Where to Stay (and Not to Stay) in Meridian, Mississippi

So it is the middle of the night. I am driving down Highway 20/59 on my way to New Orleans with my girlfriend. We've been driving all day, and the trip has already been going on for a couple of days. We're both getting tired and want a place to sleep.

We pass by a town called York. They've got a hotel, a Days Inn. It's been a while since I've travelled but I remember Days Inn being all right hotels for a decent price, so we pull off on the exit and book a room. Big mistake. The room is filthy and unclean, a real pigsty. We're both ok to go on a little farther, and we know the city of Meridian isn't too far away so it makes sense to assume we'll be able to find at least one decent hotel there.

Boy was I in for a surprise. We roll into Meridian, pulling off on the first exit in the city, 154. There's a Super 8 there, so I go in to find out the price. $60 a night. I see across the street there's a Western Hotel that is only $40 a night, so I figure let's go over there.

So we head over there, and the first thing we see are thugs everywhere, walking around, loitering. Now I am not a prejudiced person but when you see a bunch of youngsters hanging around a hotel in the middle of the night looking like they are up to no good, chances are they are probably up to no good.

There's another Day's Inn right next door so I hop over there to check them out. I tell them about the Day's Inn I just left in York, they say yeah they hear that a lot. I ask if I can look at a room just to make sure it is ok. I'm tired and want to sleep so I don't check it out too thoroughly, so I just go ahead and tell my girlfriend to come on up.

And then she starts flipping out. There's blood all over the carpet, old blood, been there for a while. Streaks across the walls, not sure what they were but it looked for all the world like dried up blood. It had obviously been cleaned since, but nothing was getting that blood out. It looked like a gang war had been fought in the hotel room. No way were we going to be staying there.

I am in no mood to be driving anywhere else to try to find a decent room for a decent price, so I decide to go back to the Super 8. Maybe, just maybe they will have a nice room in there. So I go in and talk to the manager (well, the assistant general manager), who is on duty. Nice old man whose name is Jay Upadhyaya. I ask to see a room. He says no need, he keeps a clean hotel. He is obviously proud of himself the way he talks. I tell him that the last hotel I looked at (which was just across the street) had blood everywhere, and I would just like to make sure. So he gives me a key, and the room is nice. Clean. Looks like an actual person could stay there. I thank the manager for having the only decent hotel at a decent price in the area.

If you are driving through Meridian and looking for a place to sleep, the Super 8 is the place for you, at least at Exit 154 on Interstate 20/59. It is located at 124 Highway 11 & 80, Meridian, MS 39301. The area isn't the nicest around, but at least at this hotel you will know that you are going to get a decent room that is clean and taken care of and isn't covered in blood or have thugs and drug dealers hanging around. The manager is a very nice man, very proud of his hotel and rightly so.