Budget Inn of Hayward

My first trip to California took a bad turn when I booked this hotel at the last minute. For what they charge for one night, asking for a deposit too felt like a lot. The room wasn't clean: the bed smelled musty, there were cobwebs in the luggage closet, and the bathroom floor was dirty, with pubic hair beside the toilet. Even the mini fridge wasn't switched on. I guess the name says it all.

The front desk staff were pleasant and accommodating, and someone even brought an iron to my room when I asked. I was told rooms should have irons and boards, but mine didn't, so I ended up ironing on the bed. I checked for bedbugs, as I do at every hotel, and didn't see any. Still, I won't come back, and I hope they take the mold concerns seriously because it can affect people's health. I needed a last-minute place near OAK before an early work flight and paid $75 for the night. The first room had a broken door latch, which made me uncomfortable traveling alone, so I asked for another. The second had a latch, but the door was filthy and covered in mold, and there was mold throughout the room. It was hot and damp, so I turned on the AC. The controls were missing buttons, but it was one of the room's better features, along with the bathroom sink. The towels looked questionable and were tossed messily on the rack. A dirty rag was hanging over the shower bar, probably left by the previous guest. The place needs a serious overhaul and a health inspection. I rarely leave bad reviews, but this felt necessary.

The woman at the front desk was kind and understanding, and she gave me very good service. The man with the bald spot and beard was rude. I told him I had paid for an extra day, but he didn't listen, and he changed my room for no reason. I've interacted with him three times and he ignored me each time, while listening to my non-Black friend. He was also rude to my girlfriend, who has the same skin tone as me. I can tell he's racist. He tried to get the front desk woman to take my deposit, but she didn't.

There isn't a proper lobby, just a bulletproof window where it's hard to hear the person speaking. My key kept deactivating, and I had to go back to that window three times in 20 minutes on the first day. Only then did the woman explain that it stops working near any electronic device. I'd never heard that before. I kept it away from electronics after that, but still had to get it reactivated five more times over the week, almost daily. They even suggested I didn't know how to open a hotel door, so I recorded a video to show the key wasn't working. Once inside, I found cockroaches, sheets with poop and blood stains, and black marks on most of the towels. Housekeeping never came during my week there. I had to find their cart myself to get basics like toilet paper and soap. The Wi-Fi was useless. At checkout I told the owner how bad the stay had been. She kept repeating that they could have addressed it if I'd mentioned it at the time, and shrugged when I asked what she would actually have done. I'd already killed the roaches. Another room would have been my third, and I'd have had to search that one for roaches too. It was unprofessional and unacceptable. I WILL be contacting the health department.