WoodSpring Suites Winston-Salem near Hanes Mall

The elevator seemed to be out of order the whole time, so at check-in I had to haul my luggage up four flights of stairs. The hotel also expects guests to clean their own rooms and take their trash all the way to a dumpster at the back of the building. The manager was hateful and rude, and staff didn't help with cleaning or anything else. I came to visit family, and this place basically ruined my trip. People were on drugs and often begging for money, a room was broken into while I was there, and police were called at least three times that I know of. If all WoodSpring locations are like this, I'd say avoid them. This one was horrible, a dumpy hotel where you live with criminals.

The room was hard to live in day to day. Its motion-activated thermostat shut off after a little while when there was no movement, so it got uncomfortably warm while I was trying to sleep. The bathroom light also kept going out every 20-30 seconds, even in the shower, and I had to wave my arm around to turn it back on. The shower drained poorly and the wallpaper was already peeling, even though the property is relatively new. There was a fridge, microwave, and stovetop, but no utensils, plates, or coffee pot. I'm staying at WoodSpring Suites Winston-Salem Hanes Mall while working 12-hour night shifts as a nurse at a nearby hospital, and getting daytime sleep here has been miserable. There are many long-term residents, including families, and noise carries through the day: doors slam, kids run and scream in the halls, and adults yell back and forth. It isn't manageable when you're trying to sleep after a night shift. The front desk is open only limited hours, and there are no phones in the rooms. The lobby had an overwhelming marijuana odor, and a large metal roll-down door at reception. For basics like toilet paper or clean linens, you have to go down during those short desk hours. When I exchanged linens, the towels and washcloths came as a wrinkled, unfolded bundle and looked discolored or stained. There was only two days' notice that pest control would enter every room, including occupied rooms, between 11 AM and 2 PM. It wasn't optional, and it disrupted daytime sleep with little chance to plan around it. The property doesn't seem well maintained. Staff interactions were minimal and felt unprofessional; it seemed like staff lived on site too. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone needing a quiet, clean, functional place, especially healthcare workers or anyone on nights.

This was our second stay at WoodSpring, after a previous one in Pooler Georgia. The staff tried spraying deodorizer, but that only made the smell worse. Marijuana odor was everywhere up and down the halls, nauseating, and strong enough to burn my wife's and my eyes and upset our stomachs. We're cigarette smokers, but we didn't smoke in the room. So why not ask the guests smoking marijuana to leave? It's easy to walk the halls and tell which rooms it's coming from. Why make everyone else put up with it?

The bathroom hadn't been cleaned properly. I wiped the floor with a Clorox wipe and picked up long strands of hair that weren't mine. There was just one washcloth and one towel for each guest, and only two flat pillows on the bed. They don't serve breakfast, either. Dogs barked all night, and the hallway smelled strongly of both cigarette smoke and marijuana even though this is supposed to be smoke-free. The elevator was broken, and we were put on the fifth floor. When I said the desk clerk would have to cancel my reservation, he ignored that request and found us a first-floor room instead. Staff disappeared at night, since there isn't an all-night desk like at a normal hotel. The interactions didn't match the cordial, friendly people I've come to expect in Winston-Salem. I forgot I was even in the city. It left a bad taste in my mouth, and I have no plans to repeat the experience. Two stars is generous, and there's plenty I'm leaving out.