Econo Lodge Albuquerque Old Town — Hotel in Albuquerque

I booked this hotel based on the overall good rating on Tripadvisor, the location and the price -- in that order. I wish I had spent more time looking for other hotels. Here's our experience:||The Good:|- Location is great. I walked to Old Town, Tingley Park, and around the area while feeling safe. Was able to easily drive to other locations and it was easy finding my way around while driving.|- Parking was included and we never had any problem finding a spot in the lot. I felt the car was fairly safe if nothing left inside.|- Front desk staff when checking in (Kara?) was helpful, and offered to help us with our bags when we couldn't be given a first floor room. She also helped with figuring out the air conditioning.|- Room was a decent size and I thought it was clean enough for the price.||The OK:|- Free breakfast. You go down to the lobby and someone behind tables will get what you want (if it's orange juice, coffee, tea, waffles or two types of cereal). The also had packaged sugary honey buns, bagels and toast, and overripe bananas that you could help yourself to. There is nowhere to sit (other than the waiting couch) so everyone is encouraged to take the food to their room (no trays so I made two trips as I picked up breakfast for both of us). I do appreciate that having them prepare some of the items likely keeps things from being contaminated so it wasn't that bad, but just ok.||The Bad:|- Little ants in the bathroom area that we were killing each time we went in. Didn't bother me but my boyfriend really didn't like this (or the large moth that I also killed).|- Room was SO hot. We had the air conditioning system running the entire time we were there, and the unit showed that it was always at 22C / 100% humidity in the room. There is no way it was only 22C (72F) -- it was like walking into a sauna each time we entered the room and was about 10 degrees F warmer than outside. Luckily we acclimated to it after a few minutes of entering each time, but had to sleep with no sheets or covers. There was no way to get more cooler air blowing. The coolest it got was when I propped the door open for a few minutes, but I couldn't do that often because of my last point...|- Either this hotel offers / accepts vouchers for those very down on their luck to be housed there (which I understand everyone needs somewhere to sleep) or it's a magnet because of the low price. Our first night (we stayed two), at around 11pm we heard a guy next door going crazy: screaming, yelling, pounding, stomping. He did this every few minutes, then every ten minutes, then it was less often but continued until 3:30am. Even with the air conditioner, there's no way the sound could be blocked out. He was either on drugs or having a psychotic episode. I wanted to move rooms but my bf said the only way he was packing up to move was if we went to another hotel, and I wasn't willing to do that after midnight in Albuquerque with a guy going ballistic next door. So we endured. The next morning, I could hear something outside the room and looked through the peephole to see that a guy was in the desk chair, wheeling himself from next door and stopped in front of our room. The staff (two ladies from the front desk) did come to ask him what he was doing, and he said he'd been kicked out of his room at which point the staff forced their way into the room next door and made the guy in there (and the guy from the hall) grab their stuff and leave. We stayed in our room while this was all happening. I asked at the front desk if the guys would be back as they made sleeping difficult, and was told they were gone. The next night was better but the walls aren't soundproof so we still did hear noise (but nothing like the outbursts and wall pounding the night before). We did see that the room appeared to be mostly intact, but the guests had pulled the dresser away from the wall so maybe they kept pushing that into the wall? Regardless, did not feel safe in my room! (To note: cleaning staff had lots of bleach / cleaning supplies and they perform a thankless job that I wouldn't want to do so hats off to them for that).||My suggestion is that if you're willing to put up with a "memorable" stay because of the location and price, you can take a chance and stay here. I will no longer book at a 1-2 star hotel even with good reviews and price, and will instead cough up twice as much to ensure we feel safe in a quiet room at a...

We stayed here for 2 nights from 24 May 2023 to 26 May 2023 in Econo Lodge Old Town, which is located near to the old town on historic US Route 66. We found the area to be bit sketchy with lot of homeless and drug addicts around, asking for donations. We went out in the evening and soon got back into the hotel as I found it not to be safe. There was one guy asking for donations, even inside the hotel compound.||||Check-in was smooth, however, my credit card was declined and the reception lady took deposit of USD 100. While checking out, I had to remind the duty staff about the deposit and she was not aware where the money was kept. So, she called the duty staff at the time of check-in and I had to wait for about 10 minutes to get the money back. When I went through the reviews, I understand that deposit refund is often an issue with this hotel. Imagine if you forget to claim it. ||||Room was so dirty and the wooden floor inside the room was not cleaned. Furniture was outdated and shabby. The mattress sagged to the middle and it was as if I was lying in a pit. Bathroom room was also very dirty and the shower head was broken without cover and covered with rust. Water was gushing out as from a tap. Toiletries were sub-standard and we used our own soap and shampoo. I have attached a few photographs of the mattress, bathroom shower, corridor and breakfast area.||||Breakfast was included and it was served as if in a jail for prison inmates. The breakfast area next to the lobby was under renovation and they had created a barricade with tables and guests were standing around. You had to tell the lady standing inside with your requirements like coffee, juice, waffles, cereals etc. Few of the items like eggs, bread, fruits etc. were kept on the table and you had to collect everything in a small paper plate and take it to your room as there was no dining area. You can take only a few items in the paper plate and you had to balance it with the glass of coffee in the other hand and take it all the way to your room upstairs.||||Room was provided with a TV, mini refrigerator, microwave, coffeemaker, iron box with board Wi-Fi included, iron with board. Some lights and switches were not working.||||The corridors were not cleaned in the near future and two garbage trolleys were kept near the staircase. There was lot of noise coming into the room from outside. I guess there was some drunken guys staying next to our room. We could also hear the talk from the other room.||There was plenty of parking, which is free. ||||The reception lady at the time of check-in behaved very rude and I was wondering how they can afford to be so rude, especially, when you are running a hotel in such a dilapidated condition. I find that most of the issues I have listed out here are common issues, which are repeated in several reviews and it shows how serious the management is in resolving those issues. So, these are perennial issues and I can only advise you to stay away from this dirty,...

The exterior of the building seems to be damaged in several locations. There is no elevator, which made it difficult for my mobility-limited Father to get to the second floor.

Our room was far away from the main stairwell but closer to the locked stairs. So I would walk up one side and walk down the locked one open it for him so he didn't have to walk as far. If the key cars opened this door from the outside it would have saved so much time and energy.

Also our room was close to the road so we heard cars driving all night. It sounded like the window was open, but it was not.

The beds were soft and not rock hard which was nice. The blankets were thin and minimal, probably not a problem in the hot summer months. The room had a microwave and a mini fridge which was nice.

The paint on the bathroom wall was flaming off next to the tub.

The Lobby was torn up and only 1/3rd of it was accessible. (Under construction or just in disrepair??) You could not pass the breakfast tables.

"Hot" breakfast was advertised, however the waffles, coffee, & hard boiled eggs were the only hot items. No bacon or sausage. They had a breakfast attendant who had to get all the drinks, waffles, and refrigerated items for you. I wish I could have self-served.

The Hot tub was broken the whole time we were there. We learned that it has been broken 3 to 4 months.... We were really looking forward to enjoying that advertised feature. A major let down. I hope they repair the hot tub soon for future guests. Apparently many guests before us complained about it not working too, as they should...

The pool can only be accessed from the inside of the torn-up lobby through the front door, which means you have to walk on the outside of the building. Would have been unpleasant to get wet then have to walk outside and up to our room. Poor building design in my opinion...

We requested a wake up call to ensure we didn't miss our flight. Never received a call. Good thing we set our alarms. Though the young man who did the night shift was very nice. The other staff were pretty friendly. The other staff were friendly enough.

Overall, the price per night was very cheap but we definitely wish we would have paid more for a nicer place.

This location received awards in the past (posted on the walls behind the counter) but it seems to have lost the quality it had before. Duration of stay was for a week. Would not stay here again. Would not recommend it for others unless they do...