Econo Lodge Laurel Racetrack

This hotel was horrible. It was supposed to be in a certified nonsmoking room, however, when I checked in very late the first evening, I walked in to find an ashtray and a stench of chemical coverup spray that had my eyes watering all night. There were fleas in the room as evidenced by the small dog that was staying in the room two doors down. I was placed in room in the back of the hotel and was treated to nothing but the sound of cars with stereos blaring driving back and forth all night, people yelling and walking up and down. I travel a lot for school and business alone and this was the first time I was afraid to close my eyes. It was so late at night and I had to be out so early in the morning to get to school after a 5 hour drive that there was no way to find another hotel for the last night and as I would not receive a refund, I stuck it out but I will never stay there again. Their "continental breakfast" consisted of a few bagels. I stayed there so that I could eat before leaving for 9 hours of class but thank goodness there was a grocery store down the street and a working microwave in the room so I could buy food to cook. The fridge in the room barely kept anything cool so I ended up taking all of my cold food with me to school for both days and stored them in the fridge at school. I will NEVER stay at this hotel again and I will just have to save up more money to stay at a better hotel each month for the next two years so that at least I can have a decent night's sleep and not be a zombie while in classes.

This is an awful hotel. I am writing this on the last night of my stay. Because I had prepaid for the room, if I left and went somewhere else for the second night, I would have been out even more money. I was "guaranteed" a nonsmoking room. When I arrived very late in the evening the room turned out to be a smoking room with a chemical cleaning stench that had my coughing all night. There were fleas in the room and I am bitten up. I was put in a room on the ground floor in the back of the hotel and was treated all night to the sound of yelling, doors slamming, cars driving back and forth through the parking lot with their stereos blaring. I travel every month to grad school and also to conferences, so I travel quite a bit and it gets costly. Hence, there comes a time when you have to pinch the pennies. I stayed here because of the fridge in the room (which barely kept anything I purchased to cook even on the cool side) and the microwave. The microwave worked. Being a female who commutes alone all the time, I can truly say that this is the first time I was very unnerved to stay in a hotel and barely slept at all. Between the stench, the noise, the crowd and the lack of "food" at the continental breakfast (a 3-foot section of nothing edible), I will never stay here again. The rate charged for this room was too much by any standards.

This hotel just barely makes the grade for suitable accommodations. The room was extremely small and only moderately clean. The continental breakfast amounts to stale bagels or donuts, juice or coffee.