A Florida couple searching for a home in the metro area says they alerted a health department after experiencing a number of issues at the Americas Best Value Inn off Blue Ridge Boulevard.
Tony Osborne and his wife, Elizabeth, said their Cocoa Beach home suffered extensive damage during Hurricane Matthew this fall.
At 10pm on @41actionnews: FL couple complains of "unsanitary" conditions at metro hotel pic.twitter.com/lijAZY2iXP
— Tom Dempsey (@KCTomDempsey) November 22, 2016
With many friends near the metro area, the two headed to Missouri to try and find a new home.
"It's the first time we haven't had a place to call home in a long time," Osborne explained.
Last Friday, Osborne and his wife checked into the metro hotel.
Moments after walking into their room, Osborne said they found a number of issues.
"The first things we noticed were the stains and the dirt," said Osborne, while showing 41 Action News through the room. "We weren't here 15 minutes Friday when we saw all this stuff."
Osborne pointed out loose nails on the floor leading to the bathroom, which he said hurt his wife as she walked around inside.
FL man shows @41actionnews issues inside room at Americas Best Value Inn off Blue Ridge Blvd in @KCMO pic.twitter.com/4B1QqkAWW3
— Tom Dempsey (@KCTomDempsey) November 22, 2016
The bathroom itself had a number of issues, including black mold visible on the walls.
"It's really filthy, the moldy spots in the bathroom," Osborne said, pointing out chipped paint and blackened parts in the bathroom. "(The black mold) is like real visible to where you can see the fuzziness of it."
The issues continued onto the sink just outside the bathroom.
Osborne said unknown material would often float up the drain, and dried blood could be seen on the side of the sink.
A sink inside a room at Americas Best Value Inn.
Walls of the hotel room also contained at least one small burn hole and plenty of visible scratches.
Electrical outlets were seen missing covers, which Osborne said posed an obvious danger to young children staying there.
"It's dangerous for anyone to live here," he explained. "I feel sorry if anyone comes here with kids."
Osborne told 41 Action News he paid close to $300 to stay at the inn for a week.
However, after asking for a refund following the issues in his room, staff declined to help him.
"They were basically yelling, 'Oh, we don't give refunds,'" he said. "When you go to a hotel, you expect the room to be in working order without the black mold and health risks."
After going to the front desk, 41 Action News was told to call the hotel manager, who was said to be at a "family gathering" on Monday evening.
A call to the number listed on his business card connected back to the front desk.
"I doubt they talked to management," explained staff member Sonja Harness, when asked about Osborne's complaints. "Our manager is really hard to talk to. We barely see him."
The Americas Best Value Inn on Blue Ridge Boulevard has a two-star rating on travel site TripAdvisor, with many customers leaving bad reviews.
Of 53 reviews listed at the site, 35 customers describe the hotel as "terrible".
As of Monday night, a call to hotel manager Ash Patel has not been returned.
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Tom Dempsey can be reached at Tom.Dempsey@KSHB.com.
