20+ Hotel guests who noticed red flags at their lodgings: 'When it's advertised as "family friendly," that means noise'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Feb 7, 2025 5:00 PM EST

Looks can be deceiving, but when you show up at a hotel and it looks totally different than it did in the online photos, it makes you a bit concerned. 

I know, I know: in real estate photos, photographers alwasy highlight the positives, making the space look way bigger and brighter than it is in person. But there are some times that the photos just look way too good to be true. Maybe you show up to a hotel expecting a giant pool and an arcade room for the kids… only to discover the pool is small and grimy, and the "arcade" has no working arcade machines. Those are just the amenities, though—you really hope your room will look as advertised. 

The travelers below have had some eye-opening hotel experiences that they won't soon forget. Some have learned to avoid places that offer long-term rentals, while others have clued in to the things that indicate a noisy crowd is staying in the same hotel. One of the best tips is that if the front lobby looks messy, you can rest assured that the hotel rooms are going to be even grimier. The front desk area is supposed to welcome guests and give off a good first impression. When that's not even up to par, why should you think the rest of the hotel will be a good place to rest your head? 

Next, read about people who made some pretty awful recipe substitutions, like one person who tried to make peach ice cream, reporting that: "I don't like peaches so I substituted carrots. It wasn't very good." You don't say! 

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  • 01
    HOTEL NO VACANCY
    via Wesley Tingey For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02
    People who travel, what is an immediate red flag in hotels?
    via u/KineticClones
  • 03
    Future_Blueberr... General smell when first walking in and attitude of front desk when checking in.
    via u/Future_Blueberry_641
  • 04

    This is such a good warning sign

    GnomesStole My... Untidy lobby. The lobby should be spotless with no trash or unattended luggage. If they can't maintain a clean and tidy lobby, imagine how bad the rooms must be.
    via u/GnomesStoleMyMeds

    If the floor is unmopped and the trash is overflowing, you can think twice about staying there. 

  • 05
    coprolite_breath Pulled into a motel, late night, off of an interstate in NY. Wife at the time asked to check a bed for hardness/softness. Upon entering the room, I noticed an obvious repair to the door jamb from when it had been forced open.
    via u/coprolite_breath
  • 06
    I walked down the walkway outside and noticed that every single door had been been kicked in at some point. Nope. It was not so late as to get back on the road and find a proper hotel.
    via u/coprolite_breath
  • 07
    Pays_in_snakes I work with a lot of motels for work, and the front desk being operated by a literal child can actually go both ways in my experience
    via u/Pays_in_snakes
  • 08
    mrg1957 The taxi/Uber speeds off, and there's nothing open in the area.
    via u/mrg1957
  • 09
    DizzyViv Plexiglass enclosing the front desk (like at a bank), and a security guard sitting. in the lobby. Lol this was a Days Inn and I was traveling alone for work. Everything turned out fine but I was definitely wondering what led to the plexiglass (this was pre-pan mic).
    via u/DizzyViv
  • 10
    V.. Elevators or Stairwells smells overwhelmingly like tobacco smoke.
    via u/Viking_Musicologist
  • 11
    stonedfishing Vending machines are unplugged, or have sharpie'd labels on the buttons, or sell coke and Pepsi out of the same machine. If even the Vending machine people won't go there, it's not a good place.
    via u/stonedfishing
  • 12
    If there's a pool that nobody's in, but reeks of chlorine, the staff don't care enough to learn how to take care of it. They almost certainly don't care about cleanliness anywhere else in the hotel
    via u/stonedfishing
  • 13

    This person has seen some things

    Awkward-Motor... No toilet seat. Definitely a bad sign.
    via u/Awkward-Motor3287
  • 14
    scowdich They keep the front door locked and have to buzz you in when you knock.
    via u/scowdich
  • 15
    Plastic_Indicatio... There was that hotel in Angola charging $150 a night that had a bucket full of very dirty water to flush the toilet with in my suite. I checked out and slept on the floor of a Red Cross office.
    via u/Plastic_Indication91
  • 16
    And the hotel in Bahrain where women helpfully kept calling from 1am to see if I "needed anything". More usually, smelly lobbies or r de staff. If your taxi driver has never heard of the hotel, that's not normally good news either.
    via u/Plastic_Indication91
  • 17
    PotatoPirate 5G If the exterior looks trashy, there's a 100% chance the interior is worse.
    via u/PotatoPirate
  • 18
    scrubjays A funny one, to me, which is probably a green flag, but cheap motel, is when they wrap the plastic drinking cups in sealed plastic. I get the idea, which is that, in fancier places, that have glass cups, they seal them in plastic to prove they have been carefully cleaned. But doing it to plastic disposable
    via u/scrubjays
  • 19
    cups? I guess a red flag would be if they weren't sealed in plastic wrap, which might mean the place is so cheap they fished them out of the garbage, gussied them up and put them back out for use. I don't even really want to think about that.
    via u/scrubjays
  • 20
    sanka I'm staying in an IHG proprety outside of Kansas City right now thats got something going on. Like its on the outskirts, so this whole development it at max 10 years old. The whole interior has 20 years of wear. No one kept up with anything and people just beat the sh out of this place apparently.
    via u/sanka
  • 21
    Lazy-Bee-5466 Warning signs stating don't go out after dark alone. This was in lowa too! No seriously
    via u/Lazy-Bee-5466
  • 22
    Cheezburger Image 10464904192
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 23

    It's always a good idea to keep an eye out for bedbugs

    EmmaLeigh91 Stains on the carpet, hair in the tub or on the bed. I always worry about bedbugs if they care that little about hygiene/appearances
    via u/EmmaLeigh91

    I've heard all the stories of hotels who don't change their sheets in between guests, so if you find a stray hair, it's time to phone the front office and ask for a new set of sheets.

  • 24
    paligators I travel a lot. Lobbys can be misleading if they are nice, but never if they are gross. Second is the floors and decor. If it looks like it needs help, the rooms are gonna be worse.
    via u/paligators
  • 25
    DahliaRoseMarie Room smells like mold, and they will not move you to another room. I checked out and moved to another hotel.
    via u/DahliaRoseMarie
  • 26
    eavesleaves Allows pets and is cheap. Those two should never go together.
    via u/eavesleaves
  • 27
    lauie Linen that is any other color but white (with very few exceptions)
    via u/lauie
  • 28
    backlikeclap If the hotel has long term residents or offers weekly rates.
    via u/backlikeclap
  • 29
    creeper321448 No staff. There was a hotel in Helsinki I used that literally had zero staff.
    via u/creeper321448
  • 30
    Dayzlikethis the last worst place I stayed had really dirty hallway carpets.
    via u/Dayzlikethis
  • 31
    schwarzmalerin When it's advertised as "family friendly". That means noise. Same with "lively area", that means traffic at night.
    via u/schwarzmalerin
  • 32
    FerrickAsur4 Lobby looking a lot different than what was shown in the advertisements like I am not talking about festive decor or what not, but straight up completely different
    via u/FerrickAsur4

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guests hotel guest hotel front desk hotel room hotels customers red flags
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