Name: Red Roof Inn Knoxville North - Merchants Drive
Address: 5334 Central Ave Pike, Inskip, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America, Knoxville, Knox County, US
Price range: $67–$210 per night
Rating: 7.62

What guests think

At Red Roof Inn Knoxville North - Merchants Drive, reviews describe a budget stay with mixed experiences: many note good prices and basic comfort, while others report serious cleanliness issues, dated rooms, and inconsistent service and policies, including deposits.

Location is convenient to the highway and UTK, though several guests felt the surrounding area looked run down or sketchy. Breakfast is very limited, often just waffles, cereal, and coffee, with frequent comments about missing juice or fruit. Amenities are basic; there is an outdoor pool with mixed upkeep and occasional Wi-Fi problems. Expect a simple, budget stay if price matters most.

Facilities

Cleanliness

Rooms

Service

Location

Dining

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Facilities

Amenities are basic. The property has an outdoor pool, described as clean by some and neglected or with broken chairs by others; Wi-Fi reliability is inconsistent.

Related guest reviews

8

Gary

Aug 18, 2024

·

Stayed 5 nights

Very clean. Nice pool! Very bright and safe. Staff very helpful! Would stay there again

2

Amana

Aug 5, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

My bed did not have blankets and the pool chairs were broken. Was woken up by a dog barking in one of the rooms for hours.

10

Mya

Jun 17, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

This place is spotless and very well updated and kept. The exterior is well cared for. Pool crystal clear. Quiet. Comfortable beds. A fantastic place especially for the price. Note- the pool closes earlier than you might expect. 8pm

6

ANA

Apr 28, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The room was clean but there was no light in the bathroom vanity, and there were only two towels in a room for 4 people. Breakfast was very poor, there were only waffles and bread, no juice, no fruit, not even water to drink. Although I did not swim in the pool, it looked neglected.

8

Frank

Sep 13, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Staff were friendly and helpful. I needed a ground floor and got one. It was close to the highway. Hotel was clean looking on the outside. Pool was open but didn't use it.Looked maintained and clean looking

4

Ronald

Sep 4, 2025

·

Stayed 15 nights

Honestey had great service the wifi didnt work till my last 2 days and just people staying there were crack heads

4

Nathaniel

Jun 24, 2023

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Stayed 1 night

It takes a lot to phase me, but oof... Crazy unprofessional check-in. WiFi not working when I needed it for work and was told it was "acting up as usual". Woken up by construction outside of my window. Had to unplug fridge from how loud it was buzzing. The air in the room was bizarrely "clammy" to the point I had trouble sleeping from just how gross it felt. Broken remote makes it difficult to scroll through the fuzzy channels. Sketchy surroundings (do not stay here if you're a solo woman). Just all around "ugh" experience. Stayed at another Red Roof Inn on the west side of Knoxville last weekend and it was a far better experience by every measure.

8

Deborah

Jul 22, 2025

·

Stayed 5 nights

Rooms need a little work.They charge 15.00 dollars a piece for my family to go in the pool.

8

John

Oct 30, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

It was a clean hotel with friendly service. Perfect for a night or two for the traveler. It seems to cater to the trade workers, so I don’t know if it’s perfect for a family doing the tourist thing, but it does have a pool, so to each there own.

10

Kelly

Sep 24, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

4.5 stars out 5 rating bc the property was great exception of few minor details. Towels were thin and only 2 per room, blankets on the bed were thin as sheets, ac worked great but was a little loud. But if you are just resting your head for a quick place to sleep, then for the price this is a great place to stay. The pool was exceptional.Front staff was very friendly and quick service.

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Cleanliness

Feedback is highly mixed. Many reports cite dirty rooms, odors, pests (including roaches or bedbugs), and stained linens, while others found rooms very clean.

Related guest reviews

8

Ronnie

May 10, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Clean and quiet.

2

Lisa

Mar 24, 2024

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Stayed 1 night

When we arrived we were assigned to a room that smelled terrible, had a stained bedspread and extremely dirty and torn sheets, along with long strands of hair in the bathtub. It had clearly not been cleaned and just had the bed made up. I tried to call the front desk, but the phone did not work. When I went to front desk there was a gentleman headed there for the same reason and he spoke with me on the parking lot about how dirty his room was. I was transferred to another room that had no working lights in the bathroom and the security lock was broken off the door. It was already late so I just stayed awake most of the night and left the next morning - due to no lighting I didn’t even shower before I left. The staff person I originally spoke with to change rooms, seemed to care and was very nice. The staff person at the desk when I left, acted like she didn’t want to be bothered to even check me out. So the 4 rating of staff was only due to the first employee.

2

Caleb

May 3, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Full of roaches. Staff wouldn’t give us our money back when we left at 11PM and drove 2 hours back home so we wouldn’t have to stay in this terrible motel. Please don’t stay here.

10

Tom

May 7, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Clean. Easy access from freeway. Food close by.

10

Naomi

May 30, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

It was a very clean and comfortable hotel/room

2

Fredys

Jan 12, 2023

·

Stayed 19,364 nights

It was so dirty, with hair over the towel, the floor, the bathroom. It was hard to open the microwave door. The coffee machine wasn't working. In front of my room there were a lot of cigarettes on the floor and it didn't smell good.

2

Derrick

Jul 29, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The room was filthy…. Ceiling falling in and on the bed, pillow had what looked like a booger on it. There was feces in the toilet. There was blood on the bathroom door. There were missing tiles with mold. There were holes in the wall. Lights out in the bathroom. Showed pics to the front desk and all she asked was if I wanted another room. Denied me a refund. I will blast this to everyone I know and every platform I can.

6

Jan

Oct 5, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

This place was priced right. But it needs an extensive renovation. It wasnt clean.

2

James

May 12, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Stains on the bed shower curtains. Roaches

10

John

Sep 7, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

The room was beautiful and extremely clean. Nice job on the update.

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Rooms

Room quality varies from recently updated to very worn. Guests mention firm beds and flat pillows, thin walls and outside noise, strong water pressure, and recurring maintenance issues like broken fixtures and loud bathroom fans.

Related guest reviews

8

Stephanie

Jan 28, 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

We were in town for the East TN Fishing Show at the Knoxville Expo Center. Our room was clean. The staff was super friendly. The showers were amazing. Great water pressure, unlike most hotels. The only negative thing I can say is the beds are hard as rocks. Other than that the hotel was great.

4

Tyler

Jul 30, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Dead roaches on the floor between the beds (see attached photo). The TV in the room wouldn’t connect to cable. So useless. You could see daylight around the door when closed. The AC was surprisingly effective. And the water pressure/temperature was good. For the price, I would not stay here again and would not recommend.

8

Chelsea

Jan 15, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

It's a 2 star hotel, but it was clean and staff was friendly. I read reviews that mentioned roaches. I never saw any. I do worry about the $100 damage deposit because the floor around the in room refrigerator in room 119 was scratched up and there were 2 set in rusty colored stains on the interior shower curtain, plus one light bulb didnt work initially but the lamp was not plugged in properly. Previous reviews on google suggest that the hotel tries to keep your damage deposit, but we took care leaving no damages, tears or stains behind than what was already there. You have to ask for extra towels - only 2 in the room. Pillows were not fluffy, kinda flat, bed was harder than what I like but that is a me problem not them as it was probably an average mattress for most. Water pressure and heat was awesome. Other reviews were correct about that. Noise wise, it is close to a fire department and if they go by...yes you will know it. We heard the sirens the first night. It is close to a lot of food options which is a plus. It was close to downtown without the pricing of downtown hotels. It is dog friendly which was great since i was in town for a dog show. If you're expecting more than a 2 star hotel, you will be disappointed but if you need a budget friendly place, I would recommend this hotel.

6

Cynthia

Oct 11, 2023

·

Stayed 3 nights

Check-in was quick & easy. The heat/ac, fridge & microwave worked. That was the best of anything. Beds were hard & lumpy, pillows flat. Electrical outlet by the sink didn't work. TV remote was broken but they did replace that. Ice machine didn't work. Breakfast was sub-par. Sausage but no eggs, warm milk, thick orange juice. If the trip had been a one nite stay, it would have been tolerable; staying a week was a bad choice.

8

Gregory

May 3, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

The showers were surprisingly hot with good pressure. Nothing worse than a cold shower.

8

Roxanne

May 24, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Friendly people great location, beds are a little firm. Overall nice stay.

6

Olivia

May 29, 2025

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Stayed 1 night

Walls were paper thin. We could hear every word of the neighbors conversation. The couch was faux leather and the exterior was peeling off. Pillows were flat with no support. Between the uncomfortable bed and noise with the hotel, there was no rest.

6

Teri

Apr 5, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

It was over priced for this room! The bedspreads were full of cigarette burn holes. The fan in the bath room was obnoxiously noisy and you couldn't turn on the light without the fan. Just not worth what I paid. I should have kept my original reservation with the Baymont.

4

Angela

Jan 7, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Nice and clean but Hotels.com made check in difficult because they had my name wrong. The beds and pillows were like rocks. Didn’t sleep well. The lady at check in was FABULOUS, very nice.

8

Valeri

Apr 12, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

We were pleasantly surprised with how clean the room appeared, especially liked the hardwood floors as ya never know what carpets are hiding! Beyond this, my only complaints would be the extremely THIN comforters and the sketchy looking tub, as if I were the owner would sand down & reglaze all those that looked dirty, dinge or chipped. Other than that, the staff was friendly and helpful, thanks!

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Service

Service ranges from friendly and helpful to unprofessional. Common complaints include strict or poorly communicated $100 deposits/refunds, check-in through a window at times, reservation or key issues, and one reported security breach.

Related guest reviews

6

Scott A

Jun 9, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Beware of this Red Roof Inns Incidentals deposit practice which will tie up your money for at least a week or two. While most Hotels.com hotels respect the organization to forego incidentals deposit authorizations, those that do ‘scan-a-card’ only pre-authorize a charge that releases in a day or two. This Red Roof Inn actually charges your card and processes it. Then when you find it and complain ( days later) they claim to issue a refund when confronted. This is a very bad business practice.

10

Kathleen

May 18, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Booked for graduation weekend. Exactly what we needed. Nicki at the front desk was great and very helpful. Would definitely stay here again.

2

Amanda

May 16, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Ridiculous. Charge a $100 deposit and the room must be inspected?? Stay ended 5 days ago and we still have not got the deposit back. Stupid,stupid,stupid. Customer service was rude and the hotel staff was rude when inquiring.

6

Jay

Mar 22, 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

We had difficulty with their payment policy. Wanted to put part on one card and the deposit on another. They would t take it. We had to find a bank and get cash and we paid all cash. It was late, we were tired, it was a pain that we overcame. The room was fairly clean, though the tile in the bath had a lot to be desired. The fan in the bath sounded like a diesel truck idling when it ran. The staff was nice and patient. Just be careful.

8

Jack Mitchell

Oct 11, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Staff were friendly.

8

Konny

Jun 2, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Great staff

2

William

Mar 24, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

I recently stayed at this hotel on March 20th in Room 230, and I had an alarming experience that I cannot overlook. During my stay, hotel staff gave a key to my room to an unverified visitor without my permission or any form of identification. Not only did they provide a key, but they also disclosed my room number to this person. This is an unacceptable security breach that put my safety and privacy at risk. At no point did the staff call my room to confirm whether I had authorized this individual to enter. It is shocking that a hotel would be so careless with guest security. To make matters worse, after bringing this issue to their attention, the hotel refused to refund my deposit—despite their clear negligence. This level of irresponsibility and lack of accountability is disgraceful for any hospitality business. If you value your safety and privacy, stay somewhere else. This hotel clearly does not prioritize guest security, and their unprofessionalism is unacceptable I recently stayed at this hotel on March 20th in Room 230, and I had an alarming experience that I cannot overlook. During my stay, hotel staff gave a key to my room to an unverified visitor without my permission or any form of identification. Not only did they provide a key, but they also disclosed my room number to this person. This is an unacceptable security breach that put my safety and privacy at risk. At no point did the staff call my room to confirm whether I had authorized this individual to enter.

4

Eric

Nov 2, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The picture on the wall had paint on the frame. The pillows were uncomfortable. I asked the desk clerk for more pillows and none were brought to our room. We had to get our room keys reactivated three times.

4

Olga

Jan 26, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Honestly, i have a very mixed feelings about this hotel. I do travel a lot and stayed at different hotels, but this one was different. First of all i could not check in in a lobby, it wasn't late at all maybe 5 min before 9. Second of all had to talk through small window with no microphone, third of all had to pay $100 secure refundable deposit wich i wasn't aware of. Room was ok , but towel and sheet had pubic hair on it (very disgusting) Please don't relay on breakfast, it looked more like breakfast for homeless (shelter like) Before i checked out , front desk person had to go physically and check our room before releasing our deposit. Will i stay again here? NEVER!!! As i said it was very weird stay.

2

Katrina

Oct 17, 2025

·

Stayed 6 nights

Reserved room online, pre-paid for entire stay. Called ahead of time bc we were gonna be past the check in time and let them know when we was going to be there. They said it was no problem and said they left a note. Got there to check in, they had no available rooms even though we prepaid. Had to give us a king size one bed room when we reserved 2 queen beds. Staff was very rude about it as well and not at all apologetic. Will not be staying here again.

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Location

Convenient just off the highway with dining nearby and reasonable access to UTK. Several guests described the area as dated or sketchy.

Related guest reviews

10

Joseph

Apr 30, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Clean place & convenient from freeway & nice to have restaurant right next door.

8

James

Jan 16, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

None red roof cause but at 0630 on Sunday morning two people were cleaning and blowing the parking lot next door at Applebees. Very loud snd disturbing!!!! Otherwise room was comfortable.

8

Arlene

Oct 31, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Convenient location just off the highway. Friendly Sevice.

10

Tom

May 7, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Clean. Easy access from freeway. Food close by.

10

Laurie

Oct 22, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

For the price this is a good option. It is clean and the rooms have LVF, which is much nicer than carpet. The area feels safe and it’s a quick ride to UTK. When you only need the hotel to sleep and don’t care about the amenities this is a good choice.

8

Roxanne

May 24, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Friendly people great location, beds are a little firm. Overall nice stay.

8

Arnold

Jul 22, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

It was a one night stay as we traveled through. The fact that they accept pets is HUGE with us. Room was clean and comfortable. A great value for the price paid. Would definitely stay again and definitely would recommend. It is a sketchy area, but this place was good to go.

8

Michele

Jun 8, 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Was ok for pet friendly. Remodeled older motel. Lots of cut corners. This area of Knoxville is very dated and run down.

8

Frank

Sep 13, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Staff were friendly and helpful. I needed a ground floor and got one. It was close to the highway. Hotel was clean looking on the outside. Pool was open but didn't use it.Looked maintained and clean looking

10

Melissa

Oct 15, 2023

·

Stayed 2 nights

Good location to the strip for game day

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Dining

Breakfast is minimal and inconsistent, typically limited to waffles, cereal, coffee, and muffins with frequent mentions of no juice or fruit. One review noted hot items on a visit, but this was not common.

Related guest reviews

6

Karen

Mar 23, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Floor dirty so wear socks until bedtime. Pressure in shower nonexistent so showered under a dribble but a little later husband had normal shower pressure. Don't get excited about breakfast, it's just white toast, blueberry mini muffin, 3 types of cold cereal, waffles with syrup. No butter for the toast or waffles. No juice or fresh fruit.

6

Theresa

Oct 2, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

The rooms was clean. Bed was comfortable. There were bugs crawling from under the bed. Spiders dropped down on me in the bathroom. When we went to lobby 15 minutes early for breakfast the door was locked and we were not allowed in for even coffee.

4

Reiner

Mar 30, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

The price was good. The room was clean. The blow dryer didn't work the coffee maker didn't work. The only drink option at breakfast was coffee--no cold water or juice. No bread. Staff unfriendly/unhelpful. The waffle batter dispenser exploded all over my daughter. No one apologized.

6

Cynthia

Oct 11, 2023

·

Stayed 3 nights

Check-in was quick & easy. The heat/ac, fridge & microwave worked. That was the best of anything. Beds were hard & lumpy, pillows flat. Electrical outlet by the sink didn't work. TV remote was broken but they did replace that. Ice machine didn't work. Breakfast was sub-par. Sausage but no eggs, warm milk, thick orange juice. If the trip had been a one nite stay, it would have been tolerable; staying a week was a bad choice.

4

Pierrette

Apr 20, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

What a joke noisy breakfast no bread no yogourt no fruits

4

Russell

Dec 5, 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

It's a budget motel (i.e. primarily for comfortable sleep and bathing) so this review is about cleanliness, safety, hospitality and since breakfast was offered...breakfast. -Cleanliness The check-in area was tidy. We reserved 2 rooms and both had a red dirty film on the floors (click flooring which can be tricky to mop) which I'm guessing is from trying to clean up after muddy boots since there were red clumps of dirt outside. The sheets and linens (after thorough inspection) were clean but thread barren. Black mold was starting above the shower in one room. Safety The surrounding area was run down but I didn't feel like I was imminent danger of being mugged. Hospitality Staff was average in this department. The morning desk person who was handling breakfast was definitely not energetic but no one was rude. Breakfast Even for a budget place this breakfast below average (3 out of 5 for me is cereal, oats, waffle maker, juice, coffee, tea). 2 types of cereal from tower dispensers and that was it. If I was to stay in this area again, it would not be here.

2

William

Jun 2, 2023

·

Stayed 1 night

Room smelled and bugs were in the room. Also the breakfast wasn’t good.

8

Cara

Nov 13, 2023

·

Stayed 3 nights

This hotel was inexpensive but my room was very clean. It was quiet and the air conditioning worked great. They had a hot breakfast with eggs, sausage and waffles. An Applebees was practically in their parking lot. Only negative was the overall area looked run down and there was a homeless person in the parking lot - I would make sure to bring all valuables inside which is common sense to most people. Someone staying there did have a classic car on a trailer and I thought they were brave to do so. But this hotel it totally worth their very affordable price.

6

ANA

Apr 28, 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The room was clean but there was no light in the bathroom vanity, and there were only two towels in a room for 4 people. Breakfast was very poor, there were only waffles and bread, no juice, no fruit, not even water to drink. Although I did not swim in the pool, it looked neglected.

6

Doug

May 15, 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

This is an average older Red Roof Inn. It's definitely showing signs of age, however, it was clean. The shower was hot, the AC worked fine along with the TV. The breakfast was nothing to write home about. A waffle iron and cold cereal. There was hot coffee, milk and juice along with muffins. That's it. Would I stay there again? For the price, probably. It's a 2 star and that's about it.

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Month	Average price
January	$61
February	$54
March	$62
April	$59
May	$76
June	$63
July	$61
August	$63
September	$73
October	$69
November	$72
December	$64

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18 $117	19 $107
20 $69	21 $69	22 $69	23 $69	24 $69	25 $168	26 $168
27 $69	28 $69	29 $69	30 $69

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
				1 $72	2 $128	3 $128
4 $69	5 $69	6 $69	7 $71	8 $69	9 $67	10 $67
11 $69	12 $69	13 $69	14 $69	15 $69	16 $210	17 $203
18 $69	19 $69	20 $69	21 $68	22 $69	23 $68	24 $68
25 $69	26 $71	27 $69	28 $69	29 $69	30 $68	31 $68

Red Roof Inn Knoxville North - Merchants Drive

Prices for Red Roof Inn Knoxville North - Merchants Drive

Monthly average prices

About this property

Location

Room options

Superior Room, 1 King Bed (Sofa)

Superior Room, 2 Double Beds

Superior Room, 1 King Bed

Superior Room, 2 Queen Beds

Superior Room, 2 Double Beds, Accessible

Guest reviews of Red Roof Inn Knoxville North - Merchants Drive

Who stays here?

What guests think

Property Policies

Check-in instructions

Security deposit

Good to know

Optional extras

FAQs about Red Roof Inn Knoxville North - Merchants Drive

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