Super 8 by Wyndham Sevierville Riverside

This is now my go-to place to stay in Sevierville. The location is ideal for the main strip and convention center, and the room was on the third floor, recently painted, with modern fixtures. The carpet and comforters looked dated, but weren't stained. Each comfortable bed has its own room, closing door, and TV, which works well for couples or kids. The bathroom is small, but the roomy sink and vanity are outside it. Shower pressure wasn't great, though it was fine. The balcony view is lovely, and the AC and heat work well enough to mask road noise on the front side. It didn't bother me, and I didn't need my white noise machine. Skip online check-in. The message comes from corporate, but the hotel doesn't receive your details, so you'll have to check in again in person. Breakfast is packaged Little Bites and NutriGrain bars, nice to have, though I bring my own because of allergies. Now the coffee: the lobby machine makes on-demand espresso, and it's among the best hotel coffee I've had. I'm a bit of a coffee snob and have stayed at some posh places. The convention center folks with their watery $5 lattes were jealous. There's Swiss Miss hot chocolate, too, which my daughter liked. The staff I dealt with were friendly, professional, and informative.

We booked through Booking.com after reading the app reviews, and the listing promised a full free breakfast. What we found didn't match the photos. The outside looked run down and neglected, while breakfast was just coffee and bagels for a 30-minute window. Then the room was full of roaches and dead bugs on the floor. Bugs were in the bedding when we pulled the covers back. One comforter had suspicious white marks all over the middle, and it was plainly filthy. The lamps and other things had mold, and the room smelled strongly of pot. We took pictures and left to get a refund. The woman at check-in said they couldn't prove where the smell came from. She asked whether we'd touched the bedding even after seeing a photo of the covers pulled back with bugs in the bed, then gave us attitude because the beds would need cleaning. The room wasn't clean when we got it. She processed a refund, but later we were reported as a no-show in the Booking.com app and charged $127. I've reported it to the app and plan to contact the TN health department, chamber of commerce, and any other agency I can. This feels like a scam on the apps. The photos and listing don't match the property, and the rooms were filthy, with bugs and mold. Then they had the nerve to mark us as a no-show and charge the fee. The owners should be ashamed. I've called repeatedly to discuss the charge, but whoever answers just picks up and breathes into the phone.

The only feature I liked was that the double queen room has a separate door for each bed, giving some privacy from the bathroom area. Otherwise, it was very dated, probably built in the late '80s and only repainted since. The carpet was faded and old, the tub was past its prime, and a non-smoking room smelled like it had been smoked in recently or used by heavy smokers. The outlet behind the TV and mini fridge didn't work. It's easy to see why this costs 40% less than nearby hotels.

We had a great stay, and the location and price were both good. I especially liked that the room had two separate bedrooms, which was a big reason I booked it. The balcony wasn't quite clean enough to use, but that was minor for me. The elevator broke in the middle of the week while we were on the third floor.