Stops that are pits

[Jay McCoy]

You got lucky Bill. We had a total of 4 rooms amungst us and all were hellish to say the least.

Dead crickets all over the floor to me would mean that they hadnt cleaned or vacuumed the room. Not the kind of place I room I would expect for $70 a night which was crazy in itself. this isnt a Ramada or Luxury Suites. I prefer best westerns since most of them now have Wi-Fi. that is one of the 1st things I look for when choosing a hotel now.

 

[Kurt Silvey]

ANY motel within walking distance of a truck stop.

Give Priceline.com a try. Many times you can get a really nice hotel for $40 -$50.

 

[Joe Nield]

On the other hand, I have nothing but compliments for Fairfield Inns. Clean, large, comfortable rooms, polite service, and reasonable at around $70 a night, which is great when splitting expenses.

 

[GPhillips]

Here in Grand Island, there are two places to avoid like the plague: The Days Inn, on Diers Ave (basically a frontage road off US281) on the northwest side of town and the Conoco Motel on US30 as you come into southside of downtown.

Mike, I'd be curious to know what the problems are, as I've stayed at that Day's Inn twice (last time in 2003) and had a good experience.

 

[Damon Scott Hynes]

I prefer best westerns since most of them now have Wi-Fi. that is one of the 1st things I look for when choosing a hotel now.

Best Western in Chillicothe, Mo is the suck. Had made rez's beforehand, wanted non-smoking and got smoking. Travelling with mom-in-law, needed ground floor and got second story. Mentioned this to the desk clerk and she said "This is the only hotel within 40 miles with rooms" with a smirk in her voice...

 

[Damon Scott Hynes]

On the other hand, I have nothing but compliments for Fairfield Inns.

Roger that. Stay there whenever I can. Neat, quiet, and backed up by a company that has shareholders to answer to, so they will at least listen to any concerns. (In the interest of disclosure, I own Marriott stock...)

 

[Amos Magliocco]

I agree with Jay about Best Westerns. They have either WiFi or hardwired high-speed network connections almost anywhere in the country, even Helena, Arkansas on the Mississippi River.

Most of my chasing life I've used Motel 6 or Super 8 only. But I've found that having the speedy internet like Best Western saves me a lot of time (don't have to go find a connection after checking out of the room) and the smallish free breakfast they serve has become essential for me. I can handle snacking on whatever is around for the rest of the day and into the night if I've had something in the morning. Skipping coffee is not an option anymore, and grabbing some free breakfast in the lobby is cheaper, faster, and usually much healthier than going the McD's drive through. For those who live on the road during chase season, this is important because of the cumulative effect of Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuits over several weeks. Not pretty.

What makes it possible is that Best Western's rates have dropped. Or at least it seems as if they have. They are typically about $5-9 higher than nearby Super 8s, and for the reasons mentioned above, I'm willing to pay the extra. I think I get more than $10 worth of value from the time saved in the forecasting process and the free food.

PS: The Super 8 in El Reno is a disaster.

 

[Glen Romine]

Henryetta, OK will forever be stuck in my brain as a bad place to stop. There may be some fans here of Huckleberry's Pig Out Palace Restaurant, but I'm not one of them, and the accomodations are pretty scary. I think there is also a Super 8 on the west side of town near the interstate that I've not stayed in, and it might be ok, but other choices more in 'town' are pretty shabby joints, but reasonably priced for those on an extreme budget (sub $30 a night).

While it would be nice to avoid them, pick just about any town on I-70 through KS and expect to have serious trouble finding an available hotel room. Parts of I-80 can be tough too, but the stretch from Hays to Topeka can reliably run out of rooms by late afternoon on a weekend, early evening an other day of the week for most of the chase season.

Grand Island is another place I try to avoid staying - unless I can get a room at one of the few places by the interstate (where food choices are extremely limited though - I only recall an Arby's), because otherwise it is a healthy drive from the interstate to the main part of town.

Also, watch out for the annual World Pork Expo in Des Moines, every decent hotel within 80 miles will be booked in advance. This year it runs 9-11 June.

Glen

 

[Robbie Cox]

The Days Inn in Altus, Ok is a nasty death trap.

I've stayed there twice now, including once in 2002. While it was no five-star hotel, my experiences were not nearly as bad as yours. In 2002, I do remember that my room had lots of dead crickets on the floor...

Other places to avoid: Super-8 in Garden City, KS - next door to a large livestock farm. Additionally, there were problems with the plumbing in the room.

- bill

thanks for the heads up as i'm taking family on vacation to Dodge City/ Garden city and a few other place in kansas and western missouri Memorial week.

 

[Mikel Shively]

I prefer best westerns since most of them now have Wi-Fi. that is one of the 1st things I look for when choosing a hotel now.

Best Western in Chillicothe, Mo is the suck. Had made rez's beforehand, wanted non-smoking and got smoking. Travelling with mom-in-law, needed ground floor and got second story. Mentioned this to the desk clerk and she said "This is the only hotel within 40 miles with rooms" with a smirk in her voice...

For future reference. The Super 8 in Trenton is a pretty good place to stay, or so I hear.

 

[mrobinett]

important because of the cumulative effect of Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuits over several weeks. Not pretty.

Maybe a "Supersize me" chaser edition, could be lucrative!!

Oh, the Holiday Inn in Gallup, NM bad, walls paper thin...why were we in Gallup again??

Mike

 

[Dave Carroll]

another vote

Hey, another vote for the Super 8 in Council Bluffs! The talk of the locals at the time last May was of a murder/disappearance from the truck stop next door. But, the talk during our stay was tempered by a half-way decent continental breakfast. -DC

 

[Joe Nield]

Re: another vote

Hey, another vote for the Super 8 in Council Bluffs! The talk of the locals at the time last May was of a murder/disappearance from the truck stop next door. But, the talk during our stay was tempered by a half-way decent continental breakfast. -DC

When I and two of my cohorts were in Seattle for the AMS conference in January of 2004, we stayed in a Motel 6 south of the city our first night out. We had arrived a couple of days early to do some sightseeing before moving into our fancy AMS-paid digs downtown. The place was clean and cozy, but certainly nothing special.

The next morning, when one of them went downstairs to ask for a couple extra towels, the guy at the desk offered him a job. They had apparently lost several employees to a massive drug bust the week before. According to the management at the much nicer, locally-owned, and only slightly more expensive "King's Coachman" Motel across the highway where we stayed the next night, this is about a twice-a-year event.

As far as that Super 8, I'm glad I didn't know about that when we stayed there on the night of the 23rd last year. What was frustrating about that was that we thought Council Bluffs would be a good target for the 24th, but we ended up heading to Beatrice, NE that morning, where we had stayed in a VERY nice Super 8 on the 22nd. Too bad we didn't just stay put. :lol:

 

[Tony Laubach]

Re: another vote

When I and two of my cohorts were in Seattle for the AMS conference in January of 2004, we stayed in a Motel 6 south of the city our first night out.

Joe, I was at that conference, too! We stayed in some seedy hotel across the street from I think it was the Radison (not exactly sure)... behind us was a strip joint... and in the girls' room, there was a condom on the floor! Not exactly the best place to stay and most certainly the last time I let my teacher shop for hotels for conventions! :lol: What a dive!

 

[Jeff Wear]

One of the worst places I've stayed at was in Cheyenne WY. This hotel was totally in the stone age - the rooms had no TV and no phone, and they took an imprint of my credit card. At least it was only $23/night.

The Ramada Inn in Wheat Ridge CO (western suburb of Denver) has some of the thinnest walls ever constructed. Just hope the person staying in the next room doesn't have bronchitis....otherwise it's going to be a long night......