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» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Community   » Film-Yak   » Worst Hotels To Stay At (Page 1)

 
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Author Topic: Worst Hotels To Stay At
Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 07-27-2002 03:17 PM      Profile for Mark Gulbrandsen   Email Mark Gulbrandsen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
At the top of the list should be Extended Stayamerica!! They have places all over the country. I was stuck at their place here in Bosie for a week. Worst beds, clean towels only twice a week, no pool or ot tub, cranky employees. All in all its a great place to stay away from. Seemed like a good deal at first but time told the truth. It should be called Extended Backpainamerica.
Mark @ GTS

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Darryl Spicer
Film God

Posts: 3250
From: Lexington, KY, USA
Registered: Dec 2000


 - posted 07-27-2002 04:02 PM      Profile for Darryl Spicer     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Travel lodge has to be the worst for me. Beds made of rocks, poor cleaning of the rooms.

Best I have stayed in have to be Holiday ins.

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Ian Price
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1714
From: Denver, CO
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 07-27-2002 04:18 PM      Profile for Ian Price   Email Ian Price   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
When I was a roving video whore, I tried to economize for the sake of my company. What is true of most of these chains is that local management has as much to do with the comfort of the place as does the chain. That said I have also found that in most places, newer is better.

I hate the Best Western chain as a whole. They never seem to update the rooms and they always smell like a mixture of old cigarettes and multiple cleaning chemicals.

But worse than Best Western is Travelodge. They stink! I once checked in to a Travelodge, checked out the room, went to dinner, checked in to another hotel and went back to the Travelodge to check out and they told me I couldn't so I said to hell with it. I told my boss about it and he said "Don't worry about it, it happens to the best of us."

I have been too afraid to stay at any Econolodge.

I have had good luck with Days Inn. They've got great ones and they have stinkers. The key is to pay attention to their ratings in their guidebook. They tend to tell the truth. I stayed in one Days Inn in El Paso, TX that was so nice and had a pool that I wanted to move in. I've stayed at the Days Inn near Chicago's O'Hare with flight crews, that was so bad you couldn't wait to make that 6 am flight the next morning.

Why is it that all Holiday Inn Express hotels have been better than Holiday Inn? I mean really, Holiday Inn Express is a great chain.

Airport Hiltons should be avoided unless the airline is paying. They charge $150-$300 for an $80 room. That said, most other Hiltons are nice if a bit expensive.

In Santa Rosa I spent 7 months living in the Redwood Inn and Trailer Park. The room was $41 per night and had a kitchenette. The place was worn down but kept spotless. They painted while I was there. The parking lot was swept daily. They changed my bedspread every couple of weeks. And they only presented me with a bill once per month. I had my father stay there and I had my technician stay there twice. The place was run by Apu.

I have had decent luck with Motel 6 and Motel 8, you generally get what you pay for.

Microtel is alright if you just need to sleep one night somewhere. The rooms are tiny, spartan and lit with florescent tubes. But they are all of a uniform quality. They are cheap but not any cheaper than the other low-priced chains.


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Richard Fowler
Film God

Posts: 2392
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Registered: Jun 2001


 - posted 07-27-2002 06:29 PM      Profile for Richard Fowler   Email Richard Fowler   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I spent an average of four to five months a year in many different countries. The two worst where located in St. Thomas, Virgin Island and in the Dominican Republic. The St Thomas location had hundreds of roachy friends that on two future visits I brought bug bombs and pre-sprayed the room before checking in and kept all suitcases closed....the hotel has since been torn down and there is more places to stay. The Dominican one had paper thin walls ( my hand on the wall would make it flex ) they would lock you in at 10 p.m.....but for some reason someone must of paid the guard since there would be people knocking on your door with women or cocaine for sale at 3 a.m. in the morning.
When I was a University student ( 1971 ) while driving from Los Angeles to Florida, I stayed at a hotel in New Mexico with a room that was 3+ feet ( 1 meter ) wider than the bed and found a scorpion in the shower the next morning...the hotel had a huge sign on the highway and you drove 5 minutes off a side road to reach this beauty. I have my black book of hotels and restaurants so every trip for me is like going from one home or another.
Richard Fowler
TVP-Theatre & Video Products Inc. www.tvpmiami.com

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Phil Hill
I love my cootie bug

Posts: 7595
From: Hollywood, CA USA
Registered: Mar 2000


 - posted 07-27-2002 07:43 PM      Profile for Phil Hill   Email Phil Hill       Edit/Delete Post 
In traveling the world the last 15 years, the absolute worst hotel I stayed in was in Taichung Taiwan. The lobby had a caved-in ceiling with debris and a huge steel beam lying on the floor from a recent earthquake. My room was dismal with a hole in the wall by the light switch. Several times a night a large mouse or rat would peek out of the hole and then scamper back into the wall. We got to be great friends as I would feed him crackers and he'd leave me alone. Yeah, I really liked that place.
The worse U.S. place 4me was motel 6...they never seem to turn on the heat or A/C until *absolutely* necessary. I have froze my balls many times in those places.

>>> Phil


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Aaron Sisemore
Flaming Ribs beat Reeses Peanut Butter Cups any day!

Posts: 3061
From: Rockwall TX USA
Registered: Sep 1999


 - posted 07-27-2002 07:49 PM      Profile for Aaron Sisemore   Email Aaron Sisemore   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
>>I hate the Best Western chain as a whole. They never seem to update the rooms and they always smell like a mixture of old cigarettes and multiple cleaning chemicals.<<

Expect to get a severe reaming by Kat Baggett and Eli Blasingame shortly.

-Aaron

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Ian Price
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1714
From: Denver, CO
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 07-27-2002 09:41 PM      Profile for Ian Price   Email Ian Price   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
What is true of most of these chains is that local management has as much to do with the comfort of the place as does the chain. That said I have also found that in most places, newer is better.

Aaron,

That should have covered it.

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002


 - posted 07-27-2002 09:47 PM      Profile for David Stambaugh   Author's Homepage   Email David Stambaugh   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The worst hotel/motel I ever stayed in was a Motel 6 in Reno. Not because there was anything wrong with the room, but because the room was right next to the Interstate, facing it, and the noise from traffic was deafening, all night long. Many Motel 6s are built on Interstate frontage roads. ACK!

Best is Embassy Suites in Bellevue WA (my employer at the time was paying for it). Great room, free happy-hour drinks every day, and free breakfast made to order. I could get used to that.


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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 07-27-2002 11:06 PM      Profile for Randy Stankey   Email Randy Stankey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I agree Travelodge sux!

Went to a Travelodge in South Carolina. The phone lines were messed up. I HAD to get on line to e-mail in a report and an order part so that they could get ordered first thing in the morning.

I went down to the lobby and asked them to use their FAX line in the office. It took me 10 minutes to convince them to let me do it. I had all the messages composed off-line. It would only take me three minutes for crikey sake! (Longer than it actually took to make the call!) The old bitty stood there with her arms crossed, tapping her foot on the ground the whole time.

I asked her to put in a work order to have the line fixed ASAP. HECK! I used my phone line tester to tell them exactly what the problem was! She promised me that it would be done first thing in the morning. I came back later on, tested the line and it hadn't been fixed. Not only that, nobody had been into the room... not even houskeeping! (I always "fix" the door.) When I asked the woman at the desk she swore the guy had been there and fixed it.

I just packed up my shit, checked out and went across the street to the Sleep Inn. It was $10 more expensive. That's why I didn't go there in the first place. Never went back. From that day on, the boss didn't complain about me going to the Sleep Inn. It was a MUCH nicer place, anyway.

What's more, after staying at the Sleep Inn a few times the manager got to know me and would hook me up with better rates.

I wouldn't be afraid to stay in (almost) any Sleep Inn.

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Don Sneed
Master Film Handler

Posts: 451
From: Texas City, TX, USA
Registered: Aug 2001


 - posted 07-27-2002 11:09 PM      Profile for Don Sneed   Author's Homepage   Email Don Sneed   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
My worst...any hotel in Japan....the rooms are just a wee bit larger than your bathroom at home...no kidding !!! Plus no English TV or Americam food !!

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Kat Baggett
Film Handler

Posts: 23
From: Citrus Heights, CA
Registered: Feb 2002


 - posted 07-28-2002 03:35 AM      Profile for Kat Baggett   Email Kat Baggett   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
ok...now to play referee....betweeen Aaron and Ian..
Best Western's are independantly owned...and it does really depend on the management and the owners aw to what you will find at each one...I believe I work at one of the better ones...and if you would like to come down and take a ture just let me know and I can set it up...but you might want to wait until I get back to work..and at this point in time I am not sure when that will be....hopefully the doc can get my surgery scheduled for the next couple of weeks and get me back there soon...

Kat

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99


 - posted 07-28-2002 06:14 AM      Profile for Brad Miller   Author's Homepage   Email Brad Miller       Edit/Delete Post 
I don't look for much in the way of a hotel room...just a reasonably comfy bed, a way to patch my laptop into the phone and quiet. Since I prefer to start work in the afternoon and work very late into the night, a late check out time is also preferred. Any place that you must check out of at 10:00 AM to me is a bad place. Noon is reasonable.

With that in mind, I haven't had too many complaints with various places I have stayed. However there is one chain I do not patronize just by the name alone. Ever hear of "Budgetell motels"? Something about that name just doesn't strike me right. Don't get it? Say it out loud.


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Ken Layton
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1452
From: Olympia, Wash. USA
Registered: Sep 1999


 - posted 07-28-2002 12:22 PM      Profile for Ken Layton   Email Ken Layton   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
There are some real hotel horror stories at www.gripenet.com and search the past gripes.

Motel 6 is just so-so for me, but the I have been very happy with SUPER 8 MOTELS, Holiday Inn Express, and Howard Johnsons.

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John Scott
Master Film Handler

Posts: 252
From: Oakdale, MN, USA
Registered: Jul 2000


 - posted 07-28-2002 03:07 PM      Profile for John Scott   Email John Scott   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Budgetels were owned and franchised by the Marcus Corporation. About 5 years ago, Marcus decided to move from the limited service lodging to a mid-level lodging chain and remodeled all of the old locations (and contstructed many new ones) and renamed the chain Baymont Inns. The quality is actually quite good and very reasonable. Each location has free lobby breakfasts, and most rooms now have data ports in the desk lamps and complementary bottled water in the rooms.

You can check them out online at www.baymontinns.com .


As for Budgetel, there is 1 Budgetel in name only still in existance (in order to keep the trademark on the name) in Appleton, WI. It has all of the Baymont amenities (and was remodeled in the conversion), but just has the other name.


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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000


 - posted 07-28-2002 04:09 PM      Profile for Leo Enticknap   Author's Homepage   Email Leo Enticknap   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The present heatwave currently settled over London (where I am temporarily house-sitting and cat-sitting whilst rellies are on hols) reminds me of a horrid experience of a B & B in Oxford where I stayed once or twice when, as a postgrad student based in Exeter, I did relief shifts for City Screen.

Like Brad, I didn't really care about the facilities: I was only going to be there for about eight hours. The evening I arrived was one of the hottest of the year, yet the radiators were full on and the valves seemed to be jammed open. The windows would not open. A couple in the next room were having an almighty row: the woman was explaining in gruesome detail what she would do to her husband if he didn't accede to a list of demands. Six sweaty and sleepness hours later I was seated over breakfast (barely eatable) with a fat South African who decided to lecture me about how the 'bliks' were ruining Africa and that 'we should have hanged that shit Mandela when we had the chance.'

And then followed 12 hours showing Evita and a four-hour drive home. Those were the days...

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