Name: Econo Lodge
Address: North Dixieway, 515, South Bend, South Bend, South Bend, 46637, United States of America
Rating: 3

Air conditioning

Elevator/lift

Smoke-free property

Radio

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Parking

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Conference Hall

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Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Location

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Room amenities

Roseland Town Park

Gillespie Conference & Special Events Center

South Bend International Airport

LaPorte Municipal Airport

Econo Lodge

South Bend

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

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limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

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not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

I have to say I had hoped previous reviews were wrong.....when I made reservation several months ago I was so excited to have gotten Notre Dame football tickets that I did not review hotel carefully as I would have normally done....very sad place...I feel SO very sad for wonderful kind young women that work here.  They do Their best to make you happy but............!!!!! They were kind enough to not charge mecthecrenaining $440 owed and we are lucky enough to be staying now at a Microtel right down the road for just a little more!!! We are happy needless to say!!!!.

We left after one night!!

Let me preface this by saying I can find good in just about everything.  People make fun of me because I can find some humor in about every situation.  It was a real challenge at the Econolodge in South Bend Indiana.

So we came in for a Notre Dame game.  I live in Dallas and travel quite a bit.  I've stayed at Calistoga Ranch in Napa Valley where you can shower outside to the Memphis Inn where the carpet was stained with blood and I slept on a  chalk line.  I've seen plenty of stuff, but nothing like what I experienced at the Econolodge in South Bend.

We checked in on Friday night.  It was me and 3 buddies.  The front entry had a bit of a stale smell but the staff that checked us in seemed friendly and laughed at my overused hotel jokes.

As we headed down a creepy hallway toward our rooms the lights got darker and more scary.  There is a big guy in our group so I thought if a murderer jumps out to kill us at least I can outrun the big guy.  Isn't that what they say?  I wasn't the slowest and this gave me comfort.

After snaking through a hallway maze we worked into a gigantic room with 70's carpet and an overwhelmingly pungent stench of old smoke and raid.  I remember as a kid riding in my uncle's Cadillac.  That guy smoked 3 packs a day and wore a pair of channel locks in his jorts.  I haven't thought of my Uncle Gary in about 25 years until I walked into this lobby.  It smelled like Uncle Gary's caddy. 

If you haven't seen this it looks like a motel except it was inside.  The doors faced out toward this lobby but there was nothing out there except all this empty space covered by old carpet.  It also has those bubble windows that looked like you stepped back to the 70's when Boogie Nights was popular and Richard Nixon was not a crook.

We got to the room and I'm not sure I've ever seen anything so gross.  The room had 70's bedspread, 70's furniture, and the stench was overwhelming.  The big guy dry heaved the second he walked in.  It could have been the 20 beers he had before we got there but that coupled with the Econolodge south bend was too much too bear.  I told him not to touch anything.  

Our other 2 buddies walk to their room and the door opens without a key. They are 70-75% sure the South Bend Slasher is there to take them out.  They come back and leave their suitcases in our room cause at least our door locks.  And we head out as soon as we can.

We have dinner and reluctantly head back to the Econolodge.  There is a bar attached to the Econolodge so at least we could drown our fear of being murdered with some booze.  There was a really nice bartender that all of us liked.  She was sweet, kind, and full of Chrystal Meth.  We drank about 25 beers between us while we pumped quarters into the jukebox and played darts.  At a little after 1:00 the Big Guy says he’s done and ready to go back.  As he left I felt confident that we would never see him again.  Then I felt guilty thinking about how I was gonna have to support his family so I grabbed another buddy and we headed back.   As I walked in the room the Big Guy had the covers pulled up to his eyes.  He said he keeps hearing weird noises and his sheets have yellow spots on them.  I told him it’s probably his imagination and just some old stains.  It was like when you tell your kids when you know it’s pretty much worse case scenario.  My kids don’t believe me and neither did the Big Guy.

I went to the bathroom and the light was on a motion sensor.  You had to wave your hand every 5 seconds or else you were going to be in the dark.  With a murderer likely hiding behind the shower curtain I was waving my arms like the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk.

I crawled in bed and threw the comforter on the floor.  It was disgusting.  I slept with a sheet only.  I was honestly scared to go to sleep.  I left the TV on until about 3 and that’s when the Big Guy says he feels things crawling on him.  I cried a little inside and couldn’t’ wait for the morning.  It was like I was in a horror movie while paying $200 bucks a night.

We woke up on Saturday morning.  First thing I felt was to see if my kidneys were still in.  Good news . . . . . .they were.  I got up and showered in the dark.  I tried waving my arms but finally gave up.  Good news though, the water was nice and warm.

Our buddies also survived the night. 

They threw their suitcases on my bed and we ran across the street to eat breakfast at some pancake house.  On the way there we got a better view of the lobby and area.  There is a pool next to it that has been drained.  We also found the exercise room that had 1 treadmill that didn’t work.  In the lobby we found an air hockey table that was broken and a pool table that had no sticks.  

We came back after breakfast and our room had been attended to by the cleaning crew.  The Big Guys bed was made but mine wasn’t.  Sitting on my bed was a note, I wish I could attach a picture so you can see it but I will copy verbatim what it says, “The other bed is not make because we do not suppose to makeup bed that has use stuff on it  - Housekeep”

I can’t make this stuff up.  So I guess my bed wasn’t made because there was a suitcase on it.  No big deal but funny nonetheless.  We stopped by the front desk on the way out and had a 15 minute conversation about how the door doesn’t lock.  He assured us that maintenance would have it fixed when we got back.

We spent the day at the game and got back later that night.  We walked into the creepy lobby and we counted all the scary places to hide.  We saw a couple that was also staying there and we asked if they have ever stayed at a more frightening place.  They said they hadn’t and will have nightmares for years about the Econolodge of South Bend.

We went back to the bar later that night and stayed till about 1.  The lock on the door was never fixed.  We woke up early the next morning and bugged out.  

It was a terrible experience.  The fact that we paid 800 bucks to stay there is one of the biggest rip offs in consumer business since we found out Taco Bell uses horse meat in their tacos.   The Econolodge will forever be the butt of all jokes that we have.

I wish I was fabricating this story but it is all true.  My imagination is not this good.

Birth place of all horror stories.  It's not my imagination . . . .Read this review.

They've already abandoned the building on the south side of their parking lot, why not give up on the main building and let something new be built on this property. Worst room I've ever been in anywhere ever. Filthy in every regard. Old and in poor repair. And, it's less then a mile from Notre Dame. What an embarrassment for South Bend. Good news is they let me cancel and leave. For your own safety and well being, don't go near it.

Let the wrecking ball swing

Broken "secured" doors, door key didn't work, bathroom not clean,, soap left in shower, pubic hair in shower, staff incompetent. Worst hotel I've stayed. I will never stay there again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It wasn't worth it. I felt unsafe and the room was dirty.There was pubic hair in the shower/tub. Pretty sure they didn't wash the shower,which made me wonder if they washed the sheets. It was gross.

1 night

I have to admit - my first impression of this Econo Lodge was not great. First it is a motel not a hotel; all rooms have an exterior door that you park in front of. Half the property is abandoned and padlocked. The exterior is obviously not cared for. The room was musty but clean. However, everything worked and there were no issues with the sleeping area or bathroom. The tv is 90s vintage but the cable worked and there were plenty of channels to choose from. The breakfast was basic and the cereal, toast, and coffee was good. But, I liked this motel in the morning. I got a good nights sleep and for $53 I got my money's worth. The moral of the story is that I would not take my family here for a vacation but, for someone paying 2 college tuitions who just needs a one night stay, it is just right.

Econo Lodge

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