HomeTowne Studios - Newport News

My experience at this location was a mixed bag. I stayed here for over three months between July and October 2022. I think they're used to people staying shorter.When I got in the room there were cockroaches everywhere, so I squashed them and bought organic sugar for traps. Eventually I needed glue traps though because the building must have an infestation.The TV didn't work and the phone didn't work, but I didn't ask them to fix them. I just didn't use them.One of the employees opened one of my packages. I thought that was inappropriate.The ice machine worked once, but it was usually broken. The elevator worked less than half the time, so I typically climbed the stairs to get to and from my room. It worked when I arrived, but didn't work when I left, so I had to make 7-8 trips up and down the stairs.My room was facing the street, so there was a good deal of road noise from time to time. I didn't use the fan, heater or air conditioner, but somehow some cigarette smoke still wafted into the room from outside. It wasn't too bad or too frequent though.I left the room the day after I checked in and housekeeping entered while I was gone. I thought that was inappropriate. Apparently they refresh rooms once a week and they said that was the day, but they didn't enter again to my knowledge and I never asked them for anything.The washer and dryer worked well and they're located on the first floor in front of the office. The manager will provide quarters for dollars too.The last week I stayed there they were supposed to charge me for 6 days instead of 7 because I was using RediPoints, but they charged me for a week anyway. When I asked them about it they didn't make sense and the two Indian men just looked at each other and talked in thick-accented circles.If you don't have a car you'll like how it's situated by Walmart, Food Lion and bus stops. There are also rental car companies and other stores in close proximity. It isn't too deep into Newport News, but it's near Hampton.One advantage that this hotel has over typical hotels is the hot plate. It has two built in hot plates connected to a wet bar with a sink. You can buy a hot plate for $30 or $40, but if you don't have one and you need one it's convenient.I didn't like how they sprayed poison in halls and rooms. I told them I was allergic to it and it kills brain cells, but they didn't care. They demanded to come into my room and spray poison and I told them no. The gangly man that sprays the poison does it without a mask and acts intent on casing the joint. They swear it isn't poison too.I probably wouldn't recommend this place, but the nice black lady at the front desk was a plus.I have no idea how the refrigerator was because I never opened it and I unplugged it. It was too dark for me, so I bought several lamps from Walmart and used them for adequate lighting.

It served its purpose. Very old. In the inner city of Newport News right next to a trailer park. Was on first floor; would probably get the second if I ever stay again.

I booked through Booking.com a two night stay at HomeTowne Studio in Newport News, VA. At the time I made my reservation I used my bank card. When I arrived I learned there was $100 deposit so I asked the manager to remove my bank card and gave him my credit card. Which he said he did.The night I arrived the elevators were not working. I am a senior. The prospect of climbing stairs with luggage I cannot do. (This should be a fire hazzard). I was given a room on the first floor. The first thing that hits you when you walk in the lobby is the smell of curry, mold, cleaning products. The room at first glance looked like the pictures on their website. At second glance OMG. I flipped on the bathroom light and little roaches went running. The refrigerator smelled of spoiled milk. The table was sticky. The pillows had mold spots. The sheets look like someone just had sex in them and they were never washed. We found these little teeny tiny bugs that we took a picture of which we found out were bed bugs. The window was filthy. And the cherry that made it all warm and cozy was the bullet hole in the window which faced the woods.I contacted Booking.com from the room and sent them pictures and said this was not "reasonable accommodations" and I wanted to cancel my booking and wanted a refund and left.Booking.com canceled it as requested with an apology but said there was a $95 cancellation fee. I was furious. I did not cancel because of not showing up. I canceled because the room they advertised was not what was represented nor clean accommodations. Nobody would ever book a room with bed bugs. This was the Hotel of Horrors.It gets worse. Two days later HomeTowne charged me my two night stay and security deposit. Even though they accepted my cancellation. How can a guest cancel their stay and two days later you bill them for a stay when you were never there? Currently I am fighting this mess with my bank, credit card company, booking.com and HomeTowne. HomeTowne responded with there generic reply that they were sorry but they were happy to report they found no issues or problems with over charging customers and hopes I will stay with them again. Its been a nightmare. The health department, fire department, state licensing, State of Virginia should shut this place down.Booking.com is another complaint that I will say you should never use. They were of zero help. After two weeks they wrote me and said they had little luck in getting return phone calls from the hotel. And I should take legal action against HomeTowne.Here are a few pictures of the room I was given. You can tell in the picture of the bullet hole the reflection of the bedding and picture you see on the website.

The place was invested with roaches, not much to say. One came out of the freezer, they were coming out of the shower, I've never experienced this before.

This place is EXTREMELY dirty and unpleasant. The pillows are molded, the bathrooms are dirty, the sheets are soiled, and the place is VERY musty. DO NOT LET THEIR NICE PHOTOS FOOL YOU.

WYSIWYGJust as the pictures show the check in area is as displayed. The room was also all new: bed, tv, microwave, big fridge, sink, dresser all new. Toilet and shower all look new.BUT if other aesthetics matter to YOU, skip it - my (overly) dramatic teenager said when we drove up "I think we're gonna die here".The parking lot and outside area needs paint, repaving - needs a facelift. There's no lobby area - only the checkin front desk.The bed is comfy the shower is powerful so if you can get past the old looking areas and the old looking elevator you will be fine. WiFi was also good - lots of cable channels including HBO.So if you can put on blinders - oh no ice machine and the phone wasn't connected there's a hole in the wall where the jack would go . I called the front desk from my cell phone.

The male manger was rude and unprofessional, plus Priceline hides the fact you have to put $100 credit deposit to stay there and it takes 3 to 5 days to get deposit back ... and I'm definitely not a racist but I shouldn't have to smell your from India on the whole first floor of the hotel .... The bed was ok and the tv worked good , dirty was rag with hairs left in bath room ... all hotels and motels have gone crazy jacking the prices up ... the bottom of the bottom is over $400 a week when there worth $175 !!!!! Customer service was very very lacking because male manger knew I had no choice because when you book like I did on price line there is no refund... I can't believe red roof is so desperate they would pick a franchise like him to represent there name !!!! And price line get negative 5 stars for hiding the fact that you need an extra 100 bucks for a week to stay one night !!!!! All 3 need to go out of business to learn how to treat customers!!!!

My wife and I checked in late Friday night after being on the road for 4+ hours. As soon as we checked in there were no shower curtains, no soap, hair in the bed sheets counters, bath tub. Dirty used cuetips on the floor dead bugs on floor as well. Phone did not work for front desk, with us being tired I just told my wife let's go to sleep and ask for the room to be cleaned like it should have been in the first place. I mean the room still had food in the upper cabinets above the microwave to the right near the wall, I took plenty of pictures of the cuetips, hair, and left belongings from past guests. The next morning they said they would clean it, perfect you would think. We spent all day at Busch gardens and come back to the hotel room a little after 10pm carrying our luggage in because we didn't want to leave it to be rummaged through when the room was to be cleaned. Finally after unwinding we see roaches in the room! We pack up tobensure we don't take anyone home with is! This place knows about the roaches because I can see a poorly placed trap for roaches in the room! Wife and I go down to complain about the roaches(after 11pm by now) and the attendant(will not use names out of respect) is very rude saying our room was already cleaned today and they cannot accommodate us any further. I was told to call and speak to manager and she provided a name. We checked out and hoped to book somewhere else! This place did not care. We packed up and left and in the parking lot we see a car double parked in front of hotel with the manager name she gave us, so I go back in thinking he was three. No the attendant said she was driving that car and manager is not there still. So my pest problem was not enough for you to call the manager you share a vehicle with, which is probably her husband it was ridiculous, I was half tempted to tell every guest that was smoking outside this place had roaches but I held my tongue again. If the manager doesn't honor a refund for 1 or 2 nights I will be copying and pasting this review on hotels.com,, Travelocity, trip advisor, booking.com, all the sites this place needs to be exposed especially if they are lacking in customer service. If this page will allow I will post pictures too!

I agree with Monica, From the outside and location, you expect it to be a bit sketchy. On the inside, it is a diamond in the rough! The family that operates the hotel was welcoming and if you needed something just ask and it was taken care of immediately. We stayed with them for 2 full weeks and had a great experience. All the regular burger and fast food choices were close by and using an app and they were there fast, even a local Chicken and fish place was amazing! There is a Walmart across the street if you have anything you left at home. They have a little boy about 6 years old who is beyond cute and every time I saw him he would open the door for me and one day they were getting new signage installed out front and he was kind enough to let me know that I want to be careful because of the big trucks when I made a quick Walmart trip, Another time he opened the door and told me to be safe on a rainy day. We had a king room and it had brand new appliances, The fridge was a small version of your home fridge but larger than the standard hotel, we had a cooktop range and microwave with a nice sink to wash up with. The bathroom was new and clean and our King Size bed was brand new, I wouldn't be surprised if we were the 1st guests to have used it. It's a great place to stay, a far better price, and a friendly place if you're staying a while. The parking lot could be bigger but parking can be a pain no matter where you stay. Don't pass it up because of the outside, Go indoors and feel like you're staying with family. The price was VERY reasonable and the rooms are all updated, You won't be disappointed. Oh and we did have a working phone in our room but we didn't need it. We really loved it there and I think if you give it a try you will too! I would go back tomorrow if I could and it is where we'll be staying on our next visit to Virginia.