When we arrived, the front desk clerk was cordial. We got what we thought was a decent rate and proceeded to our rooms. At first glance it was ok- until we pulled back the sheets. The pillows (not the cases) were filthy, as if they hadn't EVER been replaced. The bathroom was small and still had urine in the toilet. We flushed the toilet, and called the front desk to request fresh and/or new pillows, and tried to relax. There was no relaxing because we then noticed a roach was creeping across the wall above the dresser. We packed our items and asked the clerk for a refund. We were offered another room to view before we got a refund. We checked the other room (had a jacuzzi, king size bed). But it TOO had a roaches. There were 2 on the jacuzzi edge. One looked alive, one dead. We had seen quite enough. After the debacle, we got our refund and left.

A couple weeks after making my reservations at this hotel I discovered the TripAdvisor website along with a slew of negative reviews on this hotel. As most of the hotels in Knoxville were already booked for UT's commencement ceremonies, it was too late to book another hotel. So I contacted the hotel's Sales/Marketing Director and referred her to the TripAdvisor website to read the reviews and examine the pictures. She assured me that if I chose to retain my reservations that my stay would be more than satisfactory. And it was. Keep in mind that this is an older hotel, in a college town, with a live band playing in the downstairs bar on Friday and Saturday nights. Also the room rate is $40.00 plus per night. I had three rooms. My family and I found the rooms clean, fairly well maintained, and smelling nice. The wall covering had a couple of minor separations in one of the rooms. The bathrooms were all clean. The plumbing worked fine. TVs were old and only basic cable was provided. Bottom line: You're getting a $40.00 hotel room and $40.00 services. If you want $95.00 per night accommodations go someplace else. jt