Econo Lodge Inn & Suites Gatlinburg at the Convention Center — Hotel in Gatlinburg

It was "ok" but could have been better. First the bad: the front office person on duty when we checked in Friday afternoon wasn't the most pleasant, however the person on duty Saturday morning was one of the nicest ladies I had interaction with. The cleaning crew did come in to change out towels and they made the bed however they just flipped the fitted sheet over inside out and put it back on the bed. The only reason I know this is because my husband got sick in the night and had an accident on it (getting old is not fun but at least we are still on this side of the dirt). The accident side of the sheet was now touching the mattress cover (gross). When we left the room Saturday morning, we purposely left the bed unmade and exposed the soiled sheet so it could be changed. We got in late Saturday night so it was way to late to try and get a new sheet. Luckily I had purchased a brand new blanket that was on sale from Walmart and that is what my husband and I slept on as the fitted sheet. That whole experience did not make me feel good about the cleanliness of the hotel in general. Now the good: the location of the hotel is excellent if you are in town for an event at the convention center as we were. There is one parking lot that is a park and pay lot in between the hotel and the convention center. Walking across that park and pay lot is no problem even for a fat gal like myself. Walking to the main strip in Gatlinburg is just one block away as well so your car can stay parked for free at the hotel while you enjoy all that the Gatlinburg strip has to offer. Those two perks alone were the reason I chose this hotel to begin with. In conclusion, if you are looking for a hotel just to lay your head for a quick night that is close to the convention center and close the the strip for a night or two, this is the hotel for you. If you are looking for a hotel that is for a week long family vacation where you will be in the room at night relaxing and lounging, I would seek refuge elsewhere. We are mid 50's folks and while the strip looks fun, we are now go to the convention, out to eat and then back to the hotel at night to watch tv kind of folks. We both wished I had chosen a nicer hotel to relax in but...

Location was the only thing going for our stay at this hotel. We stayed one night and when I woke the next morning, I thought I got a mosquito bite. Quickly, I learned it was not a mosquito bite but tons of bed bug bites on my face and legs. The bites swelled and I began to have a severe allergic reaction. When we got back to the hotel I stripped the pillows and found live bed bugs.

I went down to the front desk and they offered a new room, which I checked, and there were piles of dust and bugs in the corners as well as dark spots on the beds that looked like bed bug shells. I was beyond horrified at that point and was told either we take the room and no refund or we leave (at 11pm with my sleeping 1 year old) and get a refund in a few days after I had paid for multiple nights in advance. We decided to leave and find another place to stay.

The next morning my reaction was worse and I had to go to urgent care where I was prescribed three different antibiotics for the reaction I was having. We also had to spend our vacation, time, and money disinfecting all of our clothes, belongings, and vehicle, as to not bring bugs home with us since our luggage had been out and open in the room. When asking staff if there was any way they could help us as far as compensation for anything (since the hundreds of dollars spent for multiple days of a trip wouldn’t be available until we got back home) we were told “we don’t bring the bed bugs here, we can’t do anything about it” and we were denied any help. When I asked to speak with someone higher than the manager I was told there was no one else to speak to and what they had said was their answer. After leaving, I looked into reviews and there was another review from a month prior that had stated bed bugs.. I wish I had seen that before.

Please don’t stay here unless you want to waste your money on de-bugging your belongings rather...

The employees were nice and it seemed to be a good place to stay when we first arrived. The parking is an issue. The parking places are tight and close together. We noticed that the carpet had not been vacuumed good and thought that it would be vacuumed the next day. A few days later, we came back to our room around 3:00 and the room had not been cleaned at all. We let it go and didn't say anything. The next day, the same thing happened. I asked for the sheets on the bed to be changed, but since no one came to clean, we did not have clean sheets. I called front desk and they said housekeeping had already left. I asked for clean sheets. I got the clean sheets and changed them myself. The front desk employee told me that other guests was having the same problem with their rooms not getting cleaned and it would be corrected the next day. The next day our room was cleaned but the floor still did not get vacuumed. I called and talked to the manager after we checked out of our room(we left around 6:15 that morning and she was not in so I had to call later). When I talked to her she said she would check in on the problem and call me back in a hour or so. I asked for some of my money to be refunded. She did not call me back at all that day. I called her again the next day and she said she was busy and did not get around to calling me back. If you value your customers, you will do what you say you are going to do. She said she could not give me any money back but would give me an extra 1000 points on my reward program. She said it would take 10 to 14 days to get those extra points. I have not seen the extra points on my account yet. We arrived on August 27 and checked out September 2. I should not have had to change the bed sheets myself when I pay to have that done with...