About Those Motels...

Some illustrative shots are in the comments.

Good golly Ms. Molly! I wasn’t even sure where to start with this subject. But eventually I cobbled something together. Then my first attempt was denied, and of course, I was left guessing as to WHY! So if the wording in some parts of this seem a bit unusual, we'll blame it on the rewrite.

Let’s go back and start with a quick review. Trip was just over 4,000 miles, 14 days/13 nights/11 different places. Part of the fun was staying in classic Route 66 motels, the kind of small Mom+Pop owned places where you park right in front of your room. Prices for 2 doubles (there were 3 adults on this trip) ranged from $90 to $300 per night, largely based on where the motel was located (in a metro area or out in the middle of nowhere.)

Probably the nicest place I stayed was a fully renovated classic place. They’d quite cleverly converted what used to be the two garages between rooms into suites. The also had a neat courtyard area with several small bistros serving varied cuisines, and a COOL neon sign. Pictures of all this are in the second from bottom comment.

Likely the best value place was one I luckily booked for two nights. It was an older place but fully renovated. The rooms were huge. They had a decent breakfast buffet each morning, and a GORGEOUS pool area (that I never had time to use) – all for $122 a night including CA taxes. Shots of the place are the top two in the bottom comment.

Perhaps the most noteworthy place I stayed was in Venice, CA, just off the PCH and a mere 2.5 miles south of the Santa Monica Pier. I selected this place due to its decent price, proximity to the pier, and because it had free parking. (Several other places I looked at were more than twice as expensive for the room and wanted an additional $50/day for parking!) This place was a smaller, fully renovated Mom+Pop type place, with about 12 rooms. What makes it noteworthy (beyond all that) is that it is basically unattended. Booking and check-in/check-out was all done via the web and cell phone. After checking in you’re given the code for the electronic lock on the door. Having had issues once before with this scheme I was hesitant, but booked it anyway given the place’s other pluses. It all worked out fine.

I booked all these hotels in advance after researching on the web. My biggest screw-up was accidentally booking the one place when I had been reading about another. (An “Inn†vs. “Hotel†kind of thing.) These were two VERY different places - $95 vs. $395 night. I was doubtful we’d be at the expensive place long enough to avail ourselves of all the $395/night offered anyway, so took the screw-up as a sign to listen to my gut and “go cheapâ€. In the end it was basically fine, though we somehow ended up in a smoking room – UCK! (It was a tiny place and all the other rooms were occupied so changing was not an option.)

The biggest booking screw up I refuse to own was on the last night of the trip. We arrived well after early check-in time. There were challenges even finding the reservation though they found it eventually. After the usual check-in procedures (showing a credit card [for security deposit and incidentals, reservation was prepaid] and a photo ID), I was told the room was not ready but they’d clean it next. Thirty minutes later they gave me the key. Upon entering the room I was saying “WHOA. This is NICE, but I sure don’t remember booking this!â€. A two room suite, two king beds, two TVs, full kitchen. Hours later there was a knock on the door. The desk clerk said “You’re Mr. (Smith) right?†“Yesâ€, I replied. “First name?†she says. “(John)â€, I replied. Then she says “We gave you the room for a different Mr. (Smith). I’ll take care of itâ€. Keep in mind this happened after showing them my photo ID at check-in. 😮 And the real kicker is, I just got my credit card statement the other day and there is a $115 (additional) charge on it from this hotel! I’ll get it resolved, that’s the good thing about paying by credit card.

Surely we all know about “6†motel But on this trip I also saw a “7†and an “8â€. Shots of their signs at the bottom of the bottom comment.

Like I said many of the places I stayed were renovated Mom+Pop places. In line with the expectations of current day travelers, all the rooms had TVs, WIFI, refrigerator, and a microwave. But what some did not have was notable too. Things like adequate towel racks in the bathrooms, end tables near the beds, places to hang clothes. The cute place on the PCH in Venice didn’t even have air conditioning! That wasn’t an issue when I was there, in fact I ran the heat. That close to the water, maybe they don’t even need AC, but I sure as shit would not re-book the place in August! My point is, I came away from this trip with the notion that the owners of some of these places need to actually spend a night in their own rooms, for surely then they’d notice the small but glaring oversights.

What kind of motels/hotels are you most likely to book?
What was your biggest booking-related screw up?
What do some rooms lack that you miss the most?