The Day
New London CT
USA
By David Collins
The report last week from an overnight guest at the financially challenged Lighthouse Inn, who complained about, among other things, a lack of hot water, aroused my curiosity about what people have to say about other hotels and motels in the region. What I discovered, on a tour through travelers' comments posted to tripadvisor.com, is that, a dead rat in the swimming pool of a Mystic motel notwithstanding, the highest grades tend to go to the hotels at the two casinos and those closest to Mystic.
Those also tend to be the most expensive, with the Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun hotels sometimes charging two to three times the area's prevailing room rates.At the other end of the spectrum, far from the suites with butlers set, are the economy motels, where the yuck factor, I discovered, can be pretty intense.
Here is a sampling of some of the worst things tourists to Mystic Coast and Country have reported they encountered in overnight stays here:
- “We returned later and were in bed watching TV and as we were getting comfortable we realized we had company in bed - BUGS!!. Millipeds. I called the office @ 3 a.m. and they had no other rooms available.”
- “The toilet was disgusting it didn't look like it had ever been cleaned. There were many broken items in the room, including a broken AC. We went to the pool and decided we weren't even going to go in because it was so disgusting, with a gooey looking film on top. The floor was filthy with wads of hair and dirty Band-aids everywhere.”
- “Exhaust fans blew the kitchen smoke directly into our room. In addition: tiny old towels, coffee maker but no coffee, a dumpster view, hand lotion but no shampoo, and the worst breakfast I have ever seen. All this for over $250 a night.”
- “There were half eaten cookies under the bed and hairs on the bed sheets. Enough said. I would never stay here again.”
- “The staff was strange and unprofessional. The room was very tiny and dirty. The bed was hard and stained. Two of the lamps would not work. The bathroom was awful. There was blood splatters on the bathroom door, the shower had mold and the shower head was broken and squirted water everywhere . . . Maybe we just had a bad room but I think it might have been better to sleep in the car than to sleep in that room.”
- “After arriving at our room another guest walked in. Apparently the front desk assigned it to her a few moments after it was given to us.”
- “I walked in to see two people in the lobby complaining about the rotting smell in their room. Staff wouldn't honor the Hotwire price and insisted on getting another $25. Needing a place to stay I was ready to give them the $25 but said I wanted to see the room first. They wouldn't let me see the room and the hotel manager started yelling at me for asking. It was incredible.”
- “There was a bell to ring and right next to that was a sign in big letters that said 'We have a strict NO REFUND policy.' I knew at this point I was in trouble . . . My room was 127 and once I opened the door the smell was horrid. It smelled like it was closed up for years with no fresh air. The room was small. The bedspread had lots of stains. The carpet was dirty. The bathroom needed a good cleaning. The soap was the cheapest I have ever seen and the only other thing was shampoo but the little bottle had been opened and refilled several times it seems.”
- “The walls had holes in them. The bed was semi comfortable. The AC barely worked . . . I've been in far worse hotels in central Asia but not too many as shabby as this here in the states.”
- “What a disgrace. Mold everywhere. Ceiling caved in. My husband and I were so grossed out that we put the bed comforters on the floor to be able to walk on the stained carpet . . . $100 a night for this?”
”This is not the place I go to with my wife (or girlfriend for that matter,)” he wrote.
As for that rat, it was seen floating in the pool of a moderately priced Mystic hotel. The guest said they got a $139 refund for the room and promptly moved to a New London motel, which they liked.
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