My family is in the process of moving across the country [from Northern California to Tennessee]. After a really long day, we stopped to eat and find a motel. My sons were driving the pickup, my wife was driving the van with my two daughters, our dog and our cat, and I was driving the 26' U-Haul towing a Toyota. We were quite the entourage.
We saw the Motel 6 sign a large "FREE WI-FI" sign, but we were reluctant because we initially thought it was abandoned. I drove the truck around and parked next to a couple semi's that were in a pot-hole-ridden dirt lot off the freeway. Motel 6 -- usually a reliable, consistently average place to stay for a large family -- rarely disappoints. In this instance, I was disappointed.
To begin with, we needed two rooms because [obviously] putting 6 people in a room with two animals is a bit much. Although there were very few cars in the parking lot (we're talking 4 or 5 for the whole motel and a few big rigs) we got two rooms that were separated by several other rooms, which meant crossing through groups of people congregating on the walkway with BBQ grills, beer bottles and the aroma of marijuana. I did this trip with my daughter twice as we tried to get ice from the ice machine [which had an oddly "salty" taste] -- even when I poured bottled water over it.
I did get to watch a man be pulled over, searched, handcuffed, and hauled off to jail. (The motel is right on the West-bound freeway -- like you take the exit and you are literally in the parking lot)
Now I did give this place 2 stars because they are in the process of renovating. The rooms we stayed in were clean, nice, and comfortable -- but you would NEVER have known it from looking at the outside [or the other clientele].
Pets were $10 each which is understandable, although other Motel 6's have accommodated us without a fee.
The staff was -- different. Our "free wi-fi" didn't work. I managed to connect for a few minutes and then it just stopped. I still had a full connection to the router (even listed as 'strong'), but the Internet was just gone. I tried calling the office, but it rang at least 10 times and I gave up. I waited 15-20 minutes (which I continually tried other wi-fi signals) and finally called the front office again. The lady said, "Oh, is it not working?" I explained the process i had gone through. She said, "Maybe it's the weather." I laughed and said, "Oh, you're serious? Why would it be the weather?!" (I should mention that it was 6/25/14 at about 7pm and it was a beautiful 70 degrees, no wind at all, partly cloudy, dry, gorgeous day." Her response made the "free wifi" all worth it: "Well, the forecast is for rain so maybe that did it." I sat dumbfounded and smiling at a phone trying to grasp for words that I knew I shouldn't say. "Thank you" was all that I could even utter.
The bed was fairly comfortable, the shower felt like you were being massaged by needles, and 2 towels didn't go very far for the 4 of us in our room. But [aside from the Internet] the thing that bothered me the most was the air conditioner not functioning -- or, when it did, it make horrible noises that actually woke me up. [And having slept through freight trains passing my room at the Motel 6 in Mojave, that's saying something.]
Would I stay here again? No. The cost for this pit was about $72 per room with the pet fee, the free Internet, and the "free kids 17 and under". Again, I am giving two stars because I see potential for improvement here. read more