Travelodge by Wyndham Tacoma Near McChord AFB

The front desk woman was polite, which was the only good part. My non-smoking room reeked of an old ashtray, and the door barely closed and was hard to open. The walls, floor, furniture, everything was disgusting. I’m not quite 5'3" and still had to duck to fit my head under the shower head. I could hear everything from the rooms beside and above me. With people coming and going all night, I assumed there was drug activity. I’ll never stay at a Travelodge again.

I had a great experience, and the room was actually very clean. There’s free food and coffee, with more than the basic creamer, and the front desk attendant was really kind. Breakfast runs from 6am-9am, so get there around 7am if you want to catch some pastries before they’re gone. I did spot a small soda splatter on the wall beside one bed and some leftover hair in the bathroom, but that can happen. I’m not sure why the place is rated so poorly. There are druggies and homeless people everywhere, so just don’t interact with them and you’ll be all good.

The Google photos looked very different from the place in person, and cigarette butts were all over the parking lot. When I went to check in, I was told reservations weren’t accepted until 3PM, then I got a message at about 2:47PM saying mine had been canceled. The receptionist wasn’t very friendly.

The pool looked tempting in the hot weather, but it had no water in it. Although we were in a non-smoking room, smoke from the people next door came through the walls. There were too many prostitutes coming and going. We were also told all food had to be eaten at the tables and couldn’t take it back to our room, which felt uncomfortable enough that we chose not to eat there. The management team could use some classes in property management and customer service.