Express Inn Longview

The people running the place are friendly, and the owners seem reasonable. It’s also one of the cheapest places on Estes, which shows in the rooms: they’re dingy, and a lot of doors have been kicked in and poorly fixed. WiFi is unreliable, roaches are common, and there’s often drama in the parking lot. The police regularly come through.

I only spent about 15-20 minutes in the room, but didn’t get my $50 back. I called the next day and spoke with a woman who was rude from the start. She said I’d have to ask Bob the manager, though she thought he probably wouldn’t refund me. I didn’t bother calling Bob. The night clerk hadn’t been rude, but said the cash was in the safe and he couldn’t retrieve it. I’d paid cash, thinking I’d found a good deal. The room looked okay at first, but after using the bathroom and sitting on the bed to call my wife, I spotted a syringe on a cabinet. On my way to tell the clerk, a woman in a car asked if I wanted to buy antiques, then asked me for spare change. I felt uneasy about the neighborhood and decided to leave. I went to a Holiday Inn down the road instead. This wasn’t a good place to stay. I’d rather sleep in my car at a rest area.

The water barely had any pressure and never got hot, and the office didn’t care. People were banging on our door all night and trying to force their way in, with no response from the office. Next door, people were yelling about drugs and missing grams. The office didn’t care about that either. I’d give this place negative stars if I could.

It was unbearably hot because the AC didn’t work, and the room was dirty. There was even someone’s soda cup in the fridge. The girl at the front office wouldn’t move us to another room or do anything about it. I’m never staying here again.