Red Roof Inn Raleigh Northeast - Downtown

When I went to check in, there was a sticky, disgusting glob of something on the front counter. The room was worse: it smelled strongly of weed and cigarettes as soon as we entered, both beds had stains on the sheets and covers, and there were nasty brown marks in the tub. By morning my throat was burning from the smoke, and I woke up feeling sick and gross. The people hanging around outside made us uncomfortable, and the area felt very unsafe. We would have left right away, but other reviews made it clear these problems were known. We called earlier and were told they were sold out, so changing rooms wasn’t an option. They also don’t give refunds, probably because they know people wouldn’t stay otherwise. This was one of the most disgusting hotel stays I’ve ever had. I’m filing a complaint with corporate and will push for the location to be inspected and shut down. It’s filthy and unsafe, and people should avoid it at all costs.

The room was nicer than I expected, which is about the only good thing I can say. Nobody mentioned a deposit or an early check-in fee when I booked, and I was told I could arrive anytime, with check-in only affecting checkout. But the online price went up by almost $100 when I got there. They said it was for a room deposit and an early-cleaning fee. There was about half a roll of toilet paper for my entire four-day stay, and no fresh towels were brought up. The vinyl floor was black with stains, like someone had spilled something and a three-year-old had tried to clean it, about four guests before me. After dark, I stayed locked in my room until daylight because the “unsavory” people around there looked me up and down like I was a Christmas turkey. Every morning I got woken up by either the housekeeper or her children running around while she worked. Usually that wouldn’t bother me so much, but a five-year-old didn’t understand me yelling, “NO THANKYOUUUU.” It got annoying fast. You get what you pay for, I guess, but with these prices and deposits I expected way more from the Ol' Red Roof Inn. 10 out of 10 would not recommend.

The bathroom door dragged on the floor because it wasn’t level, made an awful noise, and was very hard to close for privacy. The room had plenty of other flaws too, though those bothered me less. At first, even getting the room door open felt almost impossible. People hung around outside in groups, and there was activity every night around 12-1AM. It felt like they were waiting for a chance to break into cars. One afternoon we pulled our door shut and left for the day. When we came back that night, it was cracked open. The front desk said there’d been no door activity and suggested it wasn’t them because we’d turned down room service earlier. They made us feel like it was our fault. Nothing seems to have been taken, thankfully, but I don’t believe we left it open. I watched my partner use their whole body to tug the handle and shut it. If you’re worried about safety, don’t stay here.

The place is extremely clean, and the staff go out of their way to help. The new staff and owners have put a lot of time and money into turning the facility around, with refurbished bathrooms and very new rooms. There are no drifters around now.