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At first glance, this would seem to be a great place for a "SCAD parent" to stay--it's directly across the street from the Turner dorm. The price was quite reasonable, as well. My first clue that all was not well here was at the front desk when I checked in. Over the last ten years, I've stayed in about 50 or 60 places ranging from small B&Bs to large chain hotels to a Hawaiian "grass hut" (!), and this was the MOST indifferent and unhelpful front desk experience I've had. The staff here is clearly just treading water, waiting for their shift to be over. |
When I walked into the room, all appeared to be as expected, with decent furniture and layout, with a reasonably-large bathroom with good lighting. In the main area, the rug should have been replaced a few years ago, though. A TV with about 100 cable channels, a microwave and coffeemaker rounded out the amenities. The view out of the huge window at the far end of the room was particularly ugly, with trash and junk visible just below the tiny concrete balcony and a convenience store across the nearby road. This can't be helped much -- this part of town was a wasteland only a few years ago.
As I settled in, however, I discovered that the room hadn't really been cleaned in MANY years. The rug near the wall between the two beds had lots of visible dust and debris, including at least one 1/2" long dead bug. The photo shows an enlargement of the bug as an inset. The brass light fixture between the beds had lots of greasy fingerprints on it, and one of the two 60-watt bulbs was dead. The electrical wires that should have been contained within the fixture were hanging down several inches. The air conditioner was partially pulled out from its fixture in the wall, and its cooling fins were ENCRUSTED with mold! I really wanted air to be blown over this mess before I breathed it in....NOT!
Repairs to fixtures such as the toilet paper holder were done as if the repair person had been told they had 30 seconds to do the job or be fired.
The bathroom's hair dryer wires are draped over the crooked fan timer switch.
The telephone had had coffee spilled on it sometime before I arrived, and the "fix" for that was to rip off the soggy paper label, leaving all of the still-wet coffee on the lower layer of paper.
The bathtub drain looked pretty icky, too.
Finally, one of the bath towels had some brown gunk on it that made me take one look at it and toss it to the floor for cleaning. The photo shows a close-up inset.
I stayed here for three nights, and ate every meal with my daughter at various restaurants (not including the HoJo one). She remained healthy, but on my last evening here, I became extremely sick with a 24-hour gastrointestinal illness. I have no proof, so this is purely conjecture, but I suspect I contracted something from the bathroom's water supply.
I will obviously never stay here again! I advise you to think carefully before staying here.
UPDATE 2004-11-12: I have just learned that this "hotel" is now a dorm for SCAD! I hope they cleaned it...
