Econo Lodge Boston Malden

I got the chance to visit the United States recently and I thought it was perfect timing since I was running out of stuff to write about. This will start a new series of posts of my visit to the United States. I was asked by work to go visit the head office to at least let them know that I am real and not just some computer generated video on zoom. I have never met any of them in person so I thought that it was a good idea to just get know the people I work with. I would be going to the city of Boston. While there was a plan for me to fly on a work day, I thought that I should try flying earlier so I can see more of the city. However, this would mean that I would need to get my own accommodation at least for the first night there.

I had no idea how difficult it was to find affordable accommodation in Boston. I was hoping to find a place which was near downtown but all of them were beyond my budget. I would only be spending a night there so I didn’t think that it was worth paying so much for it. But such are the hotel rates at that time. Perhaps there was some event going on which made it so costly to stay there. I ended up finding this place called Econo Lodge in the city of Malden right next to Boston. I’m no stranger to these types of hotels so I thought that for the price I was paying I thought that it should be quite nice.

I had to take a cab to the hotel which turned out to be much more expensive than I expected. It almost twice what Uber estimated it to be. I think that would be the last time I would take a metered taxi here. The taxi itself was horrible with food all over the place. I understand that some drivers would eat while they are working but at least keep the car clean. Anyway, the (eventually) nice driver did find the place thanks to Google Maps. It was much further than I thought.

As the cab was pulling into Econo Lodge in Malden, I saw the entrance of the lodge. It looked miserable, almost like an abandoned building. It didn’t help that it was very warm that day and there was dust all around. Already, I was having second thoughts about staying here but I didn’t really have a choice. It looks like some people think so too. The check in counter was someone who was trying to book a room for several nights. It almost seemed like he had nowhere else to go and was desperate. Looking around the place was dark, dreary and dirty. I believe Econo Lodge is a chain but would they really lend their name to a place like this?

Reception quick enough to check me in. The guy was all business but he still answered all my questions, like where to buy stuff, and how to get downtown. So I will give him that. The main hall has access to the rooms and my room was one of them. I can see that the hall itself didn’t seem to be very clean. Ironically, there was housekeeping at the time and it made me wonder what they were doing. My room isn’t that much better. It looks a lot like the hall outside. It was huge though, more than enough room for myself. It has a large screen television and a table if you want to work. There were two beds here one of which I don’t really need. I seldom complain about accommodations but this room was depressing.

Maybe the interiors didn’t help. The floor is made of dark wood, who knows how old it is. The walls weren’t any better either. Everything seems to work though, the lights, television, fridge. But if you have to say that at least the lights are working, then there is probably something wrong with the place. In comparison to the room, the bathroom was a little small. I didn’t really mind it that much at least they have one and the shower works too. Maybe people actually live here. I know I would be heading out to town that afternoon but this also made me wonder if my stuff is safe here. The doors seem to be secure but I will never know.

I don’t really complain about where I stay but I think for the price they are asking, they should at least fix the rooms up. I know it can be expensive to stay in the city but I later found out that if I paid thirty dollars more, I would have stayed in a proper and nice hotel. That’s less than what I paid for the cab to get here. So was it worth the hassle of taking a cab all the way here and staying in a dark, miserable and dirty lodge? Absolutely not. I wonder if Econo Lodge is aware of this place since it will forever put a mark on their name as far as I am concerned. I will think twice about staying in a different Econo Lodge if this is the standard of lodges they have.

[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/EconoLodgeBostonMalden.kmz} zoom=19]