What was the worst motel/hotel experiences?

What was your best hotel experiences?

The worst, ...DH and I went off for an anniversary weekend when I was pregnant with #2, we checked into the motel, went to the room to drop off our bags, used the RR and then we left to go sightseeing...we came back several hours later to find a used towel on the bathroom floor, wet shower, the soap thing off (who knows you could maybe see into the next room) a hanger on the bed, and then we are sitting on the bed and I get these weird feeling like someone is watching me, I look up and see a hole in the ceiling...URGH!!!! I got this sick feeling, we darted out of the room, it literally made me ill!

Best experiences. fortunately I have had many...one of the most recent, we were staying this summer at one of the Universal Studios/Orlando hotels, the service, beds, room could not have been better...they found out it was DD's birthday while we staying there, and gave her this really nice goodie bag... HOW NICE!

We stayed at the Courtyard Downtown Indy in December. I wore my favorite Coach loafers on the way in, and took them off after checking into our room, never to wear them again for the remainder of our time there. I forgot them on the side of the bed.
When we got home to Illinois, I didn't look for them until it was time to go to work (a few days later). It then dawned on me that I left them in the room.
These were $175 shoes.

You guessed it, "Nope, didn't find them"

Arrrgh.

The best experience I have ever had would be a toss up. I stay usually only at Marriott's and Hilton's and most of them are known for their stellar service. I would have to say that the Hilton in Downtown Indianapolis is the BEST time I have ever had at a hotel. The rooms are unreal, beautiful, big. The staff is friendly, helpful, courteous and bends over backwards for you.
But the rooms.. oh my.. absolutely the best time I have ever had whether on business (would stay for a week at a time) or pleasure (weekend).

Worst experience was probably over 7 years ago, DH and I went to Atlanta and was staying at a Fairfield. We went to go to bed, as we pulled back the cover, there was some sort of white bugs, looked like maggots on the sheets. We went down to the front desk to check out, they offered us another room but there was no way was I going to sleep in that hotel. They wouldn't credit back or credit card, it took a few month of complaining to the Corporate office to receive a refund. We have never stayed at another Fairfield since!

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I've told this one before but here it goes again.
Big family vacation out west. Stayed in a little hotel in Utah. My sons and I went to check out the detached office area to kill some time before we checkout out. When we walked into the little office the young woman was on the phone to the manager. She was talking about when she came in how the whole room was filled with cockroaches, on the ceiling, like a horror movie. I know my eyes got big and round. The kids and I went back to tell my husband about it. We didnt' take any critters with us though becasue we checked everything! Now it makes me laugh!

Best: On our honeymoon in Key West. We stayed at a small B&B. Very nice

Worst: On our honeymoon in Islamorada, Florida Keys. They hadn't cleaned up from the hurricane (over a year prior)!!! We were afraid to sleep on the bed - we actually brought in our own sheets and slept on those!

I'm thinking we were in Jacksonville FL.. We walked in the room & there was a trail of ants thru out the whole room. Also I had asked for a playpen for my little man & he handed me a diaper changing pad, all ripped up. A newborn would fit on it, but not a 1 year old The pool was green. BAD hotel

Good hotel was when we went to caribe royal in Orlando FL, right near the Nick Hotel. I paid around $100 a night for a 1 bedroom suite. Pool was amazing, room was clean. Great hotel

We were in a room right by the pool. The was a spring on the gate so that it would swing shut. The only problem was that it was not padded in any way. Every time it slammed shut we would jump in our room. It was loud like a gun shot every time.

Best time was at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. It is a beautiful hotel and the beds are so soft it feels like you are sleeping in a cloud. I emailed them to find out where they bought the bedding. Now if I would just win the lottery I will buy the same set they had. lol

This past fall my best friend in the neighborhood and I took a trip to TX.
We thought we had researched and planned our hotels/motels well, and we were so off base it was sickening.
We had res. at a La Quinta in Austin, TX. When we went to check in, we were informed that we were at the wrong hotel, the one we had a res. for was about a mile or two away.The La Quinta where we had a res. had an online pic of the nicer place.The one we ended up at had black moid on the sink and shower, and countless stray cats in the pool area. As well, we took numerous photos of all the trash around the pool area and all other public areas.
Gross doesn't even begin to describe it.
DH has always had good luck with this chain, but I will never stay in a La Quinta again.
MZ

OUr best was when the family drove to tour my ds's college. We stayed at a motel nearby. The rooms were spotless...staff attuned to your wishes.

The breakfast bar was fabulous! They not only had the standard fare of cold cereal, fruit, and juice..but fresh waffles, sausage, bagels, cream cheeses, eggs, etc.

I wrote a nice thank you note to them when I got home.


Worse was a motel in Gaffney SC. We were on the way to our new duty station in Mississippi...stopped off at the motel...my dh, my 2 sons ages 8 and 4..and myself.

soon as we settled down for the night..a man began to knock at the door so loud...he was shouting obsceneites, pushing against the door, threatened to kill us..He mistakenly believed I was his wife and cheating on him with my dh !?

DH called the front office, they called police..I demanded they move us to a new room...the only room left was single reeking of cigarette smoke...ugh...

the next day, when we left to fill up our car with gas, a bum came over and tried to hustle us for money..we were so happy to leave Gaffney !

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Worst was some dumpy motel in Ft. Pierce, FL. There was no heat in the room, and no phone in the room. This was Christmas time, and it was COLD. DD was about 3 1/2 mos. old, got sick, and thru up on the bed.....off to the ER we went on XMAS Eve. Got back to the room later that night, NOTHING had been done, no room service, nothing. We went up to the front office...."oh, we don't provide that" they said....OMG. We only stayed here because FIL recommended it....

Best....hmmm, hard to say, but, once when we were visiting family, the hotel manager got to talking to us, and asked where we were from....well, that was it.....every time we saw him, he said "hello my Hawaiian friends" and made a big fuss over the kids. That was nice.

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One of our favorite getaways when the summer heat starts to get to us is Flagstaff AZ.
So by process of elimination I am finding the good the bad and the ugly in lodging in Flag.

Flagstaff is a railroad town on old Route 66. This means that most hotels/motels are within earshot of the traintracks and that some of the older motels have rooms that are tiny.

The first time we stayed it was in an old TravelLodge. This motel hadn't seen anything new in 20 years. The pillows were so flat you could have slid them under the drafty door. And I guess they thought that to advertise NonSmoking rooms, they only needed to remove the ashtrays, because that room stunk. It was also so close to the rails that my sweetie said he was dreaming all night that he was a homeless guy sleeping in the train depot.

The rest have their ups and downs but that was by far the worst.

I will say that if you are ever planning a visit to Flagstaff one of the better places to stay is at the Lodge run by NAU. It is run by students and is part of their grade. However they book up early, so plan ahead.

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Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass
It's about learning to dance in the rain.

There have been more than a couple of bad ones over the years.

Years ago we were in a motel that was a family run lodge type place where no one was on duty after 10 at night. We checked in late and went to our room, which had high vaulted ceilings and was very nice. Got ready for bed and turned out the lights and all at once I hear little squeaking noises from more than one creature. Turned on the light, noises stop. We looked in under the bed, in the dresser, closets and everywhere we could think of, thinking it was mice. Turned out the lights and it started again. This time though I could feel sort of a light draft and whooshing noise at times. Turned on the light and looked up and there nestled in a corner of the vaulted ceiling were two bats. Husband says, just sleep with the sheet over your head. I said no thanks, and moved myself out and slept in the car.

Best was a Marriott in the heart of Paris. It was in an old palace type building a block off the Champs-Elysees. Unfortunately I was sick when we arrived and didn't enjoy the opulence as much as I might have, but it was just beautiful. They even had a complimentary bottle of Grand Marnier in the room. I used it to wet my toothbrush since I wasn't sure about the water and I figured it would sterilize anything it came in contact with.

The worst would definitely be the Sea Mist hotel/motel in Myrtle Beach, SC. My BF and I went for a girl's weekend, and the place looked ok from the brochure. It was such a dump! We actually cried when we saw the room. We called around, but it was late and there wasn't anything else available. We complained and they "upgraded" us two different times, but it was still a h*llhole-dirty/small/old/not well maintained, etc. Don't stay there!

I have two favorites-one was the Hotel D'Angleterre in Co*******n, Denmark-it was exquisite. There was a small problem with out shower, so they upgraded us to a suite. It was wonderful.

Co*******n Hotel D'Angleterre - Slideshow

The other favorite, is Charleston Place/Orient Express in Charleston SC. When we stay here, we splurge and stay on the concierge level where there is complimentary breakfast, afternoon high tea w/champagne, before dinner cocktails and appetizers, and cordials/desserts/cocktails after dinner. The hotel is beautiful and the service is exceptional.

My favorite is the Desert Pearl Inn. It is just outside of Zion National Park. The rooms have hardwood floors and are huge. Bed, couch, coffee table, dinette set, microwave, fridge, TV with VCR. Pool was absolutely sparking. Unique giftshop and coffee shop on premises. It was heaven.

I have never really had any bad hotel exiperences.

The best one is the four seasons beverly wilshire where they filmed the movie Pretty Women. In Beverly Hills California, boy what a hotel there beds are like heaven they are like clouds, they have so many different style rooms they have a couch and a comfy chairs . They also give usually a full size metal crib a stuffed bear to take home with you for the kid in the crib. refriagter and if you need ice you need to call the desk they have no ice machine to get your own ice at. they have a jumbo size bath tub and a seperate shower with some of the nicest soaps around. they also have soft bathrobes and towels they also have a dry heat sauna.

I have stayed at the marriots and hiltons, I used to stayed at the Lodge at Peeble Beach for $500 dollar nights, but the four seasons is just wonderful.

My best experiences:
in 1978 I stayed in a smal B&B somewhere near Mildenhall, England, called the *Rose and Crown*. It had recently been taken over by new owners, was the cleanest place I's ever stayed in and the hosts were fabulous. They also made me a full English breakfast, something that was much more than I could eat, included in the price.

There was a Radisson in Allentown, PA, about 15-20 years go, I think it was called the Americus. DH and I had a small suite that was to die for, and the service was supreme.

In the past 7 years I've had several occasions to stay at Indian Reservation/resort type/Casino type places in MN, and I have always been happy with the level of cleanliness and service at those places.

I've had many more good experiences than poor ones for hotels over the past 30 years, but I will definitely start stripping the beds after others' experiences!
MZ