Econo Lodge

The highway location was convenient, but I wouldn’t stay here again or recommend it. The room was small, dated, and dirty when we arrived, with a moldy smell. One nightstand was scratched and stained. The bathroom was tiny and crumbling, with mildew and mold in the tub and a cracked toilet tank. The sink sat outside the bathroom and drained poorly. The sheets had little holes or tears when we pulled back the covers. The floor felt gritty or sandy, and my socks came away dirty, so I threw them out after the stay.

The manager apologized and refunded me when I said I was leaving over the cockroaches. The second room was better than the first until we found huge roaches on the beds. The first had a smoky, moldy odor and an AC that seemed to be failing. We’d already waited an extra hour for the room despite checking in late. The cleaning staff were rude and unprofessional, telling us to hurry up and leave. We found another hotel with friendly staff and much better cleanliness. They said five other guests had checked in that day with similar stories. Don’t waste your time.

We checked out only 30 minutes after arriving for our school field trip overnight stay in St. Augustine. The room was hot because the AC didn’t work, and before we could report it, someone knocked loudly and let themselves in before we could answer. We later learned he was from maintenance. He didn’t explain what was happening, so we had to keep asking questions; his reply was, “I am going to look for another AC unit.” The receptionist also came across as unprofessional, from her attire to her cluttered workspace, and had the worst attitude when we checked out. We were asked for a cash deposit, which didn’t seem normal. The room hadn’t been cleaned either; there were socks and other debris under the bed. As part of the Choice Hotels brand, this place is a weak link.

The room had a cracked tub that was broken through where you step into the shower, a possible cutting or pinching hazard. The curtain and towel racks were coming out of the wall. We got only two towels and had to ask for clean ones each day, along with toilet paper. The bed had a spring poking out, and the doorknob was nearly falling off. We had to use the key to unlock the door, run in, then use it again to lock it. The refrigerator ran but wouldn’t keep anything cold, and the AC stayed at one temperature. We were cold the whole time. After the first day, when we were too tired from traveling to shower, my husband pointed out the bathroom problems. The desk clerk snapped, “well you never complained about it yesterday!” We hadn’t known about the damage. The front desk service was awful from the start. The rude clerk first tried to give me a room I hadn’t booked, saying I must have hit the wrong button. I showed her on my phone that I hadn’t made a mistake. Then she told me our room would be ready an hour after check-in time. When we finally entered, it smelled like a skunk. During our bedbug check, lifting the mattress pulled the bed off its frame, and a lot of baby cockroaches ran out of the hollow compressed wood frame. We never saw bedbugs, which is about the only positive I can find. We didn’t complain about the roaches, though we should have, because I’m afraid it wouldn’t have helped. On the third day, my bank called about suspicious activity on my card. The motel had added a bogus surcharge. I tried asking the clerk, but could barely hear her mumbling through the little speaker, and by then I was done dealing with her. People outside sounded like they partied all night, like Bourbon Street in NOLA. Someone tried to get into our car and our room. If I could redo this vacation, I’d read the reviews first and wouldn’t stay here. Do yourself a favor and go across the street. I won’t stay here if I’m in St. Augustine again.