Days Inn by Wyndham Lakewood South Tacoma

My room was run down and smelled a little strange. The parking lot smelled like a marijuana field, and the TV’s HDMI cord was unplugged, so I had to reconnect it. Still, the biggest issue was the money taken from my account. I have minor ear problems that sometimes cause drainage, and I’m guessing the bedding got stained. As soon as I checked out, they took $200. That’s unacceptable, and it feels fraudulent. They seem touchy about their property and bedding, but the rooms are in poor shape. I’m putting this out as a warning. If they ask for the $100 deposit, decline it, and if they won’t let you into the room, cancel the reservation. They’ll take money when they want or when they decide the charge wasn’t enough. The photo below shows the withdrawal. Try to avoid this motel if you can.

There are ants all over the place, even crawling on you in bed while you sleep. The rooms are greasy enough that you can feel it on your pants when you sit on the furniture. The motel doesn’t have towels, and the cleaning isn’t cleaning at all. Housekeeping won’t speak to me and only says, “no English,” though they speak to my husband. The evening and night front desk lady is nice and tries to get housekeeping to accommodate the guests.

The front desk woman was rude, and early check-in turned into a problem. I’d requested it, and they’d said they’d do their best and it shouldn’t be an issue. Then she told me the dog would cost an extra $50 a day. That would’ve made the three-night room total $380, besides the deposit they’d already tried to take. I wanted to cancel under the policy at a one-day charge, but she wanted the full $380 and didn’t seem to know the policy. I booked through booking.com and listed my dog. The app said $229 for three nights, payable at the property. They tried charging my Cash App card at 6:01 am, well before I arrived, so “pay at property” apparently meant nothing. I use Cash App almost exclusively for this, and only add money near check-in because this has happened before. Thank God I hadn’t loaded the funds yet, or they might have taken $380 plus the $100 deposit for no service or stay. Isn’t the deposit meant to cover damage or missing items? I pulled the money off the card immediately, but they tried again. This company is slime, and I guess it uses these dishonest practices on lots of customers, taking millions from people who don’t know better and making their lives harder without a conscience. Use Motel 6, which is at least honest about what you’ll pay at check-in. You could otherwise lose a significant amount and wind up in financial distress. I wouldn’t use booking.com either, for the same reason. Both companies are deceptive and dishonest.

The $100 withdrawal showed up as pending two days after I checked out on the 20th, then actually left my account on the day after Christmas. I’d checked in late after 9pm on a last-minute stay in Lakewood last month and barely used the room, which I booked with a reservation that accidentally put me in a handicap accessible room. The TV didn’t work, but I didn’t mention it. My deposit had already been returned shortly after I checked out, so the later charge made no sense. When I called, the employee first said she couldn’t see anything on my account and told me to call back if the charge went through. After it did, I called again and was told there was a $100 damage fee dated the 22nd. I asked what for, but she didn’t know. She took my information for a callback, which never came. I’ve called several more times and gotten stonewalled without an explanation. I didn’t damage anything or break any rules, and I can’t see how they could justify charging me when I was barely in the room for five minutes. I’ve disputed it with my bank and plan to get the money back. If I don’t hear anything soon, I’ll go there in person. I’d stayed here before without a problem, but this time it felt sketchy. Watch out: they took money from my account days after my stay, and I believe the charge was fraudulent. Don’t make the same mistake. Stay somewhere else.