Budget Lodge of Irving

I’ve lived at Budget Lodge for six or seven years because personal problems left me with no other choice. The place used to be shabby and rundown, and the first room they had for me, room 341, had bloodstains on the ceiling. I understood the clerk’s disheveled reaction once I saw it. Over the years there have been troubling neighbors, bedbugs, fleas, roaches, and a lot of building managers coming and going. I’m laying that out because the improvements lately have been substantial. Rooms are getting cleaned and upgraded, there’s now WiFi, and long term tenants like me are expected to keep rooms reasonably clean and free of trash so critters stay away. A recent fire has left a burned room unrepaired so far, but that wasn’t the staff or management’s fault. Accidents happen. The new building manager is lovely and doing her best to get this old place back in shape, and she’s doing an exceptional job so far. The staff changes have helped too. The newer employees are mostly pleasant, polite, courteous, and understanding. I hope the progress keeps going.

They’re doing a beautiful remodel on many of the rooms, and the rooms are good for the price. The employees have never given me trouble, they’re always kind and helpful. Construction on the nearby highway makes it pretty loud during the day, though it’s almost always quiet at night. There’s a restaurant there too, with some of the best food, the sweetest servers, and great prices. I love it there.

I’ve stayed at plenty of rough places while traveling on a tight budget over the past five years, but this one takes the cake. Roaches were dropping from the ceiling even after I spent $25 on pest control products. The manager just said they provide pest control. There was a fire, and instead of repairing the burned section, they’re working on rooms. That means loud banging and water shutoffs for long stretches, with no advance warning and no estimate of when it’ll come back. At night there was screaming, fighting, lights, and sirens. I found a needle three doors from where my kids and I were staying, told the office, and saw it still there two days later. The owners and operators don’t seem to care. I was ten minutes late checking out and was told I’d lose my deposit. I ended up agreeing to leave a Google review in exchange for getting my $20 deposit back, so be careful about those glowing reviews. Just drive by and you’ll get the idea. If you have any standard of living, stay away.

Remodeling is happening every day, and the front restaurant rocks. If you get one of the renovated rooms, you can see how much things have improved. Maybe the old management didn’t care, but the new team is doing a great job with the work. Stop by and see the changes. I’ll post a few pictures of the newest rooms.