The Days Inn Vanderbilt (map) has earned a dubious distinction as one of TripAdvisor’s top 10 dirtiest hotels in the United States. I personally have never darkened the door at this Days Inn, but doing so has never really seemed like a great idea, either. Here are some representative reviews from the site:

It was a pretty bad motel, but it was clean enough (no bugs and i didn’t get sick) and people were nice. good location and cheap. if you want a nice place, you’ll have to pay more…

Don’t make the same mistake we did! This motel is an accident waiting to happen. Do not even think of booking for the rate, last minute, etc. You will regret it. When we asked about the shape of the place we were told that “we should have known what we were getting into when we drove up to the property” and “afterall its in the west end”……all this by the desk clerk! Football fans beware - go somewhere else!

NASTY, RUN DOWN AND NEEDS TO HAVE A WRECKING BALL USED ON IT; NO AIR IN TINY ELEVATOR OR HALLWAY, WORST ROOM I’VE EVER STAYED IN!!!!! I asked for a rollaway, the lady at the desk told me (at 7:10) that I should’ve asked before 7 because there was no one on duty except her and she couldn’t leave the desk. I have a large vehicle that will not fit in a parking garage so I had to park behind the hotel and I was afraid the it would be stolen or vandalized but it wasn’t. That was the only pleasant experience at this hotel…

1) The rooms smell horrible! Very musty like an old abandoned building.
2) Dirty, sticky carpets.
3) Mold. I can’t be absolutely sure but I believe it to be black mold (see photo above). I have pictures to prove this! I just wish that I had found this on our first day instead of our last.
4) Unfriendly, rude staff.
5) Very narrow halls with huge open windows. It would be very easy for someone to fall out of them.
6) CREEPY, not very well lit parking garage.
7) Holes in blankets and towels

I visit TripAdvisor from time to time when planning trips. It tends to attract polarized comments from travelers with either very negative or very positive experiences, but it’s hard to ignore some of the specifics spelled out in the reviews. Considering that there are thousands of hotels across the country, it’s no small feat to land on this list.