Days Inn Downtown-Nashville West Trinity Lane

I paid $175 for a place that felt unsafe, dirty, and disturbing. I looked for another room, but there was a game on and hotels were going for hundreds. I would never have stayed if I'd known what it was like. I've traveled all over the world and never felt this uncomfortable. I even left valuables out of the room and barricaded the door with the ironing board, table, and chair because I was afraid of a break-in. The door didn't feel secure and looked as if it might have been kicked in from both sides. The key lock was smashed but still worked, while the chain had apparently been broken off recently. Outside, the building seemed to have structural problems near the stairs. My room was by those stairs, so people talking on calls and hanging out outside made noise all night. Inside, it smelled damp, musty, and moldy, with stains and damage on the walls. The AC was falling apart, the chair was disgusting, and the bathroom mirror had strange marks. The soap dish and bathtub had cigarette burns, and the cracked tub didn't look clean. The TV picture was deteriorating, and some channels kept stopping and jumping. Water dripped inside the fridge, with ice hanging down. The microwave looked a little better, but I still wouldn't have used it.

I was surprised by the negative reviews. My room was lovely and smelled good, and everything looked clean. The staff were pleasant and helpful. The neighborhood isn't somewhere I'd want to walk around, and my room was beside the ice machine, soda machine, and housekeeping laundry room, so there was occasional minor noise. Still, it wasn't too bad. The bed was huge and felt like a fluffy cloud. The coffee was good too. A hose had come loose on the in-room coffee maker, but I reconnected it easily. Breakfast wasn't a big spread, though there was plenty and it tasted good.

Getting to downtown sights was quick, and my car and belongings were fine. After dark, though, the parking lot was quite a scene. My husband, who's a big guy, went out to smoke each night; he saw young men stealing ice, two prostitutes spoke to him, and a man who seemed to be on something asked him for a cigarette. There were several others who also looked like they were on something. I felt safe enough because my husband was with me. Our two-night visit started with an unfriendly greeting from the man at the counter, who never mentioned breakfast despite the website saying it was available. I don't know if they serve it. The room was dated, with dead bugs in the light fixtures, and I cringe when flushing the toilet. Its top-mounted handle and tank didn't look like they'd been disinfected in a long time. The shower was clean and the bed was comfortable. I didn't see bed bugs, despite what another review had said.

We were in a hurry to get to a surprise engagement, so we didn't inspect the room much at first. The bathroom didn't smell very clean, and when we looked more closely after coming back and the next morning, we found quite a few problems and took photos. We considered leaving, but with only one night left and most of the next day away from the room, it didn't make sense. On our last morning, around 9am, my husband was still in bed and I was getting dressed when there was a very faint knock and someone used a key card to enter. I think it was a male manager or owner. He shut the door quickly without saying anything we could hear or understand. Why enter when checkout is clearly at 11am? I planned to explain how disappointed I was when we checked out, but the female manager or owner was hard to understand too and had computer problems when I asked for a printed receipt. I was just done and glad to leave. I don't recommend this place at all, even for one night. It isn't worth it even at a discounted price, and the photos don't represent it well.