I am a college student who lived at this hotel over the summer, from May 2011 through early August. At first, I was very skeptical to stay because of some of the reviews that I had read. I had this picture in my head that it was going to be a dingy, dirty, sketchy place and I would not be happy. Nonetheless, I took my chance because I would be otherwise homeless, and BGESH was the only place in Lexington that had monthly rates, and didn't charge for every little thing.

The room was clean and very tidy. It had a microwave, a full sized refrigerator, TV with cable, lots of drawer space and cabinet space for two people. The linens were clean and the beds were very comfortable. The hotel is located on Richmond Rd. in Lexington, which I am very fond of because of growing up there as a young child. The hotel is right behind a Starbucks, next to a Lowe's and an Arby's and is 5 minutes (walking) within Burger King, McDonald's, Waffle House, Columbia's Steak House, Sun Tan City, Walmart, Kroger, etc. I was never bored living here over the summer. I also didn't have a car, so I relied primarily on LexTran (the bus service of Lexington) to get me to work, and to other various locations. There is a bus stop just 5 minutes away, so this was very convenient!

I always felt very safe when staying at this hotel. My roommate and I are both female and in our early 20's, so we were definitely intimidated to be living in Lexington by ourselves, and especially at a hotel. We never once had a problem. No loud neighbors, no drunken scary men, none of that. However, there is a certain side of the hotel that is very ghetto, where a lot of sketchy people seem to live. This is the side that has the rooms in the 240's. You are going to find people like that anywhere you go, and hotels really can't turn anyone away. We never had any problems from them, and we really weren't that far away from them, but safety was never an issue.

The thing I liked the best about staying here, other than the location that was very fond and special to me, is the service. My roommate and I had a lot of trouble making ends meet while staying here, and the staff at the front desk was always willing to accommodate us. I'm not saying that you can not pay for a week and expect to get away with it. The staff won't be taken advantage of, just like any good business. However, they were always so kind and understanding to us. It made paying $250 a week that much easier.

The thing I liked the least about staying here was the price. Taxes are added, and make the price of a week quite higher. My roommate and I alternated weeks, and both paid close to $280 each week, but after 30 days we only paid $250. When you think about it, paying $1000 a month for a hotel room seems kind of silly. We were in a situation where we were kicked out of our apartment by a terrible roommate, and had 5 days to get out. We had no time to find an apartment with a summer lease, so a hotel was the next thing on our list. We chose to pay a weekly rate because it seemed like it took less of our paychecks that way. We were paid every two weeks, and if we were to pay a month, at around $850, $425 each, that would have been all of one of our paychecks, and we only get 2 a month. So even though in the long run we paid more for paying the weekly rate, it seemed to take less out of our paychecks.

I can sit here and gripe about the price, but quite honestly, if you look at other Extended Stay hotels in the area, BGESH is the most affordable. Others charge you for extra sheets, dinnerware, and even high speed internet (which is free at this hotel, and doesn't require a password.)

I would definitely recommend this place to anyone, whether they are staying a night, or three months like we did. It definitely felt like home, and still does. This summer was amazing due in part to my experiences with Bluegrass Extended Stay.