On 8/15/05, I stayed in a Super 8 Hotel in Asheville, NC. While there, the morning of the 16th, I made a reservation for that night for a Super 8 in the Pigeon Forge, TN. area. I made a mistake and reserved the room at the Super 8 at 523 East Parkway in the adjacent area of Gatlinburg, TN.

Upon arrival at the Gatlinburg, location, I told the desk clerk of the error. I told her I was at the wrong hotel. I even called Super 8's central reservation number from the lobby and the desk clerk and I both spoke to them about the problem.

The desk clerk was a rude, unsympathetic, Eastern Indian woman that insisted on holding me to their 48 hour cancellation policy. I had just made the reservation that same morning. Though it was early in the afternoon and they had many rooms open, she still insisted on a $25 dollar cancellation fee if I did not stay there.

I understand the reason for cancellation deadlines but this was ridiculous. This innkeeper was just taking advantage of a mistake. I was simply going to the other Super 8, 5 miles down the road in Pigeon Forge.

After some back and forth, I decided to go ahead and stay there and drive over instead of waste the $25.00.

This nasty acting desk clerk then put us in a room number 257 that was back under a walkway area where the window looked out to a block wall. This room was so dark one could hardly see to read in it. I first had to go back to the desk and make them repair the non-working light over the sink area. They had installed energy saver bulbs in all of the room's light fixtures that were to dim to even be practical for use. This was especially bad in this room because opening the curtain was little help under the dark walkway. When we went out, I purchased a package of decent light bulbs. To even have a reasonable use of the room, I exchanged my own bulbs in the fixtures until we left. Saving energy is one thing. This was pure nonsense.

It was no wonder that the room was not well cleaned. There is no way that the cleaning personnel could see in there well enough to do a good job.

I have stayed at a number of Super 8 hotels around the country. They are usually a good value. This was the poorest experience I have had at a Super 8 hotel.

I may be mistaken but this appeared to be an older motel of some other type that had been converted to a Super 8.

We reserved our room a month and a half before our scheduled vacation to Gatlinburg in July. We were under the impression that the hotel was 1/4 from the main drag of Gatlinburg. It was a more like a mile. We were also under the impression that the hotel was a top rated hotel. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot the apearance of the hotel turned us off. We decided we didn't want to stay. The manager was very rude and told us since we had already reserved our room for three nights we had to pay for one even if we didn't stay. We went ahead a checked in for one night. Our room was so filthy we checked right back out. There was mold around the bathroom sink and in the shower. The floors were filthy. The carpet was damp and smelt like wet dog. The microwave had dried food in it. The pool didn't impress us either. We took many pictures to send to the main branch of super 8. We also called super 8's custermer service and filed a complaint. Although the manager at this specific hotel said we would not be reambursed for our first night, customer service at the main super 8 said that he would see that we got our money back. The manager was very rude. When we checked out and told him we took pictures of his filthy hotel and that he needed to clean the rooms, he told us we had a problem. We have stayed at the super 8 in pigean forge before and it was very nice. I suggest staying there if you want to stay at a super 8 while you are in the area.

My girlfriend and I stayed at this hotel from October 22nd through October 24th. The credit card we used to reserve a room for two nights was charged twice: Once as a charge for half our total that was supposed to be reimbursed if we did not arrive for our reservation, the other was the full total for our two night stay.

On Saturday, October 23rd my girlfriend and I were forced to use cash instead of our credit card to purchase dinner as our credit card was decline and we were unaware of the double charge made by the hotel until we called the credit card company. The night manager would not correct the matter so we were forced to correct it when we were supposed to check out of the hotel on Sunday, October 24rth.

On Sunday, October 24th we spoke to the manager explaining our situation. The manager refused to listen to our plight and kept confusing the matter. At first he said the extra charge was a curtousy charge to make certain our credit card was valid and that any charges would be reimbursed, then he said it was charged in because the hotel did not think we were going to arrive in time for our reservation, then he said that no charge was made to the card at all.

When my girlfriend said she didn't understand that business practice the manager said that there was nothing for us to understand. At that point he refused to talk to us, refused to give us anything in writing, and had to be reminded that we still wanted to be checked out of the hotel before he would complete our checkout transaction.

The customer service of this hotel is the absolute WORST that I have every experienced. The hotel practices inconvenience towards the customers for the convenience of the hotel. They will charge a credit card hundreds of dollars and will not admit to making such a charge or reimburse the money in any expediary manner, and they will victimize the customer by belittling them in front of other hotel patrons and employees.

When my girlfriend and I returned from our trip I learned from my credit card company that all the hotel manager had to do was call the credit card company with the hotel's vendor license and the money would have been returned to the card immediately. However, since the hotel chose not to accomodate my girlfriend and I, we no longer had the option to spend over $150 of our credit for own own wishes. Thankfully we didn't need that money to return home.

As for the hotel rooms themselves, we stayed in a room with a king size bed, mini-fridge, jacuzzi, and typical hotel shower and bath. The air conditioner rattled all night and the ammenities offered by the hotel are so sparse that they offer NOTHING that could compensate for the management's poor customer service.

I travel extensively for my job.I stay in hotels over 150 nights per year.In all my years on the road,I have never seen a franchised hotel/motel so dirty and filthy.This is a place that I would not feel comfortable in keeping my pet in.I would not stay here at any price.