The room was quite big and I was excited that there was an actual bath tub. My boyfriend and I had to evacuate due to Hurricane Irma, and had spent a lot of money for camping gear and had planned to stay at Talladega Speedway until we could go back to Savannah. We arrived late Sunday night, and they couldn't find our reservation at first. Amidst the confusion I forgot to mention that we had pets.
The next morning I went to the office to ask about a second night, and if they could work with us until we could get money wired to us. No one answered, so I went to get our food. In those few minutes they had knocked on the door and of course the dogs barked. That's when I pulled up.
I explained that I was really tired the night before and forgot to mention the pets, plus the reservation confusion. She explained that it was $10 per pet a night. I explained our situation, that I was waiting for my job to send us money, and if they could just wait we would stay another night. I even offered to let them hold onto my license to ensure I wouldn't rip them off. Since the hotel was practically empty I figured they might be willing to work with us and get our business.
She said she would get her boss, and a man came out. I told him the same thing, and that we literally only had the $50 I had just given her left to our name. I told him I was trying to get a hold of my boss in Arizona and that I had just gotten an email while standing there and I would see what it said. He stood there staring at me the whole time I tried to work it out and then said that if we didn't have the $100 for a second night including the pet deposit then we needed to leave.
I told him we needed a few minutes to gather our stuff and we would leave - even though we had nowhere to go. He then proceeded to follow me to the room and stand in our way as we tried to get our animals out and down the sketchy staircase. Every time I walked past him he asked me to give him the key. I said not until we got all of our belongings and asked if he could just have enough decency to give us a few minutes to make sure we had everything. He didn't say anything, and continued to just stand by the steps staring at us.
My boyfriend and I had been overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity we had seen at the camp in Talladega. Several church groups kept us fed and even got us gas for our truck. I was mistaken to assume that everyone would be as empathetic to our situation, and am disgusted at this hotel owner's heartless nature. I wouldn't stay there again if it was the last hotel on Earth! read more