleaning products and use towels to bathe. I’d strongly suggest staying somewhere else.

The only real bright spot was that there were no cockroaches or bed bugs that I noticed, the owner wasn’t watching me through the vents as far as I could tell, and there was a Wendy’s down the road where I could get a Frosty. I made it out physically fine, but the stay left me feeling mentally worn out. I was already tired from driving across the Nevada deserts, and I hadn’t booked the room myself. If I’d known what it was like, I might have taken my chances on the street. The front desk area smelled strongly of cigarette smoke and felt cramped and unsettling, with clutter everywhere. The $50 deposit was annoying, but the room was worse. It had the same smoke smell, only stronger, like they either hadn’t tried to remove it or couldn’t. It reminded me of my old college dorm after frat parties. The chair was covered with a white sheet that had cigarette burns or what looked like bug damage. The bed was worse, with lots of stains on the sheets and pillowcases. I bought new bedding because I couldn’t bring myself to sleep on what was there. The sink and shower were okay, but the water barely got hot and the shower curtain had strange stains. The neighbors were very loud between 1 and 3 a.m. every night. There were other sketchy looking people around, but nobody hurt me. We also weren’t allowed to cook, even though there was a microwave. Maybe they meant drugs, but that seemed a bit late. The room was a poor experience and caused me mental anguish. The Wendy’s was the one thing that helped.