Econo Lodge near Fort Lee at I-295

The Real Truth About Choice Hotels On a previous trip to Ocean City, Maryland in April of 2022 (during spring break), My wife, our kids and I stayed at a Quality Inn on the ocean front. We researched this property for weeks before deciding to stay there. We wanted to take the kids somewhere for a spring break getaway and this place had everything we were looking for. We wanted the kids to be able to enjoy swimming and this place was one of the very few properties that had an indoor pool. It was also on the ocean front and very close to the board walk. So, after weeks of research we felt this was the best place for us. We made a BIG mistake. If you go to Choice Hotels website, the pictures posted of this place are very very deceiving. Upon checking in, we immediately went back to the front desk and inquire about the conditions of the room we were in. Needless to say, we also contacted Choice Hotels directly. Without listing the multiple complaints (because it would make this review extremely long), I will just say this. Although, they didn't address our issues fully and to our satisfaction, they did attempt to address it by awarding us points to use towards another stay at any of their hotel brands. So lets fast forward to our most recent stay at yet another Choice Hotels property. On Friday, May 13th, 2022, my wife and I traveled to Hopewell, Virginia. The trip was last minute and we couldn't find a hotel. So, my wife reminded me that we had points with Choice Hotels and decided to look for one of their properties. In this area, there were limited Choice Hotel properties and of those, there was only one that wasn't sold out. It was the Econo-Lodge. Now I admit, I have never stayed at an Econo Lodge. So, I wasn't too familiar with them. So, I looked at the pictures and read the amenities that they posted. I encourage anyone reading this to visit Choice Hotels website and look at the pictures they have posted of this hotel property. I encourage you to also look at the amenities that they list. After reading that and staying there (also after my previous experience at the Quality Inn in Ocean City, Maryland), I can only come to one conclusion. Choice Hotels are purposely deceiving travelers. Yes, I said it. I believe that they are PURPOSELY deceiving travelers. Literally there is only (1) picture posted that actually represents the true appearance of this hotel property and that is the picture of the outside of the hotel. Although, I believe that was edited slightly as well. The rest of the pictures posted are 100% lies. Let me address them for you 1 by 1. Upon arriving to the hotel, the first thing my wife and I noticed was how dirty the outside of the property was. We looked at each other and we both said, "here we go again". There were broken shades in windows facing the front of the property which (in combination with the dirty building and parking lot) made it look like we had booked a room in the projects. We parked our car, unloaded our bags and proceeded into the hotel to check in. To enter the hotel, there were 2 sets of doors. We opened the first set of doors and to our right was a cracked pass through ticket window with a pillow and what looked like insulation blocking it. We proceeded to enter the next set of doors and headed to the front desk. We both noticed that the front desk looked NOTHING like the pictures that Choice Hotels chose to use to represent this property. We literally checked the address to make sure we were at the correct property. As my wife proceeded to check in, I just got on my phone and started looking for other hotels in the area. However, she was tired and to tell you the truth, so was I. So, we checked in and went to the elevator. We both choked on the smell of marijuana. The smell was so thick in the elevator and on the floor where our room was located. However, we just kept walking to our room. Now, since covid, every hotel brand has made a big deal about just how clean they are and how careful they are to ensure the safety of their guest. However, we have developed our own habit of not touching anything before we disinfect it. So, before we even touched the door handle, we wiped it down with an antibacterial wipe. Thank God we did our own cleaning. This entire room was filthy and I'm not even exaggerating. The door handles were dirty as hell. The sink and mirror had dust and grime built up all over it. The shower curtain was paper thin with mold on it. The shower hadn't been cleaned since the property was built. How do I know this? Well, when we turned the shower on, black mold and grime shot our of the shower head into the tub (and not just a little bit). The toilet was dirty. The walls, desk and end table was dirty and dusty. The lamp on the end table didn't work. There was a chair in the room that was decided to check. I hit the cushions and you could see the dust take off in the air. When we wiped down the telephone, there was black/brown stuff all over it. The decor in the room was so old and dated that we actually had to go back on our phones and look at the pictures that Choice Hotels purposely used to depict this room. It was like someone had gone to a flea market and just found things to place in a room and this is what we got. I used my cell phone to call the front desk and I spoke with the clerk. I told him my issues and asked him to have a room cleaned and switch our room. He informed me that they didn't have any more rooms and that he couldn't change us. Needless to say, I was pissed. Once again, we were trapped in a room that were were tricked into purchasing. "TRICKED", I used that term purposely. We left the hotel to go grab a bite to eat and clear our heads. Upon returning to the hotel, we both finished cleaning the room to the best of our ability and I decided to take a shower. Now, the room we were in was a double with a 4 person occupancy. This means that (at a minimum) there should have been 4 bath towels, 4 hand towels and 4 wash cloths. However, what we had was 2 towels, 1 hand towel and 2 wash cloths. So, my wife went down to the front desk to get more towels and more wash cloths. The clerk told her that we could not have any more until we used the ones that we had and turned the used ones over to him. When she came back to the room and told me that, I was in a rage. I immediately called down to the front desk and asked him to repeat what he told my wife and I informed him that that was bullsh*t. I told him that "my wife and I don't use a single wash cloth to clean ourselves. We don't use the same rag to wash our face that we just used to wash our a**. After trying to explain himself, he sent someone up to the room with the things we had requested. After our showers, we decided to try and get some sleep. This was literally the longest night ever. The beds felt like we were sleeping on the floor. The pillows were worn and paper thin. They were so thin that it would have taken 4 of them just to make 1 pillow. The comforter was so thin that it was more like a bed sheet. To top all of this off, I had to be up early to be in meetings all day. So after tossing and turning all night and waking up with a sore back, we both got dressed and was ready to start our day. We proceeded downstairs to get a bite to eat and head out. To our suprise (and I guess we shouldn't have been) and although they advertise this on Choice Hotels website as an amenity, there was ZERO continental breakfast. When I asked the clerk about it, I was told that all they had was coffee. All I could do is look at my wife, shake my head in disbelief and wonder how we keep getting into situations like this. I then inquired about a morning paper and asked where the news stand was located. He pointed to an empty wire rack with not one newspaper in it and informed me that they didn't have any papers. My wife told him that she was going to call corporate and complain and he shrugged his shoulders and walked away. We went to our car, drove down the street to grab a biscuit from WaWa and started our day. There is so much more that I can say about this property and Choice Hotels, but I really am trying to keep this as brief and to the point as I possibly can. When corporations go out of their way to deceive the public in an effort to make a profit, it speaks volumes about that corporation and it's leadership. We as consumers call and complain to the customer services agents, only to be ignored. They never reimburse us for our incontinence. They give us points that don't even amount to a nights stay. So in reality, nothing is ever really done. Well, that needs to change and change has to start with me. So, I'm going to go out of my way to make sure that others are informed about the deceptive practices that this company uses to steal money from travelers (especially the attorney general in my state). Using fake picture (photoshopped pictures and advertising false amenities) to get people to spend their hard earned money should not be allowed. People deserve to know what they are getting for the money they are spending. In closing, Let me say this. I have come to realize that contacting Corporate does very little to resolve our concerns. We have tried that many times. In fact, the last conversation we had with Choice Hotels started off with the agent arguing with us and telling us what he felt we deserved in compensation. It wasn't until we spoke to his supervisor that we were given some points to then use with the same people who wronged us to began with. So, I just want people to read this and spread the word. Share the pictures. Pass this along to people you know. Post it on social media as I am. The only way that we can stop corporate greed like this, is to hold them accountable. I will be posting this on Yelp, Trip Advisor, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and any other social media platform that I can find. I can only ask and encourage anyone and everyone reading this to do the same. NOTE: Everything that I have written here is 100% accurate and the pictures are as well (I'm not like Choice Hotels. I don't need to post fake pictures). So if you choose to use any of their brands, just know that you are being lied to and you are not going to get a clean hotel room.

Average night stay near Ft .Lee This is a short drive to Ft. Lee. The room appeared clean enough. The desk clerk seemed like I bothered him checking in though which was put offish. It was not too noisy being right off the highway. The shower was really hot so they had that going for them.

Amazing staf Nice hotel for an overnight stay. Good location right off the interstate 295 bypass for Richmond VA. Across from a WAWA and close to restaurants. I want to give a compliment to the front desk clerk Mike. I left my sweat shirt at the hotel. When I called Mike said he would ask Housekeeping about it when they got in at 9am. Mike called me back a day later and told me they didn't find it. When I told Mike, although it was old and worn it had sentimental value to me, he went and took another look. Miraculously he found it and was gracious enough to take a trip to the post office to send it back to me.I received my parcel yesterday and I'm sending him back a money order for the postage and a tip. This man went the extra mile for me. So I would definitely stay at this hotel again when staying in the area. Good people are hard to come by these days.

Not the best but quite When me and my fiance come from New York we ALWAYS stop here... Only because he has family in Hopewell and because we are truck drivers. The Econo Lodge owns that huge parking lot so thats another reason why we stay there. Its not the best of a hotel but I can say it is quite and you never hear anyone!

Great deal Hotel was clean but some spot showed signs of age. The front desk clerk was easy to deal with. We had a delicious dinner just a few feet away at Rosa's, an Italian restaurant. Air conditioning in room worked great and was quiet. My spouse said he slept so well! Had to leave very early this a.m. and grabbed their packaged muffins. It's not a meal, do not expect it. The small mall behind it is abandoned except for two other hotels and the nice restaurant. I thought it was a great deal which included a refrig and microwave.