Economy Inn of Greenville, NC

WARNING TO MY AA SISTAS: stay away from the Economy Inn by Taco Bell. My family has been homeless since March, and after a former ECU football coach shared our story, a gourmet catering company reached out. The owner offered Thanksgiving food and unexpectedly gave us a hotel key so my children wouldn’t have to sleep in the car. I hesitated when I realized it was the Economy Inn, but accepted, thinking the employee involved in an earlier incident might be gone. I quietly came in through a side door with my 6-year-old to avoid trouble. Within a minute, a male employee confronted us aggressively and yelled that we were banned. He said it was because of noise complaints, which wasn’t true. The real reason was that, during a previous stay, my oldest son had given food and clean clothes to two African housekeepers who looked severely underweight and malnourished and had worn the same clothes for weeks. The employee made them give everything back, saying it was policy. I left right away without arguing to avoid escalation. My child was so distressed that he vomited outside the door. As I was putting him in the car, the same employee banged on my window and threatened to sue me for trespassing and property damage because I hadn’t cleaned it up. Threatening police involvement against a homeless family is traumatic, especially after our past negative experiences with GPD. This isn’t for sympathy, it’s a warning. The treatment was hostile, intimidating, and unacceptable. Protect yourselves and your children. Avoid this place. My baby and I are still very traumatized, and even typing this gives me a ball in my throat.

This place feels like a nightmare. Rain came through the broken AC and dripped onto the filthy carpet and bed. Black mold covered the walls, the air smelled damp and rotten, and roaches ran over the floor and walls. There were thousands of bed bugs biting through the sheets. The furniture was sticky, and the bathroom reeked of sewage. It all felt like it was rotting from the inside. I left sick and itchy, wondering how the place is even open.

The room smelled weird when I came in Sunday, and it could use a little bleach when they clean. Still, the room and bathroom were clean, I didn’t see roaches, and everything was straight. The staff were nice. My lady recommended the hotel, and we had a good time. It was a cool experience, and I might come back.

There was no heat, roaches everywhere, and no fitted sheet on the bed. The sheets were filthy. Worst motel I’ve ever stayed in, a biohazard.