Budget Inn — Hotel in Princeton

MY FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH BED BUGS

I wanted to participate in an event at Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, the evening of Wednesday, February 24th. Since I knew I wouldn't be done until after 9:00 pm, and I didn't want to drive two hours home to Charleston, West Virginia, I thought I would just stay at a hotel in Princeton, West Virginia, which is only about eight miles south of Athens. I could have stayed in a nicer, more modern hotel, but I decided to stay at Budget Inn and save a few bucks. So I made my reservation online. Upon checking in at about 4:00 pm, the very nice gentleman told me that if I ever wanted to stay there in the future, it would be best to call the hotel, and he would give me a better rate than having to reserve a room online. I was given room 111.

The room was rather poor, with a very musty smell of the sort one might expect in a motel that has seen better days. Towels left by the previous occupant were still hanging on the shower rod. But the TV and AC/heat were okay, and the Wifi was pretty fast, and since I'm not a high maintenance sort of guy, I thought it would do for $66 including tax.

After getting back to the motel after the event at Concord University, I started settling in for the night, but I decided (just to be safe) to check the bed for bed bugs, and when I pulled the comforter off the bed, I found a bed bug, a little appleseed-sized critter scurrying away, which I dutifully crushed between my thumb and forefinger. It was just ONE bed bug, but like roaches, if you see one, you know that there are more nearby. The very last thing I need in my life is a bed bug infestation at home, so I packed my things and turned in my key at the front desk, telling the manager what I had seen. Then I drove the two hours back home to Charleston, West Virginia. As soon as I got home, I threw all the clothes I had taken with me into the washer, sprayed bug spray into my luggage and took a shower. Maybe it was overkill, but I just can't deal with bed bugs on top of COVID-19. The whole experience was tremendously dismaying.

Next time I'll pay more...

Worst experience I've ever had in lodging, and I have stayed all over the country. My family was heading to Ohio from Florida. We planned on staying in North Carolina halfway. We did not realize that hurricane Michael had left so many without power, all of the hotels were fully booked. We drove for over 6 and a half hours looking for a vacancy. No dice all the way through North Carolina, Virginia, and halfway through West Virginia until this place. It was very shady looking, obviously low budget, but the worst was yet to come. We decided to book 2 rooms, as there were 5 of us. Upon settling in, we were able to get past the terrible smell, outdated rooms, no ice machine, stained carpet and bed sheets because we had been in the car for a toral of 17.5 hours. The tv in my daughters' room did not work and the heater in my room did not work. My husband was trying to fix the heater in our room when a small bug crawled across my chest over the cover! I flung the covers off of me and there was an additional dead bug in the bed as well. Needless to say, we were out of there! I knocked on the girls room to have them pack up immediately and my husband went to get us checked out and refund our money. We loaded back into our van at 4 AM. The guy at the office didn't seem concerned at all and before he issued us a refund he wanted to know what kind of bugs I saw. Does it matter?! This is supposedly under new management and has been remodeled. Everything was outdated and stained and simple and broken but I draw the line at bugs. I will not have my kids and father-in-law and husband and myself subjected to any kind of bugs! Unacceptable. Judging by the lack of concern, the motel owners are used to these complaints. Never again! Beware! Terrible experience. Cannot believe this place has not been shut down. DO...

These other reviewers must have stayed at a different hotel. I was looking for a cheap place to rest after a 14 hour drive. I booked in, went to a convenience store and bought a coke and cigs, and then returned. The key did not work, no problem the door was unlocked. The place smelled horrible, burn holes in the sheets, ripped upholstery, dorm fridge and microwave in a closet missing a door, walls were half paneling and half stucco, all painted to match with a piece of chipped wood scewed into the wall covering a hole of some sort. Was exhausted, so I figured I'd just sleep in my clothes, and continue my journey, turned the heat on, and it smelled like a dead animal. Had to leave. The place is a hotel for hookers and drug addicts. 2 doors down was the pathway was covered with a lawn tractor and various junk from a monthly tenant, including a broken down trailer next to a broken down van also filled with junk. Tried to move rooms, but that smelled horrible to. This place is not fit for anything but hookers and drug addicts. Couldn't pass a housing inspection. Better off sleeping in your car. Owner became belligerent, insinuating I had used the room for bad purposes. Stay away. Had to give it 1 star to post, or I would have given it an...