Beechwood Hotel

While in between permanent housing, my fiancé and I made the mistake of crashing at one of those residential hotels (the kind of place where some people live, and some stay longer than a couple days). Usually students or seniors stay at places like this, or even business people who can’t afford plush accommodations for extended stays. Some people call these places «efficiency studios» but it’s basically a hotel where you live dorm-​style, and there’s a shared bathroom on every floor. The in-​house manager was a really sweet, friendly woman, but the residents and the state of the place were absolutely disgusting. At least twice a week, I’d find roaches in the bathroom, or in our room. At night you can hear everyone’s TVs on in their rooms way too loud, even though there is a «house rule» about keeping noise down from 10pm to 9am. You smell weed and cigarettes as soon as you walk into the building. And the guy who lives on the ground floor, next to the front entrance, would sneak homeless people in before 6am to use the showers, or wash their laundry. Not very controlled access. Every week someone’s getting in a fight with someone else about something or other, and it’s usually because living spaces are cramped, or people are inconsiderate (or crackheads). Thankfully, my fiancé and I found an apartment and didn’t have to stay long, but I must say it was the worst hotel experience, ever. Even worse than a Motel 6.