Econo Lodge Carlsbad Caverns Area — Hotel in Carlsbad

To the point version, 2 Rooms both dirty with significant maintenance problems. No hot water No working toilet.

The Experience Version...

To say this Econo lodge is a disappointment is a bitter understatement.

I never expect much when staying with Econolodge but the bare minimum, and this one couldn't even produce that.

We got in late so some of the small things were able to be overlooked.

1st room (Room 104) only had 2 very thin pillows on the bed and the room was dirty but we needed to get some sleep and made due, then at 4 am when i awoke i went to get my day started with a shower to discover the room had NO hot water. I head to the check in desk where the attendant was no where to be found. After waiting 10 minutes i began venturing around and found her talking on head phones in the kitchen area.

I explained the issue and that we just needed to take a shower, I proposed we go into another room to utilize the showers so we didn't have to move our stuff at 4am and mess up another bed/room/etc. Well that wasn't good enough and had to move so i woke up the wife at 4am and moved us into (Room 111).

Shower went well and all seemed to be OKAY until the wife had to use the bathroom and we discovered the toilet didn't flush. Being the handyman i am i removed the tank lid and found the chain had been broken(rust outline in the tank tells me it was like this for awhile). At this point we had plans in less than an hour and didn't want to deal with the desk and AGAIN moving rooms so i stuck my arm into the tank and flushed the toilet manually.

To give the whole scope (Room 111) was also dirty but this time had 3 very thin pillows instead of 2. Thanks, i guess.

At check out I spoke with the attendant, who seemed to be decent and understanding, about what had happened and that I was interested in getting my money back. For this request she had to call the owner, she explained all the problems to him and I even said "I can wait so he can verify all the problems, I would be happy to walk and show him or maintenance the concerns" the attendant said "did you hear that?" and i could hear him respond with "Yes". But he wasn't interested in that as he knew what we were going to find so he offered us 15% of our $83.17... $12.48. Ha. I stated that was less than satisfactory after having to move rooms due to a maintenance issue just to be moved into another room with a completely different maintenance issue.

He was only able to offer us 15% back, we didn't accept it and informed them we would take it up with Choice Hotels/Econolodge. The owner than says (through the phone) "we are independently owned and operated" which is obviously known (but you don't own the brand, the reason we stayed with you) and a redirect at how little they care about their customer service/business. after reading some of the other comments that also had maintenance issues I am beginning to believe this lodge is experiencing financial problems and may be the reason for not wanting to give our money back and the lack of maintenance/housekeeping.

At this point I'm not expecting any money back, i just want to be sure Choice Hotels/ Econo Lodge are made aware of what this "Owner" is doing with their brand. And that anyone else needing lodging in Carlsbad, NM is aware of what may be to come if you decided to stay with...

I stayed here because the price was cheap, and there was a 'continental breakfast' (more on that later). Also, when I talked to them on the phone, I was told that there was a pool. It was understood that I would be visiting a few days later.

When I called the front office to book my night at Econo lodge, I was informed that if I was not at the hotel by 4 PM, they would give the room to someone else. I thought that was weird, but it was cheap so I'd deal with it.

I got to the hotel at 11:30, and I was greeted by an employee chasing a spider in the lobby. When I asked about the reservation, mentioning that I was showing up considerably early to make sure they would not give away the room later that night, she abruptly (and somewhat condescendingly) told me that the notion was absurd. The employee also said that they 'never do such a thing.' I felt pretty stupid for even asking about it, and I had a good reason to double check!

So we came back that night after touring Carlsbad Caverns (spectacular, by the way), and got into our room just as the employee said. The pool was closed, and completely empty to clean out leaves and trash. I wasn't planning on using the pool, but I felt like the person on the phone had lied to me, as I asked about services that would be available.

The room was dated. The color coordination on the walls and furniture left much to be desired. The bathroom vent, when running, made my non-smoking room smell like someone had smoked a few packs in the room. The blankets had stains on them -- on both beds, which was a major turn off for my wife and me. The white sheets were clean enough, so we just threw the blanket off the bed and slept under the single (and only) clean sheet.

The next morning, I went back to the front desk to check out and pay for the night. The employees there were somewhat rude (third time this has happened if you were keeping count, and all different employees). I said that my card had not been swiped, and that I had not paid anything yet. They didn't believe me, and were complaining that I made them check, and when they found out that I had in fact not paid anything, or swiped a card, they were shocked, telling me that I should have swiped my card or paid something the night before.

The 'continental' breakfast, which was the reason I chose this hotel over an airBNB place, was pitiful. The waffle iron was dirty, and there were cereal and bagels besides the waffles. The milk was warm, and my wife and I were disappointed in the cleanliness of the room. Lights were out, there was dust everywhere, and the counter top where the food sat was....bad enough that it's just best left unsaid.

We left the hotel with the determination to never go back. We felt that the services offered did not meet the expectations that we had after talking to the hotel on the phone. Without exception, the employees were reluctant to help, and rude when I actually expected them to work. And don't forget, the cleanliness was sub-par.

You get what you pay for, and this is a cheap, dirty hotel. You've...

0 Stars!

CHECK IN: I reserved this room under my previous name, since I had not changed it on my Choice Hotels membership yet. We had stayed at 4 Choice Hotels previously prior to this visit, and that was never a problem. However, when I tried to check in at this hotel, the lady at the desk denied me, saying that it was hotel policy that the names had to match. The woman at the desk was adamant and would not change her mind. After 2 calls to Choice Membership, they called her, and then said she would check me in and she did. She seemed quite annoyed and was not pleasant to us, even after I thanked her profusely for understanding. We had been traveling all day and were quite tired, and this ordeal took about an hour.

We are seniors, so we requested the 1st floor. The room she gave us was on the 2nd floor, in the middle of the exterior hallway. We had to park our car a good 50 yards away.

ROOM: The floor was filthy---dust balls everywhere, an old key card and other items behind the television credenza! There was dust an inch thick on the AC coils coming into the room. The sheets had stains and holes. (I sprayed the bed with OnGuard by Doterra to help sanitize.) Pillows were set up to cover what looked like blood stains on the sheets, and we did not see this until morning. DISGUSTING! Thank goodness I brought my own pillow. The mirror was crooked and falling off the wall.

PROPERTY: The property pictures lie. There is no pool. It has been filled with cement. Stairwells are filthy and need sweeping. Office and breakfast areas seemed fairly clean, but dated. Breakfast was okay. Most of the rooms that were easily accessed were occupied by workers. No doubt this is guaranteed easy income for the owners.

TO THE OWNERS: You need to do a deep cleaning of your rooms. No one minds staying where property is older and needs updating; in fact, those places can be quite charming, especially in a location like Carlsbad. However, a hotel will ALWAYS be remembered for its cleanliness, or lack thereof. Yours...