northborough inn

I was in town for work a couple of weeks ago and didn’t have many options since most nearby hotels were full. This Econo Lodge turned out to be one of the worst places I’ve stayed as a frequent traveler. The room had bugs, a clogged shower drain, and condoms left in an open drawer. The sheets looked like they were from the previous guests, and the blanket had a burn hole and stains of unknown origin. A light bulb was missing, and the outlets didn’t look safe to use.

The room cards wouldn’t open my door, so every time I needed to get in, I had to go to the front desk and have someone unlock it with a key. There wasn’t a microwave in the room despite the ROOM DESCRIPTION saying every room had one. You have to go to the front desk to use it. The tub had centipedes and someone else’s hair, and the bedspreads were full of cigarette burns. The beds were disgusting, and the pillows were yellowed and dirty. There were only two ceiling lights by the door and no lamps, so the room was dark. The cockroaches even avoid this dump. Keep driving, you’ll thank me.

The staff were nice, and the location was convenient. The woman at check-in was especially pleasant, and the front desk quickly brought new items when we asked. But we found used towels on the bathroom floor, empty toiletries dumped in the sink, mouse droppings, hair everywhere in the bathroom, and something that looked like blood or vomit on the wall. There were shavings, hopefully, and a mouse trap beside the mini fridge. The AC unit had mold. The breaker box in the room was a type recalled in homes and businesses in the 80s for fire safety, which didn’t make us feel at ease. The room was dated, which was expected for the price, but it wasn’t clean enough. The upkeep looked like a “landlord special.” We’d driven a long way and needed sleep, so we stayed. If the bed hadn’t been made, I’d have thought we’d checked into a dirty room.

The staff were friendly, thankfully, but I wouldn’t choose this place again. The pictures made the room look better than it was, especially the carpet. I woke up to five kinds of roaches in the chicken wing bones from the night before. The smoking room had no ventilation, the shower was scalding and wouldn’t adjust, and the AC barely worked in a hot room that smelled like an ashtray. The TV was broken too. The washer and dryer didn’t need a room key, and I think that’s why one of the shady people hanging around the porch stole the laundry. If you want an ugly, buggy hotel where you can boil in the shower and get robbed, this is the place.