La Quinta Inn by Wyndham Tallahassee North

We were in Tallahassee for FSU graduation and paid a little over $400, I think, after prices around town had shot up for the weekend. Airbnb was $1,500 a night and hotels were over $1,000. As I write this, the listed rate is $59. This was a last-resort booking, and it taught my family and me that comfort and peace of mind have no price. We timed the housekeeping team as they cleaned a room across from us: nine minutes, with bug spray applied right before they left. We saw the same thing on the other side of the property another day. Roaches. Enough said. The place needs a serious overhaul before somebody gets hurt. There was a McClaren in the lot along with other luxury vehicles, which seemed to show how last-resort a choice it was for many guests. Anyone going to FSU graduation should book early, or price gouging might leave them staying somewhere like this.

We were driving from Louisiana back to Miami and hadn't planned to stop, but after hours on the road we needed sleep. This place was cheap and available, and we checked in close to 8 pm. My two friends were pointing out problems as soon as we arrived, and they were right, but I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. At 3 am one friend screamed because a roach was crawling on her pillow, with two more on the floor. We ran out of the room and slept in the car outside a Wawa gas station instead, which was much better, honestly. We got a refund the next morning, and now it's our worst-hotel story. We take lots of road trips and have stayed in many hotels, but this one beats them all. Three girls terrified of bugs, especially roaches, had a horrible stay. Don't make the same desperate-for-sleep mistake we did. Drive the extra miles and find a nicer hotel.

Don't stay here. I've used LaQuinta many times and it's my preferred hotel chain, but this was far below the standard I'm used to. The pictures are misleading and seem to be from years ago. The building and rooms don't look like them at all. I questioned whether it was even a LaQuinta when I pulled up. The outside looked run down. Inside, the breakfast area looked dirty, the furniture was beat up, and the lobby looked worn out. I wouldn't have eaten there if food had been served. I hesitated before taking my key, then went to look at the room and turned right around. It was dark even with the lights on, and the bathroom looked worn and unclean, though it had supposedly been cleaned. The whole room felt worn out. The front desk woman was very polite and offered to move me, but I didn't want to stay. I got my money back and went across the street to another hotel.

I brought several teenagers and booked five rooms, and they thought the place was good too. I travel a lot, and sure, this isn't a $500-a-night Hyatt, but it has what I need: a quiet, clean room, helpful staff, restaurants nearby, and a reasonable price. The rating seemed too low to me, at least a three or four. Fantastic staff. I'd definitely stay here in Tallahassee again.