RE: Relax Inn (Lakeland)
I stayed at the Relax Inn located at 3645 Canada Rd, Lakeland, TN 38002. I found this motel to be running in a very unsafe and unsanitary manner. When I first checked in I checked my phone only to find it wasn't even working at all. I was not even able to get a dial tone. This was one of those very old phones you don't even see anymore. This phone required you to push the two buttons down in order to get a dial tone. However, one of the buttons was stuck. It was completely pushed down, and I was not able to get it back into the proper position. I immediately requested the phone be changed out. However, in the 2:00 am hour the final morning of my stay I noticed my internet connection did not work. I didn't bother calling the front desk because it was so late. However, around 7:30 am I contacted the front desk to ask why my internet connection was not working properly. The manager stated she did not know but would reboot the system. Approximately 15 minutes later I attempted to contact the front desk again and I couldn't even get a dial tone on the phone. This lasted for about an hour. I then found a dial tone but whenever I contacted the front desk it was either constantly busy, rang 30 times and someone would pick the phone up and hang up the phone, or they would let it continuously ring until I hung up. This situation was not resolved during my stay there and I was not offered an explanation for why this happened. I checked out for fear of there not being any way to call for help via calling 911, the front desk or via the internet if my battery on my cell phone was not fully charged at all times. This should never have occurred seeing this motel still allows smokers in there rooms. Again, during my stay there I found this motel to be very unsanitary. The mattresses and towels were badly stained. The sheets and covers contained stains and cigarette holes as well. The waste containers were not properly sanitized and contained build-up from previous uses. The linen in this motel was not fit to be used by the public. The mattresses were more like something one would find on someone's curb. They also have a dog they keep behind the front desk that is very intimidating and appears to be trained to attack Black people. He barks very aggressively when you approached the counter. I also observed there were no Black people at this motel besides me that occupied rooms or worked there. I found it odd that they only appeared to rent rooms to white people or people that were Indian looking in appearance. The rooms do not have an ironing board or irons. When I first checked in I found the sink full of hair like some man had either shaved his head or a beard and quite a bit of the left-over hair had been poorly removed from the sink area. I also constantly found long strands of brunette hair on the sheets, shower and in different other parts of the room. I would never recommend this motel to anyone. The fact this motel was so outdated, the phones and internet didn't work properly, and the fact this motel is a single-story building, however, the windows are not secure enough to protect you from intruders. The windows are like those you would find on someone's home. They have simple latches you can lock and unlock yourself with no safety latches to prevent intruders. Outside the window is a simple scene that could easily be removed. My window had at some point been broken and never fixed. Someone could have easily just knocked out the part already broken and unlatched the window. For many reasons, the health department needs to look into the day-to-day operations of this establishment. I also observed the backside of the motel facing the 6-foot wood fence has all types of furniture stacked up outside several rooms on that side. This just isn't run like a motel you want to stay at. read more