A motel in Myrtle Beach, SC known to travelers to be “disgusting” and “very mean” has allegedly allowed customers and employees to sell drugs and prostitute themselves for several years, according to court documents filed over early this week.
Coral Sands Motel in Horry County is being pursued by law enforcement after an investigation, Myrtle Beach Sun News reported on Saturday.
The investigation, which began in 2018 by Myrtle Beach Police, found that motel management and security employees frequently bought drugs from customers and provided cheaper rooms for people selling illegal substances or providing sexual services. The lawsuit also alleged that the management accepted bribes in exchange for permission to sell drugs and even reserved a room for both drug use and prostitution.
Horry County District Attorney Jimmy Richardson is now asking that the Ocean Boulevard facility be temporarily closed for at least a year on Sun News reported.
According to the lawsuit, Myrtle Beach police and town officials had already met with motel owner Harkishin Bhambhani and management to address “dilapidated conditions and his numerous calls for service.”
However, the lawsuit said that despite these meetings, “Coral Sands’ nuisance activity has remained unchanged,” according to the Sun News. Additional court documents say the motel received a public nuisance notice on June 7 and did not respond within the 10-day timeframe, the outlet reported.
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Additionally, customer reviews on several travel websites showed the motel to be known to be riddled with cockroaches and dirty rooms. The Coral Sands Motel has often only received one star, with many noting that the motel felt unsafe, dirty, and full of pests.
Others said the motel had bed bugs and did not appear to be up to code.
“This is the most disgusting place I have been to. The hotel was dirty, bugs everywhere and not up to par. The room was dirty. Butts left on the widow’s seal, the bathroom was disgusting , bugs EVERYWHERE – when you turned on the lights at night, cockroaches started to run all over the place.The roof was collapsing in several places in the bathroom, the trash can smelled like it had never been cleaned and after slept in bed, I woke up itchy and covered in little bites, “wrote a client last year, according to a review posted on the Better Business Bureau website.
News week attempted to contact Coral Sands Motel for comment.
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