HORRID!!! Absolutely never again!! If you are a female or have children you need to read this before booking!
Let me start off by saying.. i am not the hotel reviewing type.. and I am certainly not a complainer or one that goes into nit picking the details of hotels.. so for me to be doing this you know there are some SERIOUS issues. 
If you are a female or a family with children DO NOT STAY HERE... as this hotel is full of drug trafficing and prostitutes.. That is not an assumption based on the physical apperance of people outside the hotel.. That is a confirmation and here is why.. 1st off i just watched off my balcony several suspect cars strolling with their lights off very slowly through out the hotel parking lot.. I guess I have already figured out how it runs.. When the man sees the prostitute hes supposed to meet he blinks his car lights at them and they jump in and go park out back of this hotel... or go into a room here.. One man (obviously homosexual) already approached me asking how to get to a specific room without having to go through the main lobby...(suspicious activity number 19) The hallways and rooms reeeeek of pot and someone burning inscense.. which gave me an immediate headache. There are very loud parties going on in alot of the rooms.. There are also alot of loiters hanging around the side parking lots and out back....and there are alot of young people that are living out of this hotel... I was scared to go anywhere back there because I could already feel them stalking me with their eyes... my every move.. And that my friends.. is just the ATMOSPHERE OF THE HOTEL.. .. 
As for the hotel itself.. I'll say this.. I was in Charlotte for a trip to carowinds and was exhausted.. decided last minute to get online and book a room on hotels.com. This hotel was listed on there as "Days Inn Woodlawn/Near Carowinds Charlotte" LIE #1... This days inn is not near carowinds.. infact carowinds's hotel district is actually considered to be in PINEVILLE, NC... not Charlotte.. even though the 2 are very close together. There are probably 20 hotels that are actually near Carowinds.. and ofcourse this is not one of them.. it is about 15 minutes out.. you have to get back onto highway 77 and make your way into... (excuse my language) the ghetto. 
Hotels.com also listed 5 or 6 pictures of the hotel and the interior of the rooms and they looked super sleek and nice.. actually compared to some of the other hotels I was looking at that were also near carowinds the pics of this days inn were pretty awesome.. especially of the rooms.. and there were 2 rooms left only ...available at a "slashed" price of about $70.. I'm sorry people.. but $70 is alot of money to a college student living paycheck to paycheck. I wanted to treat myself to some good sleep and decided to splurge a little.. After reading carefully everything on hotels.com and browsing the pics. everything looked great. I booked a single King size smoking room.. Arrived at the hotel... the outside photo was about the only photo that had any resemblence to the hotels.com photos... When walking through the hall to get to our room.. the smell went in stages... sewage.... then smoke.. then pot.... then insense... got to our room... loud loud loud partying going on in the room right across the hall from us... opened the door to our room and was baffled at how horribly outdated and dirty it looked... everything was broken.. the microwave.. the lights... the nightstand drawers.. the mirror... the lock to the outside sliding glass door... and the a/c.. black stuff on the sheets.. have no idea what it was.. the tv was one of the older box tvs.. the overwhelming smell of insense was even worse in the room.. IMMEDIATE HEADACHE... it was unbearable. And here is the kicker.. opened the desk drawer only to find drug paraphanalia and burns all inside the drawer... as if hot pipes and ciggerttes were left burning there.. there were old hotel key cards with residue on them of some sorts.. obviously used to "cut out lines" of God only knows what... I wasn't in the room for 5 minutes before calling hotels.com to not only tell them about the shape of the room but that I was scared for my life.. the lady put me on hold as she called the hotel manager and then returned on the line to tell me that the hotel manager wanted me to come back up to the front desk to discuss my options... 
When I arrived back at the front desk I explained to the young man everything wrong in our room.. not to mention the very suspect gangsta like individuals hanging outside my room both in the hallways and outside... his suggestion was to move rooms.. to another room but this one on the second floor and closer to the lobby.. he said his manager said that they DO NOT GIVE REFUNDS for any reason.. not wanting to lose my money.. as i just dont have any to lose... I agreed to go look at the other room.. went upstairs (no elevators) and walked in the new room.. I have to say it was much better. I didn't hear any loud noises near us..and their were no funky smells at all.. no smoke... no drugs.. and thank god.. no insense.. and this room was def in better shape and even way more modern.. a plasma tv... a nicer/newer bedroom suite... cleaner bathroom.. (this time no random hairs on toilet which I forgot to mention before)... Felt a little safer that no one could just break the glass door down and come through that way.... the a/c unit in this room was also new and digital as opposed to the one we just came from where it was definitely ancient and still on an old school dial knob with two settings.. hot or cold.. once I got situated in the new room i went online to read some of the reviews for this hotel.. which I most certainly should have done before booking if I hadnt been in such a hurry. The horror stories I have been reading have only added fuel to the fire... if I wasn't so tired right now I would probably suck it up and drive the 2 hours back home.. but Im going to tough it out only wishing I had a fully loaded gun.. (which I did read in previous reviews that people have been taking with them to this hotel for safety) 
I can definitely see the discrepency in the reviews... some poeple saying they got a "nice clean room" and some saying theres were a nightmare and disgusting! It seems that there are more updated rooms on the second floor of this hotel especially the ones closer to the lobby.. 
I would not suggest this hotel to my worst enemy.. and thats saying alot... lol.. This place is in a nightmare location... But if you have to.. and I stress the words.. HAVE TO... then ask for a room on the second floor.. non smoking... near the lobby.. maybe you'll get lucky.. 
There are several hotels for around the same price that you can get right in front of carowinds.. just do your research and don't be as dumb as me... READ THE REVIEWS FIRST.. 
Sincerely..., 
Say a prayer for me please that I make it till morning!
I'm sorry this review is so long.. but Im just thinking along the lines of... if someone would have given me these details.. it would have saved me a trip to "the hotel from hell"... aka