Days Inn, Natchitoches

I had booked rooms back in Aug for the annual Christmas Festival of Lights in this beautiful little town. There was a 2 night minimum required and I had to sign a contract, which was mailed to me. I thought this was a bit strange but figured that because of the festival and the volume of people that would be visiting the small town, this was probably standard practice. I see now why it was required because if you see the hotel first, you would immediately ask for a refund and go elsewhere. The first rooms that we were shown to looked like something found at a truckstop or something you would see in a cheap movie. I asked for a refund that night but the managed told me she would show me to "better" rooms. These rooms were only slightly better than the first and had it not been so late and had I not had my 76 year old mother with me, we would have looked for other lodging. The a/c didn't work (fan only), no hot water, holes in the box springs, stains on the mattress, no clock, no iron/ironing board, dirty toilet, the coffeemaker poured coffee all of the counter, looked as though a dog had chewed the night stand up, old stained bedspread, and musty smelling. I took pictures just in case I had trouble getting a refund. My sisters drove to the nearest grocery store to purchase Lysol spray to freshen the room up. We checked out immediately after one night and asked for a refund but was refused. I was charged $120 per room per night, double the normal rate and then had to go elsewhere to pay for another room on top of this. I have filed a dispute with my credit card company and would not recommend this Days Inn to anyone. Certainly not up to my standards or to the standards that I believe are required by Days Inn Corporation. I've written a comment on the Days Inn Corporate website and will be writing a letter personally to the President of Days Inn Corporation.