Suburban Studios Florence I-95

This was one of the dirtiest places I've ever seen. We first checked into a room where the refrigerator and microwave were filthy. There was a utility tray with 2 knives in it but the tray was layered with dust. The desk clerk kindly switched us to another room. The "kitchen" was better, but the area behind the bed, under the mattress was dirty. Also, there was only a tiny bit of toilet paper in the room. I tried to call the front desk, but the room phone didn't work. When I got the desk on my cell phone, I was told that if I wanted more toilet paper, I would have to come down to get it. After driving for 10 hours and unpacking twice, I was furious.

We attended a funeral in Georgia. Being I was recovering from a stroke and very tired, my husband and I decided to use some of our Member's Choice points and stay at this location for the night. The outside of the hotel looks good. However, what we received in our room was a welcoming committee of ROACHES (Yes, I have pictures). When I went to the front desk to report the issue I was told I will let Mr. Sajay know. I even showed the desk clerk the ones that we killed and placed in tissue so we could show them. We wasted 8000 points on this roach motel. Do not waste your time.

Let me start by saying “You get what you pay for”. This hotel is the cheapest extended stay anywhere near Florence. What that means is they have a mini fridge, microwave, and stove-top in every room. But under the list of amenities, it lists cookware, utensils and dishes, blow dryer, coffee maker, HBO, Wi-Fi, and pool. These are all a LIE!!!! The 1st day I went to the front desk to ask for replacements for these missing items, she said “Sorry, we don’t have any.” Apparently, people just steal them, and management doesn’t care. I had to go to the “Dollar Store”. When trying to watch HBO, the screen says, “No Signal”. So again, I asked the front desk lady. “Sorry, we don’t have HBO”. ***? Then the Wi-Fi, it only works in the front building. In the rear building where I am staying, there are 3 different nodes, Suburban 6, 10, and 12. All of them only have 1 bar and it takes 2 minutes to connect, then all of them kick you off after about 10 minutes. SO frustrating! Then there’s the “Pool”. It hasn’t worked in over 2 years. Seriously! See my picture. It’s a pond with black water and algae. Straight up FALSE ADVERTISING. All the pictures online were taken over 10 years ago. And it’s the dirtiest hotel I have EVER stayed at, and I have stayed at hundreds. I bought a bottle of kitchen cleaner and scrubbed every surface for an hour. During which the cockroaches went running from their hiding places. SOOOOO gross. I had to buy a 12 pack of roach bait traps. 3 days after placing all of them all over the room, I haven’t seen another. Thank you, “Raid”. All the sheets had cigarette burns in them. My room has a 4" hole punched in the wall. And finally, the air conditioner is broken. It keeps the room cool, but the humidity has peaked at over 96%. See my picture. Walking on the rug is like walking on a moist sponge, with the same smell. It left brown stains on the bottom of my socks. Pay the $10 extra bucks per night and stay somewhere else.

The only good part was check-in by a friendly desk clerk. Then downhill: 1. Non-smoking room had ashtray and cigarette burns on bedspread. 2. Internet did not work - tried multiple times in evening and morning. 3. Could not call front desk from room 202 because there was no cord connecting phone to phone jack (did use my cell). 4. Roaches first found only in bathroom and sink, then found in room. 5. Went to check out at front desk to discuss experience, and desk clerk did not speak English...he called the owner/manager and handed me the phone to talk. 6. Owner manager indicated he would get back to me. When I returned 2 hours later to pick up something I had forgotten, he was there and assured me he would be calling me to follow up. 48 hours later, no follow up. Note: Initially went here because of the "Extended Stay" moniker, which was deceptive. I have stayed at many extended stay hotels (kitchenette, dishes). By adding a fridge and microwave does NOT make for an extended stay hotel! Other than the above, a fine stay. For $15 a night more went over to the Howard Johnsons in Florence, a very clean and pleasant experience!