GREENWOOD, Ind. — For the first time, we're getting a detailed look inside a Greenwood hotel that was just shut down by the city.
We're also hearing from the owner of the property, as his guests and residents had to clear out so the building can be brought back up to health and safety standards.
Sixteen hours after Greenwood shut down the troubled Red Carpet Inn and Fanta Suites, 13News went room by room with the city, fire marshal and police as they enforced the order to vacate, making sure guests, workers and people who live at the hotel are gone.
A few stragglers, still in their rooms, were told to leave. Most, including families with kids, cleared out quickly, leaving many of their possessions behind.
What we also witnessed inside was part of what caused the hotel's closure in the first place: cockroaches, open electrical sockets, and disabled smoke alarms.
Red Carpet Inn and Fanta Suites
"The battery's disconnected from the smoke detector and there's a propane tank next to the bed, which cannot be in the building," Greenwood Fire Marshal Tracy Rumble said. "The overall goal is just public safety. We want all the kids safe. We want all the parents safe. If there is a fire in the middle of the night, we want them woken up and want them to be able to get out."
Then there's what you don't see: In every hallway and in every room, an overwhelming stench of mold.
13News talked with a guest Tuesday who checked out right before the hotel closed. Austin Skow said he couldn't take staying there another night.
"Smells like mold, first off," Skow said. "I finally get in there and it is just the most disgusting hotel I've ever stayed in, to be honest with you."
When we talked with the hotel's owner, Ahmed Mubarak, he said, "Well, you can't please everybody. It is safe. It is healthy."
Mubarak said he's made fixes and that Greenwood has treated him unfairly during the order to vacate process.
"It needs some maintenance, yes, but we are trying and if anybody goes through the property now, he or she will see that things are coming on spec," Mubarak said. "People here feel safe. No unsanitary or unhealthy conditions, and the ultimate judge of any operation of any hotel stay is the guest, is not the health inspector."
He blamed crime and health violations, documented by police and the health department, on guests he can't control.
"They normally take the smoke detectors, the batteries especially, off so they can smoke. They're not supposed to smoke. When somebody comes in and pays for room and shuts that door, what he or she does in that room is a private thing," Mubarak said.
As for the hotel's future, repairs can be done now with guests gone. A hearing where Mubarak can share a renovation timeline is set for mid-November.
"First things first, getting to work on solving the issues," said Greenwood Building Commissioner Kenneth Seal. "It's going to be difficult. It's not going to be easy, but we'll be there along the way to make sure that everything is 100%."
"This is what it's about," Rumble added. "It is public safety. And right now? It's not safe."