Surestay Plus By Best Western St. James Donaldsonville

I was there for work for a week, and the front desk guys were nice. But the breakfast was a bad experience. I work overnight, so morning is when we eat, and usually nothing else is open. I expected at least a hot breakfast and juice, but the place didn't feel safe to eat in. The juice machines didn't work, and everything, including the juice, smelled like Fabuloso. When breakfast did appear, it was cold cereal in a dingy container. I saw the woman cooking put a big plate of sausage in the microwave, then set it on the hot plate setup to keep it warm and make it look cooked. I got up at 6 a.m., but breakfast wasn't open; the person came out of bed later to make it. There was one little coffee pot, the coffee was always cold, and there were no lids for the cups. There's supposed to be breakfast, but there wasn't.

I booked seven days through Expedia for work, but my employer texted that they'd already paid for a room at another motel in a different town, closer to the job, so I checked out. I showed the employee the messages, and he said he understood. Expedia agreed to a refund and said it was up to the motel manager. I was there when the employee spoke with Expedia, and he told me they said the refund was approved. After that, I called on four different days. Four times, staff said the manager would call me back, but he didn't. On Saturday, Oct. 4th, I spoke with a different employee; we argued, and he hung up on me. I recorded the conversation. The next day, a woman told me the manager had been there the day before, so the man I'd argued with was the manager and had lied to me. It's now Oct. 8th, and he still hasn't called. The total was $505, less $75 for my one-night stay, so they're keeping $430 even though I didn't use the other six days. As far as I'm concerned, they're thieves. I saw silverfish, which eat holes in clothing, and small roaches, too. I don't recommend staying there; the rooms aren't worth what they charge. Edit: In response to your reply, I called Expedia and they approved the refund. I was there when they called you and said it was approved. It took five calls. Four times your associates told me you'd call back, and you never did. I called corporate and filed a complaint. After that, you decided to refund my money, but still charged me for one night I never used. You still didn't call me yourself. You had an associate call to say you'd refund the money, then asked me to remove this review.

We were exhausted and it was late, so we stayed the night after being moved to another room, then left the next morning. The second room smelled just as bad, and there were silverfish all over the bathroom floor. The first room was horrible too: it smelled of mildew, had a live lizard, used bandaids stuck to the wall, what looked like blood on the wall, and a floor by the door that looked like someone had smeared crap all over it. The guy at reception offered to remove the lizard. From the moment you walk in, the place stinks. I know it's a budget hotel, but that doesn't have to mean an absolute nightmare. It seemed like nobody cleans the place. I've contacted corporate about a refund. Completely unacceptable and disgusting. Please do better.

I hate companies that advertise breakfast when they have no intention of putting any out. I called the front desk, and the man told me outright they advertise it because they know it brings in business, even though they don't serve it. Breakfast wasn't the main thing for me. Honesty was, and I'd rather stay somewhere with honest management. If I weren't stuck with this reservation, I'd go someplace else.