Impromptu trip to Placerville put us on the google, which had a variety of cheap hotels. Mother Lode was amongst the more decent looking of our options. We arrived to a note on the door advising us to check in at Gold Trail Motor Lodge with an address. It was dark when we arrived and we had no idea where this place would be. This started us off feeling really off... but that didn't stop us from checking in --- the Gold Trail Motor Lodge happens to be right next door. It was dark and didn't feel safe walking over at night. We booked our hotel through Expedia, which offered "Free Breakfast" with our booking. The breakfast included those super cheap cheese danish's and the in-room coffee. It should be noted, the in-room coffee was enough for 2 small cups of coffee. No refills for us, i guess. The decor is old & there was wallpaper peeling off the walls; however, it was clean and appeared to be pest-free. The pool was open, it was very clean. This was a great experience for the price and with the understanding that we were *not* staying in a 5-star hotel. read more

Mother Lode Motel - Poolside - Hotels Near Me - Placerville, California

The people who run this place are some of the worst humans I've ever come across in my life. A husband and wife team. No pool as advertised- drained. No free breakfast! No breakfast at all as advertised. False advertisement is grounds for legal action. I'm a traveling musician and checked in to my room, upon check-in I spoke with the lady at the front desk who after I told her I was a musician she immediately gave me the stank eye, and I could completely feel the judgment from her body motions. She acted very suspicious of me almost blaming me for having other people who are going to sleep there, which wasn't the case at all. Then she l ask me accusatorial way if I had a dog. Then she said, do you even have a car? Of course, I had a car. The next day, I was about to check out and got a call from her saying that the housekeeper smelled marijuana in my room. The housekeeper never came into my room. The housekeeper was banging on my door at nine in the morning hence checkout at 11. I opened the door a very small crack and she was standing several feet from the door and I said I'll be out at 11. I know she didn't like that. The whole marijuana thing came from just judgment and profiling me having long hair and her knowing that she could try to charge me a deposit for her already nasty ass room. The front desk owner lady had already made all this up and the housekeeper never said anything about marijuana. The beds are dilapidated. The carpet is disgusting. The room looks like a prison cell. The plumbing doesn't work, sinks are all stopped up. The bed I swear was from 1965. The curtains and decor looked like something from that 70s show. The curtains had to be 50 years old. They have springs in the mattress. You couldn't find a bed like this if you tried. Worst sleep ever!!! I told the lady I don't smoke marijuana and I don't know what the hell she's talking about. I never had any marijuana anywhere near her motel. Her husband got on the phone and started trying to talk to me about marijuana, and I told him I've never even met him and he's never even been to the room that I was in while I was in it. They have a slew of reviews on yelp that are terrible and explain how horrible this man and woman are. This business will not be here in 10 years. I called the bank, stopped payment on my bank card. I'm considering taking legal action against these people for harassment. Do yourself a favor and keep on trucking past that hell hole they call a motel. read more

DID NOT HAVE OUR ROOM. Made a reservation through booking.com, called several times over 4 hours and phone message said number is out of service. Arrive at Mother Lode, office door has sign saying to check in at office next door motel. Go to that office, attendant is surprised at our name, goes to computer and on phone for 10 minutes, comes back says he has no idea how the reservation was made. Some dude came up while we were talking saying he just checked in and got a room. All in all felt like our room got sold and the attendant didn't offer much for an explanation. He literally asked us if we called the number and when I said I called it multiple times he said the power had gone out a few times. Stay in Folsom read more

I rented a room on a busy night 5 hours prior to getting there on booking.com. They were not at the office, had a sign that said I had to go to the next door hotel; Gold trail motor lodge. The person working there had no record of my reservation and seemed to not care. Pretty sure he sold my room off to another guy right before I got to the window. He told me I have to get my refund from booking.com. At this point all hotels were booked in the area and had to drive to folsom. Don't trust this place to keep your reservation. The place also looks a hole but you get what you pay for. read more

Door stopper a piece of wood and a big hole in the wall the furniture was very old, no chair. Beds are very old springs killed my back. The room was old and smelly the heater was a wall heater that made so much noise that you couldn't turn it on when you're sleeping. Bathroom had lots of damage in the walls Bathroom had no counter top to put anything. We had problems with many other things in this place don't waste your money. Not to mention the scratching in the walls. This place was to expensive for what you didn't get. Not even a picture on the wall. It was the hotel from Hell! read more

Mother Lode Motel - Door stopper a piece of wood and a big hole in the wall - Hotels Near Me - Placerville, California

I stayed here June 21 and 22nd, it got awful reviews, but we had a great time. The pool was clean and parking right in front of your door is my way of doing lodging with two dogs. Just don't put your key fob on top of your cell phone. My daughter and I found out that the hard way! It cancels out your fob. Management was quick to fix our solution and we had a great time there. The rooms were very clean, there is ice available. The kids had a blast. We rented two rooms side-by-side and the yard and the landscape is impeccable with beautiful flowers and trees and a little Secret Garden behind the pool. Definitely a place. I will stay the next time I come through we cannot say anything bad about this property! read more

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Recently, I had a very relaxing, and comfortable stay for a couple nights at the Mother Lode Motel in Placerville. The Room had a high degree of cleanliness, and looked as if there had been recent renovations. The bed was most comfortable! I was provided an iron board/iron upon request. The management was very helpful. read more

What a gem! This is a sweet little stopover with the best pool in Placerville. The owners are lovely and this motel is on the quiet end of town. Prices are very reasonable. The rooms are family friendly and the owners are dog friendly. Nestled in the pines, this is a nice place to bring the kids and it is close to everything. read more

Mother Lode Motel - Pristine crystal clear pool - Hotels Near Me - Placerville, California

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We planned a last minute over night trip in Placerville, and the Mother Lode was the only Motel with any availability. This Motel has perfect access on and off the freeway, but you don't hear any of the freeway traffic. The rooms are currently being updated, and we were lucky enough to get into an updated room. Small, but that wasn't an issue. The bathroom was huge, and had a lovely barn door, which gives it a little class. There was a microwave, fridge and coffee maker. Bed was comfortable. I wish the pillows were a little more fluffy, but I forgot to bring my own, which I usually do. The Mother Lode has a pool, it was super clean, and we lucked out as being the only people there. We look forward to our next trip! read more

Mother Lode Motel - Barn doors are cute - Hotels Near Me - Placerville, California

The Mother Lode Motel is a wonderful place to stay while visiting the Placervile area with it's many wineries. The place is meticulously maintained The pool is pristine and the owners are lovely people. It is very clean and comfortable and close to downtown but not too close. We very much enjoyed our stay and plan on staying there for all future visits to Placervile. read more

0 stars. Do not go here. We made an online reservation with a confirmation number using a credit card. Maybe an adventure since the roads were slow with snow? No...what a mistake. When my family and I - with a newborn - arrived late last night, we knocked and rang the doorbell for at least five minutes. A man in the office finally came out only to wave his arm at us from the other side of a locked door to go away. He pointed at a no vacancy sign and walked away despite explaining we had a reservation. He shook his head, looked at me angrily, and walked away not to return despite our knocking and ringing again in disbelief. He didn't talk to us, explain, or apologize. My family had no place to go, use a restroom, or even change or breast feed our baby. Even if there was an online booking.com mistake or error, we can be better than that. read more

Mother Lode Motel - This was the welcome we received despite a reservation, and he refused to even talk to us when he finally looked out at us from the office. - Hotels Near Me - Placerville, California

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Absolutely horrible experience here. We stayed here awhile back and I'm just now getting to write a review. We were woken up to a man barging into our room, drilling against the outside of our wall and hammering on another wall all at 7am. When we spoke to the women at the front desk about someone barging into a room, she called us a liar and was extremely rude. When we insisted someone did and to check the cameras she started to raise her voice and refused to check. She called her husband and he in fact was the one who came into our room. She never apologized and continued to be rude. Horrible service and would never stay here again. read more

Lovely place, nice updated rooms and friendly staff In a good spot along highway 50, coming back from skiing read more

Skip this place. Cant understand man on phone and he calls you names. NO stars. Rude, right off the bat, doesnt want your business. Man needs customer service skills. read more

Just East of the historic Main St of downtown Placerville. A small independently owned motel. It's close to Hwy 50. Beautiful pool area, nice green belt area. We stayed in unit 22 a newly remodeled room which was a great value. Will be happy to return. read more

Mother Lode Motel - Nice pool area. - Hotels Near Me - Placerville, California

I really liked this motel... Three nights worth (and non-consecutive). As far as motels go, it seemed to suit our needs. The first room we stayed in was awesome. It had a smart TV, remote for the A/C, nice refurbished mosaic glass shower area. The subsequent nights, that room was booked and we were in a non-refurbished room. It took awhile to get the tv to work right, the a/c was old school, but the room was adequate for our needs. It did have a microwave and mini fridge. The place itself has an old school motel feel to it (which I liked), think the Bates motel (mostly because of the L shape and signage), but with a foresty backdrop. It has an awesome pool, but watch out for bees and whatnot in the water. I cleared them out and then splashed around for an hour in the morning. Note that their "breakfast" consists of a bagged pastry lol. It's a reasonable rate for a reasonable and spacious room. It is a motel after all. My recommendations to them would be... 1) finish the renovations! 2) assign parking space numbers and allot one per room and 3) make sure that the pool area is cleaned up. Other issues were that one of the top comforters was stained and while laundered, still looked a bit unseemly. My key card didn't work for a day. Parking was an issue as lots were full. Pluses were that the same lady was working the front counter the week I was there and she was really attentive, friendly, and helpful. I liked staying there and found it to be a good base for going back and forth to both historic downtown Placerville and the Marshall Gold Discovery Park. It's not walking distance to anything, so plan to drive (a very short distance) to get food or order in... I recommend Pizza Factory. read more

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I'm only putting 1* because zero stars is not an option first off the pool advertised had no water in it when we checked in to our room my wife was trying to open the door and it would not open so as she is attempting this a man yanks open the door and steps past her and claims he was wiping down the surfaces but when I entered the room it was quite obvious that he had been using the restroom in what he thought was an unoccupied room the other guests had several children that were still playing at midnight in the parking lot and boyfriends coming and going that clearly were on drugs nodding off standing up in the parking lot the room was old and stinky the owner was very rude and threatened to keep my deposit and charge me for a second night cause he didnt want to extend my checkout by 1 hour horrible place ! I highly recommend anywhere but here! read more

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This was the worst last minute booking ever. We had 4 people in our group and was only given 2 towels. When we called and asked for 2 more we got push back and only got 1. The towel holder was broken, toilet paper holder broken, no fan in the bathroom, microwave didn't work. The room has a stale smell when we arrived. The walls were scraped up and the paint was chipped. Thankful that the heat worked although the fan ran all night. read more

Hands down best value and service in town. It's a cozy family run business and everyone is so accommodating. The man behind the counter was the friendliest person ever and made sure my stay was the best experience possible. I would highly recommend staying here, it also makes for a great pit stop on the way to Tahoe as it's a neat city to explore. The room had modern amenities as it was newly renovated, a comfy bed and fast wi-fi. Outside the room featured a refreshing pool and beautiful landscape. read more

Is it a dump look at the picturesYou got ripped carpet Well have plastered bathroom with no towel racks read more

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The reviews brought me to this motel on the outskirts of Placerville. Perfect location on my trip to South Lake Tahoe. A place to crash -- less than 12 hours here. Great price. I mean REALLY great. No frills but comfortable and clean. The owners are cheerful and helpful. Even though it's just off the highway, newer windows soundproof the room -- you hear some traffic but not much. Close to downtown and good food and wine tasting. Lovely little pool and garden area. The property is dog-friendly. Would definitely stay here again. Just goes to show, high prices isn't always the indicator AND YELP really helps! Free WiFi. This California Travel Insider loves a bargain and this is definitely that! I will give them a 5-star review for clearly making the effort and going beyond. Let's hope they keep it up and the prices down. read more

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My boyfriend and I stayed in this motel for New Year's weekend, and we booked our room on hotels.com. Originally we were going to book directly through the motel, but when I called, the woman told me I had to email my credit card, license, and info to them to do so. This did not so well with me, and sounded like a complete scam. Being as we needed a room asap, and this was a decent price within a reasonable distance, we decided to go ahead with this motel. After speaking to the management, I hung up and decided to go to hotels.com to SAFELY book our stay. When we arrived, the motel looked like it was a decent purchase, in a quiet area, right next to the freeway which was very convenient...probably the best part of staying here. When we checked in, management (The man) was immediately short and unnecessarily rude. He asked how we booked our stay, and then gave us a rather nasty look when we told him. I filled out our paperwork, gave him my credit card and license (both of which he copied), and then proceeded to our deluxe room (room 20). Upon first entering our room, we thought it actually looked like a decent room for the price. That was of course, until we settled in. The room smelled very musty (and a small scent of mildew), the walls were filthy, the tub would fill up when taking shower and it as hard to get the water to go down, the bed felt like concrete with springs, and the "wifi" was best left unused since it would barely connect. As for free breakfast, we saw nothing offered whatsoever. When we had left to go to the market, we had returned to find our door open. We then realized , you have to really push/pull the door closed for it to shut properly. We were just lucky we hadn't been gone long and nobody noticed it. Neither myself or my boyfriend slept very well during our stay due to the "concrete with springs" of a mattress. Being as we felt we might be too tired to drive all the way back after New Year's, we decided to stay an extra night. My boyfriend's mother called the motel while we were sleeping, to try and find out information for us, so we could take care of it when we woke. She told us he was very rude, and that he said "she didn't know what she was talking about" when she mentioned the Hotels.com price. We found out we were actually being overcharged when booking directly through the motel. They charge a completely different price than hotels.com, and this was not due to a late booking. The only reason we decided to stay an extra night at this motel, was because it was convenient and too much of a hassle to find another place to stay for one night. Pros: Next to highway Good heater in the freezing cold Cons: Horrible management Awful sleep Concrete bed read more

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Where shall I start? Here goes: Pros: We saved money staying here. Cons: Manager is not much of a people person. The beds were like sleeping on concrete, which had no headboards. Stains on pillows, bedsheets, & chair. A/C had no temp control knob. The room smelled bad, and bathroom smells like cigarettes. Cobwebs in the bathroom window. Medicine chest no shelves. No hair dryer or iron. Tube television was cutting out. Dresser no shelf top drawer. Furniture very scuffed. Very dirty and disgusting do not disturb/maid sign. Gap under exterior door. No trash can in restroom. NO SMOKE DETECTOR! This was room #1. Warning... Don't stay in room #1!! read more

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This place was the worst ever. Almost $100 for a dirty, nasty, disgusting room. The walls were sticky and brown. The carpet was wet with some kind of stain, broken dresser. Door knob barely worked, mold in the shower and bathroom. And they still had the nerve to ask for a cash deposit. Smoking and no smoking signs just red tape on the door. No smoke detector, exposed wiring on the bathroom fan and the bed frames are too big for mattress so it sticks out. Wish I could give zero stars. read more

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Great for a QUICK 5 hour sleep pit stop before heading to the mountain Stopped here on our drive to Tahoe (from Oakland on Thursday night) for a snowboarding weekend. Five 30 year olds slept comfortably in one room with 2 queen beds and our fancy queen air mattress that we brought. We moved their desk to another part of the room for our air mattress to fit. We hung out at Gold Diggers (bar) until 2am drinking to avoid having to sleep at this motel beforehand lol. The bar is modern, awesome, and close by, so check it out! We only slept for 5 hours before heading to the mountain. We'd stay here again. It was super cheap and convenient for us before checking into our Airbnb in South Lake. read more

I strongly suggest guest read the reviews before booking these rooms. The operators own both Mother Load Lodge and Gold Trail motor lodge. Both my father and I searched for hotels in Placerville via a simple Google search on the drive from SoCal. The prices ranged between 70-80 dollars. We booked a room via Expedia clearly indicating there were 2 guests. The charge was 88 dollars after taxes. We explicitly put in the notes that we request 2 separate beds. Upon arrival we were asked to stay at the Mother Load Lodge because they didn't have two beds available at Gold Trail. We drove next store to check in. The total charge to my card was $157.80. They increased the price to $107.80 PLUS charged another $50 dollars deposit. The women was EXTREMELY RUDE and completely unaccommodating. It was too late (10:30pm) to dispute the charge and find some where else to stay. I gave them a two because the rooms were clean. read more

Mother Lode Motel - Hotels Near Me - Placerville, California

This was a terrible motel experience one of the worst had in over 30 years. The first indication should have been that the sign on the office door directed us to another motel 1/2 block away. The check -in was slow and belabored. We requested an end room and even though there were no vehicles in the parking area we were told that room was occupied. The web page claimed they had some breakfast, turned out to be a tray of old plastic wrapped sweet rolls and in room coffee. The person behind us asked about the pool and was told it was closed, his kids were disappointed as was my husband who had intended to take dip. We drove back over to the motel and opened the room door and were meet with an over powering toxic smell of bleach. Opening the door and bathroom window did nothing to alleviate that and we knew we could not stay. We went back to the office at the other motel and the desk clerk told us he would give us another room, we had no reason to think it would be any less toxic and declined he simply said we had to cancel with our third party Expedia and went back behind his closed door. We did find a suitable motel in another town, now Expedia refuses to refund us and we are at this point stuck with paying for a room we could not stay in as it was toxic and dangerous to our health. There is no reason to think another room would have been any less toxic. read more

Please check all the negative reviews @ Gold Trail Motor (flea-bag) Lodge, as these 2 roach motels are one in the same. Same property, one front desk, 2 crooked owners!! You WILL be disappointed & RIPPED OFF. So many terrifying reviews!! Mine was unbelievable!!! read more

This place is a great stay for someone looking for a no-frills, economically sound place on the way to Tahoe. Very clean rooms, and the couple who run this motel and the one next door are friendly and extremely helpful. We ended up needing to extend our stay for one more night due to snow and ice, and they gave us the same deal as we'd had the night before from booking online. Old-school decor abounds, but the place isn't run down looking at all. Wi-fi and satellite television. read more

Mother Lode Motel - Hotels Near Me - Placerville, California

Room was clean. Bed comfortable. WiFi was a joke!

Stayed for Labor Day weekend, 2016. Why all the haters? Wife and I found the Motherlode Motel to be VERY comfortable. The lady at the front desk was very nice, albeit a bit reserved. It is really nice to be able to park your car right outside your room window! Since most haters seem to drive common "jellybean with wheels" type cars, they probably don't see the value in that. Well, not all of us drive easily replacable common douchemobiles, and really appreciate being able to keep an eye on our automobiles (in our case, a horseless carriage). Having a fridge and a microwave in the room is a BIG plus, since we can eat inexpensively. Just go down broadway to Grocery Outlet where they have a mile long freezer section, grab some inexpensive frozen dinners, keep in the fridge, and microwave them when ready. Save a bundle vs. eating out! Spent a little time in the pool. It isn't heated, but the pool area is clean and beautifully decorated with live plants. The TV in the room is an older tube-type, but works perfectly. There must be 400 channels available on this thing! For you Gen-X'ers, there is free WiFi so you can get your Facebook fix. Better yet, why not just "unplug" for a while and enjoy all the trees? Shower has plenty of water pressure and the hot water gets hot right away. Very glad we chose this Motel. Will surely stay here again next year. read more

This place is a relatively inexpensive motel in Placerville, right off of Highway 50. It was clean, and surprisingly quiet seeing as it is only about a block off of the highway. Their rates as of the time of writing this were $58/night for a single, with a $10 per night charge if you bring a dog (8/3/10). There is a microwave, coffee maker and fridge in the rooms. I would be extra-careful, as you always should be, to not leave anything of value in view in your vehicle. I did see a woman roaming the parking lot at about 3:30 A.M. looking in folks' car windows. Thankfully, my little rascal poochie started barking and she fled the premises. read more

Look out for this place. I had reservations to go there, and then one of the people we were going to see died. I called to try to get my money back. They had demanded an entire full night's fee. I explained what had happened, and the owner rudely told me i needed a full week's notice to get my money back. I told him the man we were visiting was still alive a week before our reservation. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and tried to take him to Small Claims Court, but was told it would be more trouble than it was worth to pursue it. When I told him I was going to take him to court, he laughed and said "bring it on." That's no way to do business. read more

I stayed here because I wanted to save a couple bucks. HUGE mistake! when I pulled off the comforter to get into bed I found what looked to me like a small amount of blood and hair. As calmly as I could I expressed my concern to the owners. I was met with No apology, No discount and I was called a liar! I write this review solely because of the way this was handled. I do expect a level of professionalism in a business and I was, to say the least, dissapointed in the owners. Lesson learned, spend the extra couple bucks and stay across the street! read more

My wife and I flew in from Chicago, drove to the hotel and we're FREAKED OUT!! It was disgusting and run down. There was a shady looking person in the lobby and we didn't even go into the office. We drove to another hotel and immediately called Expedia to cancel our reservation. We were told they would charge us 100% of the rate as a penalty. I called the hotel and was cussed out by a very rude woman. So, it is costing me an additional $120 to stay in a place where my wife can rest and feel safe. DO NOT STAY HERE!! I will make sure to pass this information on to all of my family and friends. How can they possibly force you to stay when you booked sight unseen, based on their website? They are misleading and dishonest. AND VERY, VERY RUDE read more

Stayed here with the family for one night but will never do so again... We began to notice flies crawling around the room as we settled down for the night. No matter how many we swatted, more kept appearing. These weren't just regular flies who get in when the door's open - these were in big numbers, like an infestation of some kind. In the morning I went to complain about it and was met with instant hostility by the owner, who accused me of having an "attitude". I know how to complain respectfully and only out of genuine concern, so if this constitutes an "attitude", then no reasonable logic can applied to this chap. He said I should have complained about the flies at the time, even though I pointed out that my kids were asleep when we began to see the scale of the problem. He just didn't get that, so as far as he was concerned, my complaint was void. He said his other rooms has no flies and demanded that I inspect them. So, by that argument, it means that if other rooms have no flies, then there is no problem? He refused to offer a reduction or refund and more or less chased me out of his office. I've never witnessed anything like it. Looking through the other 1-star reviews, I totally recognize their experiences with the owner. He's clearly sensitive about it, otherwise he would have been mortified and apologetic about the unhygienic conditions, like any reasonable owner would. read more

We were driving from San Francisco to South Lake Tahoe when the weather got bad and we needed to find a place for the night. We stopped at the Gold Trail Motor Lodge where the unshaven slob at the front desk said the rate was $79. I couldn't believe it - the place looks like a completely ordinary motel. I wondered if he was trying to take advantage of the weather situation by jacking his rates. The guy at the Mother Lode Motel was really friendly and gave us a room for $44. It's completely ordinary, but totally adequate. There's a fridge, microwave, coffee maker, bathtub, hot water, wi-fi worked fine. It was clean and perfectly acceptable. In the morning the maid helped us put our chains on. Pretty ironic - she's from Mexico, we're from Canada, and she knows more about driving in the snow than we do. read more

I was very disappointed. The price is right and if you don't need amiable, don't mind feeling the springs in the mattress and a little drizzle from the toilet water hose connection spraying your leg while you are on the Johnny and the floor a little internally rained upon, go for it. English is not my second language, but I felt rudely thrown out when asked to leave at 1:16 p.m. when it was my understanding they had given me a 2:00 p.m. check out because it was a week day and the place was a ghost town on the day I got there and on the day I was leaving. I found the management rude and even when I suggested she stop busting my chops I still felt attacked and my solitude infringed upon. I will be happy to pay $25 more to stay someplace else where I feel welcomed and not hassled. If you don't need any TLC, and can handle the above in the room I stayed in, #15, knock yourself silly. read more

We stayed here last weekend when we went to Placerville to go blueberry picking. It was a pretty good value. Our family was able to sleep comfortably in two adjoining rooms with for around $60 per room. It was clean, quiet and felt safe. The manager was nice to us. It seemed like a small, family owned operation. Compared to other hotels of this type (AAA 1 - 2 stars) it was pretty good. They have a pool. Our room had a refrigerator and microwave. It's not the Ritz-Carlton, but for families traveling it's a good fit. read more

Totally adequate and budget friendly. This is a clean economical option when visiting Placerville. Our family stayed here while enjoying the fall festivities at Apple Hill. Everything is very basic and a bit dated, but if you just need a reasonable place to stay this fits the bill. There is easy access to the highway and it is a very short drive to Apple Hill. There is an outdoor pool. The rooms have a microwave and a mini-fridge. That is the extent of the amenities. Sometimes I am willing to forgo the frills so that the family can enjoy a fun weekend without breaking the bank. Our kids were treated to a danish when we checked out. We plan to stay here again. read more