First off, I must make it distinctly clear that this review is for the Travelodge that is located at 2802 Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach. There are two other locations in the beach area, so please do not get this one confused with the others, which have higher standards.

I must also make it clear that Travelodge Inc. calls their facilities, including this one, hotels and not motels. I find this amusing because the word "hotel" sounds a bit classier than "motel." This is a sneaky marketing scheme if you ask me. It takes the "riff" out of the "raff."

We booked a reservation at this hotel back in June of this year. We had purchased concert tickets for August, and needed a convenient location to spend just one night, following the concert. I checked the online photo for this hotel, and could not make out much detail, but it appeared to be a nice place, so I went ahead and booked the reservation directly with the facility since I wanted to get the room without wasting time.

Immediately after making the reservations, my credit card was billed for the room. I found this strange, because of all of the hotels I have stayed in over the years, I have never seen this practiced before. Typically, I am billed after checking out from any hotel. We would be billed for the sales tax on the day that we checked into the hotel.

We checked into the hotel on August 18. The lobby area was filthy. A portion of the right arm of the sofa had fallen off. The sofa itself reminded me of one that had been tossed out and placed next to a dumpster. The floors appeared as if they had not been swept or cleaned in a month. The glass windows and door on the outside appeared as if it had not been cleaned in a while. It looked like someone had eaten a pizza and used the glass as a napkin.

The outside physical appearance of this hotel, including the lobby’s material condition, actually brought tears to my wife. Since we had already been billed up front, I could tell that this meant we would have problems getting a full refund. We felt as if we were trapped in this hotel - even before we had visited the room!

The hotel, at first appearance, seemed to be in dire need of maintenance. The wooden railings appeared to have been painted over at least a dozen times, showing thick blistered paint that had been worn down through time with grime from hands. The concrete stairwell smelled like stale urine. Not a good sign. We grudgingly trudged on up to the third floor to encounter...THE ROOM.

When we opened the door, we were in for a shock. The bedspread was filthy and badly worn. Imagine taking 1982 bedspreads and using them up until now, without being washed. This was my initial thought. The brown blanket underneath was much the same, except for a large accompanying white stain. Realizing we would be sleeping in a bed that was generally in filthy shape, this would lead us to sleeping in our clothes that night.

The bathroom was even worse. The tiles on the wall must have been laid in the seventies. There were no towel racks, but there were fittings in place, but they were shabby and badly worn, like the rest of the bathroom. The towels appeared white and crisp, however. They were sitting on a ledge over the toilet. At least we might sneak by with a comfortable shower, but that thought soon disappeared when I looked at the condition of the tub. It was badly cracked, and I could tell that at one time it must have been the same blue color as the blue tiles. There was a large crack with a hole near the faucet. Another opportunity for insects to enter the living spaces. This was a bad foreshadowing for things to come, perhaps.

When I walked back into the room, I could not help but notice that the previous guests must have clipped their toenails. How nice, because they were on the floor in between the two beds.

Amongst other items found:

Microwave was dirty on the top end inside. I assumed the maid must have forgotten about that part.

A cockroach was found crawling in the tub. I discovered this unwelcome guest after midnight, returning from our concert. If I had told my wife, she would have slept in the car, and I'd fully expect divorce papers served the following day.

The door jamb had at least a half-inch gap. Wonderful, more access for insects to crawl into the room.

The drapes had small holes in them, big enough for lurkers outside to peer into our room. I imagined that these drapes were probably placed in the room around the same time as the bedspreads - 1982.

We had the added convenience of a dirty trash receptacle that was full of trash - right outside our door.

After witnessing all of this, we decided that we had to try and find another hotel. Mind you, this was after midnight. No joy here. All of the surrounding hotels were fully booked, and I was not ready to fork out $300 a night for a beachfront hotel. We wouldn't have been able to check out anyway, because the front office was closed for the evening.

We had the joy of being entertained by six people who decided to "hang out" on the walkway outside of our rooms. Of course, this would not be complete without beer - accompanied with loud, obnoxious shucking and jiving, and my wife becoming more angry with me for booking this hotel without properly reviewing it beforehand. This is why I am writing this review, to warn others not to stay here.

The following morning, we noticed that the railing that protects us from falling to the sidewalk two floors down was very loose. A small child could have easily crashed through it. Here was a potential lawsuit waiting to happen. This prompted me to write a letter to the Virginia Beach City Manager, which was sent in the mail yesterday. I requested that either he or a member of his staff pay a visit. I voiced my opinion that this hotel should be razed to the ground and presents a sordid reflection on Virginia Beach.

It is my opinion that this hotel in question needs to be torn down. It is tired and worn, and has served its purpose since it was probably built in the sixties. With safety issues, I would hope that the Virginia Beach City Manager will take my advice seriously.

Of course, checkout time would come with me filing a major complaint about our stay that night. Although the clerk had a difficult time with English, she tried her very best to accommodate me. She gave me a $25 refund, which was the only amount she was authorized to offer. I realized, at this point, that I would be writing letters when I returned home...and I did. I wrote a letter to the Virginia Beach City Manager and also to Travelodge Inc, in South Dakota.

After this nightmare, I paid $149 total for a one night stay in hell at Virginia Beach. At least the concert was a good experience!

UPDATE: Last week, I received an email from the company's VP, asking me to take a survey. As of today (August 27th) I have not heard anything back - and also noticed that the supposed "refund back to my card" of $25 has not shown up.

I will keep updating this review until I am totally satisfied - as of yet, NO compensation or complete refund from Travelodge, Inc.


Recommended: No