NEVER AGAIN!
Dirty toilet seat/bathroom-bleach stained carpets-paper thin walls and an irrational,
bullying, shady manager.
The motel receipt states no smoking in rooms or on adjacent sidewalks, & a picnic table is set up with ashtrays across the parking lot. On our 2nd day, the manager, Val, flipped out on us-3 women in our 60s-because 2 of us lit our cigarettes in the middle of the parking lot and not at the picnic table,where Val was sitting, shouting and struggling to keep her unruly,unleashed, large dog from jumping up on the 3rd member of our group,who was standing by the picnic table, as most seats were occupied by a few motel staff, including the manager, on their break.
Amidst the loud commotion,the ladies were afraid of the dog and, as the motel staff took up most of the seats at the table, they lit up about 5 meters from the table in the middle of the parking lot. One of the ladies was on her phone, talking to her 80 year old mother back in Canada.
We assumed the manager, Val, was screaming at her dog, as that is how one would shout at a dog and not a paying motel guest.The woman on the phone even waved back at Val, not realizing she was being screamed at. This resulted in Val jumping up, seemingly infuriated, and lunging toward my friend, screaming something about smoking at the picnic table and accusing my friend of ignoring her, even as my friend tried to end her phone conversation, as her mother was becoming concerned, and was asking what was all the shouting about.
After we apologized,while trying to explain we were afraid of the dog,and were not smoking on the sidewalk or in the room, and that the picnic table was quite full, Val continued to loudly berate us in front of her staff and other guests, and would not allow us to speak. We retreated to our room,and shortly thereafter,Val banged on our door,flapping two 2 papers - our receipt and a sheet of paper explaining the smoking rules, which are ambiguous and contradictory. The receipt states no smoking in rooms or on adjacent sidewalks,while the other paper states smoking allowed "at the picnic table area", which is not clearly defined.How big is the 'area'? We were at least 9 meters from the sidewalk,in the middle of the parking lot,and perhaps 5 meters from the table.
Val stood in the doorway of our room,yelling at us that we had been 'fined' $100 because, now, (in the short time between her screaming at us outside and then) she said, someone complained about us smoking in the night outside the room, which did not happen.She claimed she had to refund their room (unlikely). Val was completely unhinged by now and would not let us get a word in to explain that one of us had been busy on her cellphone talking to her 80 year old mother and did not realize lighting a cig in the middle of the parking lot was such an egregious offense.
Val then THREATENED TO CALL THE POLICE to evict us if we argued with her so we let her blow off her steam and finally she left after demanding advance payment for the next two nights. The housekeeper even attested she had seen us smoking only at the table.
We were utterly astounded by what had transpired. We were 1000 km from home in a foreign country, in an area with no vacancies during the State Fair, and she knew it, so we had to stay.
After a conversation, the next day, with her housekeeper (which was immediately relayed to the mgr), at the picnic table, regarding our displeasure at being extorted $100 for no valid reason, and stating we had seen and photographed another guest smoking right outside his room, Val again banged on our door to boast about 'fining' 6 other guests $100 for smoking.
So, in one night this manager extorted $100 each from almost half the guests of this 19-rm motel. While we were there two housekeepers quit-one of them her own son. The receipt states a 'cleaning fee' will be charged for smoking in the room or on the sidewalk. What got cleaned after we lit up in the middle of the parking lot on our way to the table, which we were avoiding because of the commotion with her big dog? As Canadians, we do not ever throw our cigarette butts on the ground - they go back in the package or in a pocket if there is no receptacle.
By far, the most bizarre place we have ever stayed. Val is a big woman with a loud voice and we were all afraid as she stood in our doorway and literally screamed at us for five minutes. Threatening to call the police was the most surprising thing of all, and not what we expected when we made the mistake of booking this motel. We will not be back, and neither will anyone we know. I can assure you there are now at least 7 people (and all their friends and family) who will not return to the Pioneer Motel. We did nothing wrong and have no idea why this woman can arbitrarily extort $700 from paying guests in one night in 'fines',in a town where there are no vacancies due to the state fair. Or maybe that is why - because she can. read more