Eleven E Motel

After the Bristol race, we needed a room because home was a three-hour drive away. Once we saw the room, we decided that drive was better than risking bed bugs at home. I told the front desk how nasty it was, but they said it was clean and wouldn’t return the $120. Losing that money seemed a lot cheaper than trying to get rid of bed bugs. The sheets and covers looked like they’d been used as a doormat, and the cover had cigarette holes. Nasty place. Don’t stay here unless you want to sleep with bed bugs and roaches.

We came here because it was cheap. My family is homeless, and I’m staying with my children, one of whom is mentally disabled. On our third night, they started harassing us. The police were called because my son was having an autistic meltdown while I was trying to get him to sleep. Then the front desk clerk woke us from a deep sleep, saying there was another disturbance. The room itself is run-down and filthy, with roaches everywhere and bed bugs. I feel they targeted us because of my children and their disabilities. After you’ve paid a weekly rate, they’ll make up lies and cause problems to get you out. Don’t stay here if you have children or disabilities.

The building looks nice, but it’s old and clearly needs a lot of work. The room was tiny, and the second I opened the door and switched on the light, roaches started flying and crawling around. The people were very nice and let me inspect the room before deciding whether to stay. With that many cockroaches, they’d be better off burning the place down and starting over. This is a roach motel in the literal sense.

My room was right beside the office, and the police showed up twice. The main problem, though, was how nasty and cockroach-infested the room was. It was easy to see it hadn’t been cleaned in a while. The shower felt like a prison shower, the kind where you need shower shoes.