Americas Best Value Inn Memphis I-240

For someone from Memphis, this place is suitable. If you’re visiting from elsewhere, ask the desk about another location. The employees and location are about average for a Memphis motel, maybe a little better, and there are plenty of parking options. Still, the outside needs to look more welcoming. I nearly thought it was closed for construction, though most guests had parked in the back. I’d also like to see a security guard and tighter action on suspected drug or prostitution activity.

I wish I’d spent a little more for a clean, working room somewhere else. I know this is a cheap place, not the Ritz, but I’ve stayed in budget hotels that weren’t this dirty. The room didn’t look cleaned, especially the bathroom, and the towel corners had what looked like dirt or mold. Half the outlets didn’t work.

This was one of the worst experiences I’ve had in this city. We went back to return the key and turn down the room, but the clerk told us to call and let them know. The room had roaches, the linens were visibly dirty, and the parking lot was full of deep holes you had to dodge to avoid a flat. There was also a woman asking arriving drivers for a lighter, then another woman appeared to proposition a man in a white truck and left with him in the back seat. The reservation line said it needed to check with the hotel about a refund. After 15 minutes with no call back, I tried the hotel 13 times with no answer, so I drove back. The woman from the lot was in the lobby behind the glass with the clerk. She said the reservation line hadn’t called yet. When I dialed the hotel while standing there, she realized it was me. Then, while we called the reservation line from there, she told them we just didn’t like the room. My card was still charged for a room we never used, and she acted like we were a bother. I was told to contact the third-party booking company for a refund. Ten days later, neither the hotel nor the booking agency had returned any money, and neither would take my calls. Now they want fees for a room I never stayed in.

The parking lot was a nightmare, full of holes big enough to lose a car in, and the hotel sits so far back from the road that it’s hard to see. Inside, we weren’t allowed into the lobby, which was strange. Our room smelled musty and clearly had been smoked in, even though we’d requested non-smoking because my granddaughters have allergies. The comforter had burn marks and wasn’t comfortable, and they refused to give us blankets. The outlets didn’t work, so we had to move a floor lamp over for light. There was an unexplained plug in the ceiling, no smoke alarm, and the outlets weren’t secured to the wall. It was awful. If it hadn’t been a holiday weekend, I’d have gone somewhere else.