I'm quite forgiving when it comes to motels as I prefer them. It's so much easier when travelling with animals to be able to park at your door and not have to navigate an elderly dog through lobbies and elevators. Plus I don't have to take my items very far from the car to the room itself, so I prefer this convenience over some amenities. I'm even more forgiving when we decided on our destination last minute and it happens to coincide with a holiday weekend, as I know options will be limited.
However, next time I'm in the area I will definitely stay elsewhere instead. I mean, never say never, as they may renovate or get new owners, but as it stands now from this experience, I don't think we will be back.
First, I was told a King wasn't available to me with a pet (probably carpet only in the available rooms, totally understandable) but that I could have 2 queens. I was fine with this, but those beds were NOT queens. I did notice they had quoted me the same price for a King as 2 queens and this indicates to me that they probably quote most of their rooms the same, so why not be up front that you are getting 2 doubles instead of 2 queens?
The price which included a $10 pet fee and taxes was an even $70 per night, very reasonable when travelling with a pet, some places will charge that much for just a pet fee, but a lot of places are $20 per pet per night.
Second, as far as I can tell, a family runs this motel and the laundry mat it is attached to. The husband seemed nice on several phone calls and always waved when seeing us in the parking lot. The wife however is extremely rude and dismissive. Not only did she raise her voice at me and hang up on me on the phone when I called to ask a question since their website wasn't working, at check in she was on a personal call the entire time. I couldn't tell when she was talking to me or her personal call and she barely made eye contact with me. She also wasn't going to tell me the total until I asked and didn't give me the wifi password or any information except the key and vague directions. She was extremely unpleasant and a big part of the reason I probably won't return. Who wants to pay you to be rude to them?
Third, I am aware that some of the rooms may be in better condition and since this was a pet friendly room, it could have been the last one they had available. This place hasn't been renovated in a good 20 years, cracks in the door, peeling paint, a screw hanging from the ceiling, mismatched furniture, etc but there were also questionable stains and what might have been mildew or mold on the bathroom ceiling and a smoke detector covered in duct tape. The roof had a general look of threatening to cave in and the plumbing was weak. It just had the feel of the most cursory cleaning being done, keep your shoes on.
Again, I acknowledge this just might be their oldest room (room 17) and it's that general look of grime that older things have, but I just don't think so. Honestly, for me the outdated appearance means very little, but safety issues and cleanliness very much DO matter. That's the biggest reason I am unlikely to return unless there is some sort of upgrade.
I will say the location of this place is the biggest selling point and they advertised special rates for truck drivers and I think I saw on Google that some workers had negotiated weekly rates, so I can see that being a draw if you are just in town to work and find the laundromat to be a big plus.
There is a convenience store next door, at one point I saw a food truck there, there is a Sonic next door on the other side and a bakery/gas station two doors down. Across the street (but it is a busy street) is a Mexican restaurant and it's a very short drive to other gas stations and restaurants. It's very convenient in location.
As far as being pet friendly, I had to walk to the other side of the property for a single strip of grass behind one of the buildings semi connected to a storage unit and the convenience store. There was another patch around to the front at the very busy road. Considering my elderly dog is blind, this wasn't the easiest situation we've been in with a motel, but we got a routine going. However, I could see this making some customers feel very unsafe so I do want to mention it. read more