Travelodge by Wyndham Macon West

At Travelodge by Wyndham Macon West, the staff were friendly, but renovations made the front desk area noisy, and there were many homeless people on site. Our room smelled of smoke, the fridge leaked, the bathroom door was broken, and the showerhead was loose. We also found bed bugs. The place wasn’t clean or comfortable, and I wouldn’t return.

We were on a drive from MO to FL and chose this place to save money, even though we usually stay elsewhere in Macon. The room was reasonably clean, but generally run down: rusty fridge, uneven floor, broken vanity, and a tub that dripped and smelled mildewy. I could mostly overlook that for one night. We arrived to find the AC off despite having booked weeks ahead, and it was over 90 degrees outside. The pool was drained for some reason, though we hadn’t planned to use it. What bothered us more was how many people seemed to live there, as in an apartment complex, and not a well-kept one. There were cigar wrappers stuck between columns and rain pipes, shoes left outside doors, and people on porches with children playing late at night and early in the morning. Large, menacing-looking dogs with collars wandered loose. It wasn’t a terrible stay, but the savings weren’t worth it. I wouldn’t come back unless I really needed to save money and was traveling with adults only, no kids.

I definitely didn’t think $90 for the night was fair. Apart from the sheets and linens, the room didn’t seem to have been cleaned: there was dirt on the floor, loose hairs around the sink, dead and live bugs, towels in the mini fridge, and a broken alarm clock. The lobby smelled strongly of urine, and outside there were adults, children, and babies in the parking lot all night, belongings scattered around, cars blasting music, and dogs barking. It felt less like a hotel and more like a homeless encampment. After checkout, the front desk woman said she was “surprised to see us leaving after a night because usually people stay here for a while.” We had stopped for a night hoping to rest after dealing with the hurricane in Savannah. It wasn’t restful.

The area and the rooms and beds were dirty, and there were homeless people everywhere. A horrible place, avoid it.