Econo Lodge

I know both sides of hotel work from being a night auditor, and I’ve even brought a plunger to a guest in the middle of the night. I wasn’t looking for anything complicated, just toilet paper when I ran out. The owner shut the little window in my face and told me to ask in the morning. At $100 a night, that felt incredibly rude, especially with my child there. I keep the room clean and don’t cause trouble, so I’m honestly shocked.

The room itself was nice and the location was amazing, which made what happened such a disappointment. On my third day, the sink broke. I contacted the manager, who acted as if it was our fault, so we left the following day. Not long after, he charged my card $150. I don’t see how that was my responsibility.

The WiFi was very unreliable, and the room looked dirty and worn. I’d stayed here before and once found hair on the linens, but didn’t make a big deal of it. This visit was worse. Room 119 didn’t smell of smoke, but the bed topper had a burn hole. The bathroom had brown spots beside the toilet paper holder that looked like human feces. I won’t include the photo, but I’m not making this up. I’ve worked in travel and hospitality, so I know the work can be hard. The TV powered on with no sound. I checked the volume, mute, and internal audio settings, but nothing helped, so I streamed on my tablet. The staff said maintenance had been in recently and nobody had stayed in the room for a few days. Because I’d been there a few hours before noticing everything, they said there was no basis for compensation. I’d gone out for dinner after checking in, and didn’t think I needed to inspect and report every problem within an hour. Making sure rooms are clean and working is their job. I’m done with this place.

We’ve stayed at Econolodge in other cities and had good experiences, but this one was a letdown. We arrived late and found an unclean room, old stained sheets with hair from the previous guest, a dirty tub, and a smelly bathroom. When we asked for fresh sheets and a towel around 10pm the next night, the office was closed and we were told to come back later. I didn’t feel safe during the stay. The rooms open directly to the street, people paced the hallways, and some were rummaging through the dumpster in the middle of the night. Our door didn’t close properly and looked like it might come off if pulled hard. I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone who needs clean sheets, is traveling with kids, or wants to feel secure.