It would be a good idea to avoid the Bates Motel.

My husband and I decided to go to Savannah GA on a whim. When we drove into town it was raining. We stopped at a couple of hotels on the main drag by the waterfront area. One was booked the other was way more than we wanted to spend. We saw a centrally located Days Inn and booked two night. This palce was the pits! The entire hotel stunk of mildew. Our room was so dirty that you could feel the soaked in grim on the carpet. I couldn't stand to go barefoot! There were ants crawling around the sink and the place just falling apart. Luckily a huricane was headed directly for the area, so we had an easy out! We drove back down to St Augustine and had a wonderful time at the Casablanca B&B.....delicious breakfast.

We went to Branson one year and stayed in "cabins"..what a joke! They were a dump..dirty and bug infested.

Oh my God, Eaton Manor in Key West!

We stayed there in the mid-90s. First winter after the owners' had bought it and were in the process of renovating. Air didn't work right, no this, no that, a crisis every day. Fortunately we were only there for 3-4 days. We figured it was just in its shake-down mode. Sounds like it's still going on....

The Radisson in Utica, NY. Besides being in Utica, when I went down to the lobby to look for some ice the police were arresting 2 obvious prostitutes in the lobby. (As far as wy Utica, it was reasonably close to Cooperstown and Baseball Hall of Fame).

Must agree about the "eastern & mid-west & southern Days Inn being of poor quality: New Orleans, St. Louis, airport area have now been omitted from the AAA tourbooks.
However, one in San Louis Obispo, & Morro Bay (California) are wonderful. Clean, pleasant staff and the one in SLO has great breakfast.
In "most" cases the ones on the west coast seem to be more than acceptable. I try to pick the ones in their book that has 5 "sunbursts"==
Never been disappointed in this catagory.

I think that everywhere I have stayed recently is terrible just because all of the mattresses are hard as a ROCK!! Does anyone else have this problem?? Any suggestions for good sleeping mattresses in Dallas, TX?

I have to agree with the comments about Days Inns.
My husband and I are seasoned travelers, but rarely have we encountered rooms that were so substandard we checked out in the middle of the night.
Dirty, in poor repair, lacking in towels, linens, working tvs and yes, even light bulbs.
Esp. bad: Days Inn Datona,FL and Columnbus, OH.
Sickening.

The GRamercy in NYC - sucks to be you, if you're in this "grand dame" of a hotel.

In response to Lenore. I too had an awful experience at a Days Inn in Savannah. My boyfriend and I had been on the road for 12+ hours, and went there to get some sleep before apartment hunting. I became physically ill from the stench in the room. I was afraid what was behind the walls or under the bed. We quickly checked out,and didn't even request a refund. Caused a major migraine.

Dallas has a few good, comfortable hotels.
The Crescent, Doubletree Park West, Melrose, Four Seasons, Adolphus, Magnolia and of course, the Mansion on Turtle Creek.
They are all great hotels.

I agree with the Days Inns as typically being places to avoid.

There's one west of Atlanta (still in Georgia) on whatever interstate takes you to Birmingham--not nice. And we stayed in one near BWI airport--also horrible.

We had stays in a few other Days Inns that were tolerable.

On a happier note, there's a Days Inn inside the loop that goes around Atlanta that wasn't bad at all when we stayed there. It was on the northeast side of town. Of course, that was more than eight years ago...

Thank goodness for the Internet and all the sites that enable you to find nicer places that are still affordable. We've probably had our last stay at Days Inns.

Oops - make that the interstate between Atlanta and Montgomery (not Birmingham) in my last post.

It's probably sounding like a broken record, but I have to agree with all the people who've said that most motels in the Days Inn chain are pretty bad. I've stayed in a few over the years -- each time quite a while will pass and I'll think, "Well, I'll give Days Inn another try" (or I'm on the road and can't find ANYTHING else). Then I remember why I can't stand them.

I finally swore off them forever a couple of years ago when I stayed at a Days Inn in St. Joseph, Missouri -- it was truly awful. It was late May and VERY warm (and I'm a Southerner, so I'm used to heat), but the room was sweltering and the management explained that they hadn't turned the AC in the building on for the season yet. (In late May???). After we begged they finally turned it on but it was weak. The room was filthy, had an overpowering smell like really old Chinese food, the toilet had something in it that I don't even want to GUESS about what it was...it was truly gross.

I've stayed at a bum motel or two in other budget chains over the years, but have never seen a chain as consistently bad as Days Inn. Makes me glad I have FINALLY climbed into an income bracket where I can splurge on "luxurious" places like Hampton Inn or Courtyard by Marriott. ;-)

I agree 100% with the last poster about Days Inns.
They have really gone downhill.
In the early 80's, they used to be simple but very clean and in good repair. No more.
I stayed in one while driving from FL to NY, it was in NC.
It was truly disgusting.
Hair in the bed, the room smelled, the carpet was sticky and there was a large stain in the middle of it.
I bailed.
No more Days Inns

We should have looked here before booking the Days Inn on Miami Beach!!! What a nightmare! As there are several Days Inns on that stretch of beach, we can only speak about the one at 15811 Collins Ave in Sunny Isle. Our first clue should have been the "non-smoking room" with two ashtrays...even after I threw them in the trash, the maid kept replacing them! The hallways were lit by a couple dim fluorescent lights, most of the other fixtures were unlit. No lighting in the stairwells at all! We swear the maid rehung our wet, dirty towels. Room safe was locked and not useable, we were charged $2 per day anyway. Surly, rude staff. Our last night took the cake...the fire alarm went off every half hour from 7 pm till 8:30 the next morning! We called the front desk to find out what was happening and were told they were "fixing it". Not until nearly 1am did we find out that no one was "fixing it", when we suggested that we not be charged for the night (who could sleep?) we were told to "check out". Everyplace else was booked, of course. On meeting with the Manager in the morning, he said he could do nothing to comp us for the hassle. We are not going to let this drop, presently in communication with Corporate headquarters to register loud complaint. Think it will do any good???

I can't remember if this was a Days Inn or a Comfort Inn, but I made the mistake of letting my husband make the reservations on a short trip to Philadelphia we made last year. He booked the hotel on Travelocity without checking to see what kind of neighborhood the hotel was in. The hotel was fairly new, but the neighborhood was awful! All the buildings around the hotel were boarded up, we had to talk to the hotel's cashier through a hole in bulletproof glass, and there were gangs hanging out in the parking lot. When we got to our room, we discovered that the mattress was still covered in plastic. At that moment, I decided that my husband would never make another hotel reservation.

Great thread -- very funny stories. In response to the talk about Days Inn, we have stayed twice at a very nice Days Inn in Oklahoma City. The pool was wonderfully warm, and the room was clean. In my opinion, the newer the hotel, the better!!

Days Inn yet again! My bad experience was with the Days Inn in Columbia, Missouri. No elevators, room was musty, and the halls stunk of a sickening sweet cleaning solution.

I too put my vote in for the Days Inn too. We also stayed at the one outside of Savannah. We were exhausted after a long drive from New Jersey and just fell asleep. But what woke me early was the bugs crawling across my face. Not one or two but a bunch of cockroach type bugs. It was only 4 in the morning but we were up and out of there. For the rest of our trip I made my husband leave the lights on in any place we stayed. I get itchy just remembering. Have never stayed at a Days Inn again.