Econo Lodge Sioux Falls Empire Mall

The rooms were really clean, the staff very friendly, and breakfast was amazing with a decent variety. But the power went out only in my room, so I had to switch rooms, which was frustrating. The whole place smelled like weed, and people next door were having a party, so I got almost no sleep. It’s not the place to choose if you want a fancy hotel, but it’s not bad for the price.

The room was quiet inside, though road noise was noticeable. Breakfast was pretty decent, with biscuits and gravy, cereal, waffles, pastries, juice, and coffee. Even so, I’d skip this place and stay at a Motel 8. The quality is probably better. Check-in was chaotic and awkward. One woman seemed to be trying to ignore a younger woman or girl who kept talking to her while she was checking me in. Then a cleaning woman interrupted to announce her break without checking whether a customer was there. When I went to get things from my vehicle, another cleaning woman seemed to light a cigarette before even leaving the front door. The room looked about as expected, but the window curtains had a hole and a brownish-red smudge, which I brushed aside. The comforter seemed to have something on it, though I assumed it was a stain, and I made the same assumption about the towels. In the shower, I realized it hadn’t actually been cleaned: I rubbed one of the marks with my finger and it came off easily. I immediately wondered if I’d get bedbugs, but I’d already paid. The place was impressively disgusting in both appearance and service, and the check-in staff were wildly unprofessional.

The desk staff were friendly enough, but the room was disastrous. About 75% of the bed and bath linens were visibly and badly stained, and one bed had random hairs on the sheets. There was a large dark stain on the bath mat too. The bathroom floor grout was broken and completely missing around four large tiles, and the phone connection outlet cover had been pulled entirely out of the wall. We considered getting back in the car and continuing down the road, but we were too tired for that to be safe.

The beds were okay and the room was fine, but at about $150 a night, the experience was terrible. I wasn’t allowed to stay another night because my family had been loud and caused trouble while visiting, even though they weren’t staying at the motel. I was too sick to pack my things myself and wanted to stay another night, so I paid the man $25 to pack them. He packed my breathing machine with water still in it instead of using its case, threw everything into my luggage, then tossed my belongings into the car. The machine was damaged and it cost almost $400 to fix a $2,500 breathing machine. I was very upset. The front desk girl, who was from Philadelphia, couldn’t be bothered and never wanted to help. Not a good place to stay.