# The Dirtiest Hotel In America **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 7, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967 "2010-09-07T21:30:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/21 "2010-09-08T14:37:11Z")
Oh my god. I just Googled “Hotel Carter Rooms” and now I’m all itchy and anxious. God, how do people sleep there? There’s no way I could do it. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/22 "2010-09-08T15:50:41Z")
It’s fascinating how many of the TripAdvisor reviews mention bloodstains on the mattresses or the box springs. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/23 "2010-09-08T15:59:59Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I’ll take a HoJos over the Bed Bug Inn over there any day, too. Well yes. > [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I’ll take Olive Garden over getting shanked for some rat kabobs by a street vendor any day. This one is a much closer call. Am I allowed to just go hungry instead? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/24 "2010-09-08T16:09:24Z")
See? It really is all about Location, Location, Location! ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/25 "2010-09-08T16:14:41Z")
I’m one of those who’ve had the privilege of staying there, about five years ago. I had arrived in town by myself without hotel reservations, thinking I would just shack up in a hostel. But then I noticed this place, and saw that for $100 I could get a room all to myself, in the middle of Times Square no less. This was of course, before I knew of its reputation. All in all, definitely on the lower end of hotels I’ve spent the night in, but I’ve stayed in worse. Real no frills, ratty carpet, ratty sheets, hard beds, mildewy smell. The thing I remember most about it is that the bathroom in my room had no door, but as I was staying by myself, it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience. If I had gone with my then-girlfriend (now my wife), though, she would have freaked out. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/26 "2010-09-08T16:44:07Z")
My fiancé and I stayed there about three years ago. The only places we could afford to stay were a hostel or the Hotel Carter, and the hostel’s location was much less convenient. We read all the terrible reviews but decided to go for it anyway. All we needed was some place to sleep at night, and in that respect it delivered. The room was tiny, the walls and ceiling were cracked and water-stained, and the bathroom was minimal (did it have a door? I don’t recall), but the linens were clean and we didn’t see any roaches, bedbugs, or defecating homeless men. All in all, it was the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed at, but better than the worst few hostels I’ve been to. Fortunately, the fiancé and I are more liquid than we were then, so we can afford decent hotels now. _phew_ ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/27 "2010-09-08T16:55:46Z")
This review, from TripAdvisor, was just brilliant. > [@](#): > > Sick of staying in those boring, standard, could be anywhere in the world, forgettable hotels. Look no further for something different and a really memorable stay try the hotel carter. You can read all the other reviews about how bad it is etc but it really suppassed all expectations by having no water for the first 36 hours. On a recent stay there we were checked in routinely by the staff as if all was well, they didn’t tell us there was no water. The staff were still checking guests into a hotel with no water until the NY fire department arrived and put a stop to that. The Phol Pot school of tourism trained hotel manager fixed the situation by giving out a bottle of water, “take only one” to every guest that night. Reception, with frequent visits from NYPD, is a real treat, best attraction in NYC. Don’t waste your money elsewhere, get good value at the Carter That’s high comedy there. On par with walking into an open sewer and dying! Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/28 "2010-09-08T17:00:45Z")
Damnit! Reading this thread, and hearing a story on NPR about bedbugs at the same time … I’m itching all over now. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/29 "2010-09-08T18:10:20Z")
What I’m finding strange is that the reviews are so mixed - half of them say this is a good value, nothing wrong with it, just worn out, the other half say this is the most disgusting hotel on earth, with rats and roaches and bedbugs chewing on you all night. Do they have some rooms that are clean, and some that aren’t, do you suppose? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/30 "2010-09-08T18:35:51Z")
Maybe. I wonder if the pests are more likely to be on the lower floors. We were pretty high up, as I recall. Unless people are leaving food out in their rooms, there’s not really any food for the pests. It makes sense to me that they would be found closer to the street where they enter the building and can find plenty of food. At the time, I also got the sense from reading the reviews that it has a lot to do with perspective. At the time, my fiancé and I were used to staying in craptastic hostels and didn’t really give a shit about the condition of the rooms. We read up on the hotel in advance and knew what we were getting into. Now that we’re used to nicer places, I’d be a lot more reluctant to stay there. If I had shown up at the Carter expecting a clean, modern hotel room (as I imagine many American tourists in New York are) I would’ve been complaining about it, too. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/31 "2010-09-09T00:27:18Z")
Well, The Jayhawk has gotta be second then. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/32 "2010-09-09T00:29:44Z")
> [@The\_Weird\_One](#): > > Maybe. I wonder if the pests are more likely to be on the lower floors. We were pretty high up, as I recall. Unless people are leaving food out in their rooms, there’s not really any food for the pests. It makes sense to me that they would be found closer to the street where they enter the building and can find plenty of food. Bed bugs eat people not food. They drink blood. So it wouldn’t matter. The website of the hotel says 700 rooms so that’s a big hotel. Maybe there are sections better than other sections ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/33 "2010-09-09T00:39:48Z")
A couple of years ago I did a [similar thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=468902&highlight=chidope) because I found terrible reviews for a couple of hotels near an upcoming ChiDope. Excerpts from reviews of the Irving Hotel: > [@](#): > > “Absolutely deplorable conditions. Today, while I was sitting in my car at the stoplight at Lamon, I witnessed an old man naked and playing with himself in front of his room window… That place is a stain on an otherwise adorable neighborhood.” > > “…I’m sure all those homeless dudes begging your $ at the 6 corners intersection live here. And according to [www.familywatchdog.us](http://www.familywatchdog.us), rooms 206, 217, 221 and 301 each contain a separate registered sex offender- …” > > “youll get crabs just staying here…” ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/34 "2010-09-09T01:42:48Z")
TripAdvisor rates it 371 out of 424 in NYC. Now I gotta see what is worse. Ah, now I see it is because most of the lower ones don’t have any reviews at all yet. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/35 "2010-09-09T01:50:34Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Supposedly it’s cheap under $100 a night for a hotel in Times Square is dirt cheap, but evidently you get real “dirt” So that’s two strikes against it, then. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/36 "2010-09-09T03:15:55Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > Ah, yes, the lovely Hotel Carter. I remember it as the home of a couple of really unsavoury nightclubs. First, the Saigon Rose. I shudder at the memory. Then as the home of Sally’s, a transvestite/transsexual hangout run by Sally Maggio, who ran Blues, another trans-whaever joint, a few doors down, then renamed it Sally’s, then moved it to the Hotel Carter, which had a much bigger bar. The drag shows were actually a lot of fun. I guess some would think that the pre-op transsexual prostitutes and drugs available there were a lot of fun too. > > Definitely a class act. So am I to conclude from this that, for you, the fact that these particular bars catered to trans people, and the sex workers you mention were transsexual, moved them a few rungs down the “unsavoury” scale for you? How interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/37 "2010-09-09T03:24:01Z")
Eh, I’ve stayed at worse places. The $4-a-night hotel in Morocco with the cockroaches and the pit toilet comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/38 "2010-09-09T03:35:04Z")
If you really want to feel “the pulse of NY” (as one reviewer put it), don’t stay at a Times Square fleabag, sleep on the subway. You’ll meet lots of interesting characters and get to move around a lot. Plus, less chance of bedbugs. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/40 "2010-09-10T03:05:07Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > If you really want to feel “the pulse of NY” (as one reviewer put it), don’t stay at a Times Square fleabag, sleep on the subway. But Petula Clark told me not to… ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2010, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967/41 "2010-09-10T15:58:28Z")
We walked past that hotel when we were in New York… and I was creeped out by it. Can’t imagine staying there… eewww… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dirtiest-hotel-in-america/552967.md?page=1)