Hotel dud list

Rick Russell

Premier Member
#1
As travellers we spend many nights a year in hotels. On my last trip to Key West I came across an absolutely uninhabitable hotel with a Ramada name in Lake City FL. Is there a No Go list for hotels we have found to be no good? Having to spend valuable time getting refunds and finding another place sure is a waste.
 

Stephen!

Flivver Flyer
Premier Member
IBA Member
IBR Finisher
#2
However could such a list be objective? What some folks consider suitable accommodations others wouldn't even consider darkening the doorstep. I guess it all depends on your personal definition of "uninhabitable".
 
#4
When I have time I go to Trip Advisor. Once again the reviews are dependent on the individual. Also when I have time I rate hotels on Trip Advior. I stayed at one I though was great and later I read some bad reviews. The opposite has happened also. Part of my pluses and minuses for a place are dependent on price. At $39 a night I am not as picky. At 100 bills it better be nice. If I am about to drop from exhaustion I become less picky.

There have been a few that made the Iron Butt Motel like a resort. :D Well, at least much better.

I would like to see a list by veteran IBA riders as you suggested. Just a list of the bad ones and a few reasons would be good.
 

Rick Russell

Premier Member
#5
True, it is a relative thing, but a very powerful chemical / urine smell with ashes on the floor of a non smoking room and a bed that looked slept in would turn most off. I booked the place through Hotels.com on a room with a no refund policy. Did I mention the smell? I was gagging still while outside trying to deal with hotels.com. I am sure that nobody here would sleep there as the only ones who would already sold their computer and their cell phone for another hit. Really it was gross. I explained to the booking agent that I would not sleep there and they phoned the hotel to try to work something out. The front desk hung up on them. I got my refund. I have slept in my fair share of cheap hotels that I wouldnt choose again, but this was a definate candidate for a NO GO list. I sure wouldn't want to condemn a place because someone wasn't nice ..... but if it's too disgusting for you to want to lay in it....

While writing this I went back and read the reviews....my fault for assuming a Ramada would be good. I guess the point is to read the reviews and dont assume a particular brand name makes it O.K. Ramada Limited, Lake City FL. On Hotels.com If you want to read the reviews on how badly I messed up.
 
#6
I am glad you got your refund. However, a person should not have to go through that BS in the first place.

Given your points of disgust I totally agree this one needs to be put on "The List". I'll put it on my personal list. I am heading down that way in a few weeks. Thanks for sharing your experience.

If I ran into that mess I probably would have been calling someone for bail money. Be sure to let Ramada Limited to know. Ramada is definitely not what they used to be but that one should be closed.

Maybe we could get permission to start an IBA "No Stay" list.
 

Scott Parish

Premier Member
#7
Read through the reviews and saw the typical spread from this place is great to this place is awful. With an overall rating of 2.7 stars; I would have likely avoided if any other option was available.
 

Mike721

Premier Member
#8
After finding a few really shady hotels with Ramada and Days Inn names ( a nightmare drug, hooker, and roach infested Day's Inn in Tampa was the last straw) and realizing that it was a crap shoot unless I really did the research I switched to the Hilton group.

For the last 2 years of road trips I almost always stay in either a Hilton Garden Inn or Hampton in, I have the HHonors app on my phone, it makes last minute reservations from a rest stop as easy as a couple of clicks, 2-3 minutes. I have yet to find a poor HGI or Hampton, some are outstanding, most are very good, a few have been older but still clean and refurbished. Hilton does a good job of keeping all their various brands up to snuff. I have gotten to the point of just trusting them, no research, just pick the right hotel from the app and reserve it. Oh and if your a HHonors member they give you free bottled water when you check in, on our last 2 week road trip we didn't buy a single bottle and came home with about 6 in my wife's bike after drinking dozens of them riding 1/2 way across the country and back.
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#9
True, it is a relative thing, but a very powerful chemical / urine smell with ashes on the floor of a non smoking room and a bed that looked slept in would turn most off. I booked the place through Hotels.com on a room with a no refund policy...
In my case, The Van Horn, TX Super 8 - though it was 100% my fault for snagging a *smoking* room.

Upon arrival, after 22+ hours of motorcycle riding - and the experience of succeeding in my first BBG - it was chalked up to "my bad in reserving the place, I'll take it!"

I think what also 'messes up' some of our thinking, is how the quality of a name has changed over the years/decades. "Howard Johnson" got me & my wife in San Diego a few years ago. It was pretty nasty; we left before fully checking in (on a hunch, I asked to see the room in advance) and went down the street to another in the Wyndham chain of establishments.

Doubt I'll ever darken the door of a HoJo's ever again.
 

Brian Thorn

Premier Member
#10
Mike, I'm with you on the Hilton brand. You pay a little more but you're never disappointed. Marriott has served me well too, with the Wyndham brand probably being my 3rd choice (I'm a timeshare owner through them).
 
#11
Agree the Hilton brand has also been safe for me. So has the Marriott which is what my wife usee on business travel.

That is true the old trusted brands from my younger days just aren't trusted any more.

The Choice brand, specifically, Comfort, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, and Ascend, have been good to me.

I did have one Comfort on the East side of Albuquerque that was not so comfortable. It was clean but more of a worn out 1960s chain motel. AC did not work very well and noisy, This was in August with the room facing west. If you remember the old motels had large glass "walls" by the door. The AC had been off forever. So it took forever to cool off. It was cool about when I was ready to leave. The bad part is that was the only place that had a room on that side of town or I would have left. I did have to change rooms because the first one the AC did not work at all. And all of you know riding in that part of the country when you check in you want COLD. I bitched a lot about it and had the bill adjusted.

Looking back I should have continued on to Santa Rosa, they always have rooms and cheaper.

Choice's Rodeway can be iffy at times. But all I have stayed at have been clean but often well used.

Also La Quinta has been good. At times La Quinta may older but always clean. When I am by myself on a motorcycle trip clean is what expect. Now with wife or daughter, I want better. I believe they are part of Wyndham now.

Don't forget Drury Inn. They have food at night. All I have stayed at, and it has been several, have been very good. I haven't tried their Pear Tree, I think that is the name of it.

My experience with Wyndham has been mixed. I am hesitant to reserve with them. Their Super 8 I must see before staying. Days Inn can be iffy at times too. I've stayed at good to great ones and some sorry. Some so bad I wanted a shower after checking out.

I have found some Motel 6 that will accidentally pass inspection but once again probably need to see it. Too many look like hooker and needle territory. I am not into either.

Yep some places you not only need bug spray and you own sheets but a gun and or body guard.

Maybe we just need to add specific bad places by name and give reasons on this thread if no one objects.

I am so glad to read the input. I travel a lot with my family, not just me on a ride. So this info is helpful for them also.
 
#12
I'm okay with fewer comforts if there is good parking for the bike (covered and close). One of the nicest places Shelly and I stayed during a long trip last year was the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno. However, I did not like they have no covered parking and the bike parking area is not viewable from the Valet station.
 

rneal55555

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#13
Agree the Hilton brand has also been safe for me. So has the Marriott which is what my wife usee on business travel.

That is true the old trusted brands from my younger days just aren't trusted any more.

The Choice brand, specifically, Comfort, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, and Ascend, have been good to me.

I did have one Comfort on the East side of Albuquerque that was not so comfortable. It was clean but more of a worn out 1960s chain motel. AC did not work very well and noisy, This was in August with the room facing west. If you remember the old motels had large glass "walls" by the door. The AC had been off forever. So it took forever to cool off. It was cool about when I was ready to leave. The bad part is that was the only place that had a room on that side of town or I would have left. I did have to change rooms because the first one the AC did not work at all. And all of you know riding in that part of the country when you check in you want COLD. I bitched a lot about it and had the bill adjusted.

Looking back I should have continued on to Santa Rosa, they always have rooms and cheaper.

Choice's Rodeway can be iffy at times. But all I have stayed at have been clean but often well used.

Also La Quinta has been good. At times La Quinta may older but always clean. When I am by myself on a motorcycle trip clean is what expect. Now with wife or daughter, I want better. I believe they are part of Wyndham now.

Don't forget Drury Inn. They have food at night. All I have stayed at, and it has been several, have been very good. I haven't tried their Pear Tree, I think that is the name of it.

My experience with Wyndham has been mixed. I am hesitant to reserve with them. Their Super 8 I must see before staying. Days Inn can be iffy at times too. I've stayed at good to great ones and some sorry. Some so bad I wanted a shower after checking out.

I have found some Motel 6 that will accidentally pass inspection but once again probably need to see it. Too many look like hooker and needle territory. I am not into either.

Yep some places you not only need bug spray and you own sheets but a gun and or body guard.

Maybe we just need to add specific bad places by name and give reasons on this thread if no one objects.

I am so glad to read the input. I travel a lot with my family, not just me on a ride. So this info is helpful for them also.
Good Synopsis When I'm alone I tend to go for cheap so I think in many cases it's a you get what you pay for.
If I have time I read through some of the reviews online (you have to go through a few to get a flavor).
 

rneal55555

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#14
Something else Hotel related, I had problem's this spring with the Wyndham Phone App. on my Android. I attempted to make a reservation and after hitting book this room go a network error message so I backed up and tried again 4 times actually before I quit. and went to the Choice App. bottom line is I ended up with 5 rooms in two different hotels reserved in Kingsland Ga on a Saturday night for one guy on a motorcycle. Wyndham did refund two of the rooms after a couple weeks of emails and phone calls, they seemed to think it wasn't reasonable for me to not have read my email while riding and should have known I had the reservation. I had to put the others in contest with AMEX and they credited them back and made me whole.
 
#15
That is a great point. Now that I think about it, I use pay pal with my hotels.com app. If there is a problem with the hotel it may be worse trying to get money back on my credit card as the charge to paypal on the card is not where the problem is.
 

chfnelson

Premier Member
#16
As travellers we spend many nights a year in hotels. On my last trip to Key West I came across an absolutely uninhabitable hotel with a Ramada name in Lake City FL. Is there a No Go list for hotels we have found to be no good? Having to spend valuable time getting refunds and finding another place sure is a waste.
Guess I have been lucky in that regard. I have stayed in some 'inexpensive' motels in my day, usually be because I have been tired, plus cheap. Since I have not retraced many routes, don't know if I would avoid them.
 

cberry

Premier Member
#17
When planning a trip I usually reserve Choice or Wyndham chains because they have a cancellation policy of the 'day of arrival' for the most part here in the USA, with exceptions, of course.

However, as has already been mentioned, the Hilton chain consistently stands out for features and ambience at a reasonable (higher) price. Unfortunately, their cancellation policy is now at least '24 hours in advance'. That doesn't work for my future reservations while traveling by motorcycle. BUT, I have been known to check into a Hampton Inn without a reservation early in the day and cancel my nearby Choice reservation. And, BTW, Choice seems to have better coverage nationally.
 

WY88

Premier Member
#18
Hilton honors member, twice this summer I have been able to cancel, even after 6pm hotel time, but I was booking / staying at another Hilton property, so that and my honors status may be the reason.
 

kwthom

=o&o>
Premier Member
IBA Member
#19
Here's another thought...

"Mom & Pop" places. You'd think that, just because it has a 'big-time' name, that it would meet or exceed the corporation's requirements for servacability. That's where the gist of this thread was heading. The Ramada that @Rick Russell stayed at, same issue with the HoJo I stayed at. Both are Wyndham properties. Does that totally take Wyndham properties off my list? No; I know many Super 8's or Days Inn properties are suitable for motorcycle travel, and are typically within the budget I set. A nicer place? A La Quinta, Wingate or Baymont would be in that range. A Hilton property? Last time I stayed at those sorts of places, I was traveling for work, and they were footing the bill - yeah, they were in per diem!

I do believe that your biggest issue with attempting to generate a 'community' list is quite honestly, the data itself can be stale in no time.

I did use a combination of Yelp! reviews as well as the reviews provided on Google Maps (disclaimer: I do participate as a Google Local Guide). When I laid out my lodging for my 48 state ride, I used this info heavily to influence my decisions. I'd also chosen a couple of "Mom & Pop" places not only on this trip, but my earlier trip in April with my wife. This was done as a 'test'; how accurate are the reviews, and specifically, how current are the reviews.

On these two moto trips this year, I was not disappointed in any accomodations I made.

My wife and I are going to visit son & DIL between the holidays. I used this to find a modestly priced place* in the heart of Los Angeles. We shall see if my batting average is still high with this method.


* A modestly-priced place in LA is vastly different that a modestly-priced place in Manchester, NH. It does take research to identify that price point.
 
#20
I do rely on reviews from various sources, and pay attention to when they were made since sometimes ownership changes significantly change the reviews... Admittedly, there were a few times my head was so heavy my standard was simply, "if there are no bedbugs or homicide stains on the floor I'm good, I'm just sleeping then flying".