Let me just say that overall we were very pleased with this motel and would probably return.
Since we were making it further on our road trip than originally expected, I was googling hotels/prices along our route. La Mesa had a great rating, but no prices listed, so I switched to yelp to get an idea. The reviews were great and listed reasonable prices so I called the hotel to verify the price and check on vacancies. There was no answer so I left a message.
Several hours later, we arrived in Santa Rosa and tried to call again, still got the voice mail. We pulled in and saw a sign on the door instructing people to call a number for service. Taking this to mean it is a family run business and maybe they were cleaning rooms, I called the number.
I was surprised and left unsure when the owner told me he was in Albuquerque at the moment and would call his daughter to come. This seemed... strange. He called back and said she was 2 minutes out, okay great.
He told me all the rooms are non smoking, rooms with one queen bed are $49.50 ($55.40 with tax) and a king bed is $10 more. This sounded quite reasonable and while on the phone I told him another person had pulled up. That person ended up being a lost customer as he felt that was no way to run a business and left. I can't disagree with that assessment but after talking to the daughter for a while, I'm fairly certain that this is not the norm for this business.
I think the owners had business to take care of and don't normally leave their business unattended. Also, their daughter came to man the office at 4pm and I suppose that is a more common time for most check ins. This still left me feeling like the whole thing was odd, especially since this particular street had 8 other motels on it. Until I come again to really see if this is the norm or not, that takes away a star for me. I don't think anyone should have to work that hard to get service, so at this point, it's a 4 star experience.
Upon entering the room, it was larger than I was expecting for the price! This place is downright cheap, there was plenty of room to move around the bed and table, the only tight space was the bathroom, which is not unusual for a motel. The bed was very comfortable and the mattress was firm and pillows were cushy, which was exactly what we needed after being cooped up in the car all day.
I was also really impressed with the fridge size! The freezer section was large enough for us to put our ice packs in and some of our frozen food from the coolers, that was great! Most motel fridges are smaller. The room was SO clean!! The showers were literally sparkling!! I couldn't believe how clean it was! It's also convenient to getting back on the road- at this point 4.9 stars!
Unfortunately, the ice machine is in the laundry room so we had to be let in to get ice for our coolers. This wasn't a huge inconvenience since we were able to get in before the daughter left again, but it made me feel like I was putting them out. There was also no soda machine, so you have to get in your vehicle to get to a restaurant or gas station. Not a huge deal, it's just that most places have vending machines for those of us wanting to avoid the car for a few hours. I did appreciate that there were menus for all the nearby restaurants in the bedside table drawer- that was cool!
There were no phones in the room, so when I emerged from a nap after 10pm and realized I needed more coffee packets, I went to the office to see it was closed. The sign was still on the door, but with it nearing 11pm, I felt too guilty to call for service, the thought made me really uncomfortable.
Water temperature and water pressure is really important to me for any motel room. This one had extremely good water pressure which was a huge plus. Unfortunately I couldn't get it warm after messing with it for about 7 minutes. This annoyed me to no end as I hate having cold showers. I took a lukewarm shower and right as I was finishing it, the water got hot. This was a relief to know that if I return, it WILL eventually get hot. I'm guessing there is just a longer recovery time since they have 17 rooms, but it was close to midnight so I wonder just how long it takes.
This motel is a good value and definitely worth a return visit. Now that I have tried it once, I would make a reservation for next year and see if it's more convenient that way. Since there wasn't someone easily available for the normal questions or needs (getting ice without help, soda machine, getting more coffee without feeling like a bother) I would say it was a 4.25 star experience which is actually far beyond the experience of many motels and I think a solid place. We don't generally need that much extra help, but some people want a lot of service and should know that's a little different with a family run place.
I will return and update the rating at that time, but still feel comfortable recommending this as a great price for a great room! read more