Yes, my 4-star hotel had bed bugs

I was in town for work, and the company booked me at a so-called 4-star hotel — clean lobby, fancy lighting, overpriced room service, the whole deal. Looked great at first. I dropped my bag on the bed, kicked off my shoes, and didn’t think twice about it.

That first night, I woke up scratching my arm. Just three itchy little bumps, lined up neatly like dots on a graph. I figured it was a random skin reaction and went back to sleep.

The second night, though? I caught one in the act. I turned over and there it was — a flat, reddish-brown bug crawling across my pillow. I crushed it with a tissue and sat there for a second, stunned and disgusted, and then I started ripping the bed apart.

That’s when I saw them. Tiny black dots along the seams of the mattress. More bugs under the edge of the fitted sheet. I felt sick. All I could think about was how close my suitcase had been to this mess.

Do Hotel’s Care?

They offered me another room like that would fix it. Said they’d comp one night and have housekeeping “take a look,” which I’m sure meant someone glanced at the bed and sprayed air freshener before flipping the pillow.

I spent the rest of my trip paranoid, packed all my clothes into trash bags, and the second I got home I heat-treated everything — clothes, shoes, backpack, even my charger cords. I was lucky. Nothing came back with me. But I didn’t sleep right for a week.

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My new hotel routine

Every hotel, every time. I lift the sheets, check the seams, scan the corners of the mattress and look behind the headboard if I can. I don’t care if it looks spotless — I don’t trust anything anymore. And if you’re reading this thinking you’re safe because you’re not in some sketchy motel? You’re not.

I look like a mad man for the first ten minutes in my hotel room and you should too.

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