Worst place you've stayed on a trip

[Zoning Goddess]

Has this been done before? Did a search, didn't find it.

Mine was a motel in Daytona Beach that a boyfriend took me to. Miniscule room, no rugs/carpet, non-adjustable thermostat, the proprietors were two Chinese guys with thick glasses who spoke minimal English. The lowest point was the towels. They were so worn, there was no "terry" left on the terry-cloth. I was afraid to touch anything. $18.99 a night. Ick.

 

[kms]

Some budget place on a geology field trip in Shenandoah Valley. The rooms were dirty, sma;; and stinky. We took the room chairs out onto the sidewalk and had a party. The less time spent in the room the better.

 

[Chet]

Some crappy northern Wisconsin lodge / resort on a "leadership retreat" for student government. It was hazing in reverse, becasue the senior folks cooked and cleaned for the incoming folk. It was 8 bunks to a barrack, outhouses (even though it was near the lake. sooo not to code) and no showers for 3 days.

 

[Cardinal]

Tough choice. I stayed in a dive hotel in Atlantic City one night. I left at about five in the morning, pretty sure that by not taking a shower, I would still be cleaner than if I did.

Then there was the time I stayed in a motel between Sault Ste. Marie and Wawa. My girlfriend found a hole in the box spring where the mice had burrowed in. Neither of us felt comfortable walking around without shoes on.

I stayed at a Howard Johnsons in New Haven. I have never stayed in one fo their hotels since. It was the most run-down chain hotel room I have ever seen.

 

[H]

Mine was a motel in Daytona Beach that a boyfriend took me to.

I think EVERY place in Daytona Beach is the WORST. I will never go back. *sorry Daytona Beachians*

I traveled around in Hostels in South America (but not in Chile, SkeL) during summer 2001 and there were some bad ones. Like at one place there was no potable or running water. The water was kept in a plastic trash can in the ‘shared’ bathroom. You had to dip a cup in to get water to wash, brush your teeth, flush the toilet, etc…

But it was a great time and the experiences made me not even realize the conditions.

 

[Dan]

I stayed at a Red Roof Inn in Miamisburg, Ohio that was ... well, okay. Thing was ... when I checked in, the place was empty. I could have had the run of the house. However, the room I got was as close to a six lane Interstate highway was you could get. They wouldn't let me switch rooms. The room was tiny, and there was only a foot or two in the area around the bed. The cable TV reception was terrible, and all the coax tweaking in the world couldn't fix it.

The room was prepaid, so I couldn't just give the keys back and stay somewhere else. I can deal with peeling wallpaper and bad television reception, but I couldn't deal with the endless, loud, Doppler shifting drone coming from the Interstate. I couldn't sleep that night ... maybe three our four hours, tops. Even late at night, the traffic counts on that Interstate were incredible.

At least it was only one night.

 

[The Irish One]

It was in Berkeley on University Ave. Blood on the wall, stained sheets, door didn't shut proper, many live-ins up all night on god only knows what, bathroom was filthy, disgusting. No place for a metrosexual (which I'm not) Shame on me for staying there.

 

[tsc]

One of those Days/Quality Inns in Maryland. There were stains and nasty hairs on the sheets.... the maid did not change the sheets from the former guests...

 

[Jeff]

Pick a hotel in 29 Palms, CA or Jacksonville, NC and I've stayed in it. You just don't get much dumpier than that, except for the place I stayed in TJs one night.

 

[donk]

The Delta in Moncton is no roaring hell. The grout and silicone around the tub had mold on it.

The Beaverbrook in fredericton, the shower had a screwed up on / off switch and the carpet was purple shag from the 70's. The entire hotel smells like the pool.

The Chelsea in Toronto. I'm glad I was not paying the $300 a night listed on the back of the door. Just old and dumpy inside, plus the electronic key kept demagnetizing. To give them teh benefit of the doubt, I think they were in the process of remodelling.

The Ramada in Hull, by the Casino. Overcharged me for a phone call and would not work it out.

Some cheezy place out by the airport in Montreal. More on location and services available then on the quality of the rooms. We all wanted to kill the FQSC for booking a hotel in the middle of nowhere, when a downtown hotel would have been the same price or cheaper. Especially considering it was a $25 cab ride each way to downtown.

Final one, there is a hotel on the TransCanada, near Montreal, with monster trucks and giant dinosaurs that I've stayed at. The entire hotel is cinder block. You wear your shoes in the shower and sleep on top of the blankets. Good thing it is only $40 a night.


Only rule for a hotel is that it must be cleaner then my house, which is not hard to do.

 

[Planderella]

The Davis Inn in Orlando. This was several years ago so I don't really remember the details except that it was a pretty gross place (at least by a 12 yr old's standards).

 

[Repo Man]

The wost place I ever stayed was this dump in St. Louis called the Super Inn. It was near downdown and Laclede's Landing and it was like 55 bucks a night. It was horrible. There was a rotting bananna peel hanging on the lamp, grafitti on the walls that read "Blackjack Tripped Here." and an angry owner. There were drug dealers and hookers wandering nearby. Sadly, we went back to St. Louis and stayed there again simply for the entertainment value.

We almost stayed at a dump in Tampa changed our minds after seeing the room. It was nasty. The light in the bathroom didn't work, there was one towel and it was dirty. No pillow cases and they were stained, carpet was coming up, bugs everywhere. It was 25 bucks a night. We looked at it for about 2 minutes and went back and demanded our money back. We then went to the nearest Holiday Inn.

 

[biscuit]

Behind a large rock in park in Key West, Florida. Fun trip but next time I'm getting a room.

 

[Big Easy King]

On a road trip to an LSU - Ole Miss football game a few years ago, some friends and I stayed at the Ponotac Inn just outside of Oxford, MS. Another friend, who wasn't able to join us, set up the hotel arrangements and convinced us that the hotel was the lap of luxury...NOT!!!

In everyone's rooms there were roaches everywhere, stains on the cheesy beds, and the funkiest bathrooms known to man. It was the only place that had available rooms, but we decided to crash in our 2 vehicles. We wanted to give our friend a royal beat-down for playing that ill joke on us, but we all trip out about it now. If you love extreme funk and happen to be in the Oxford area, I suggest that you room with the roaches at the lovely Ponotac Inn...NOT!!! Yuk!!! Damn!!!

 

[tsc]

The wost place I ever stayed was this dump in St. Louis Sadly, we went back to St. Louis and stayed there again simply for the entertainment value.

you know how to really live it up....

 

[biscuit]

If you love extreme funk and happen to be in the Oxford area, I suggest that you room with the roaches at the lovely Ponotac Inn...NOT!!! Yuk!!! Damn!!!

So Huston, how many dates did you take to the Ponotac back in your day?

 

[BKM]

Probably the "Blue Moon Motel" east of Pittsburgh. Ugly old motel with all of the nastiness listed above. Plus, a hooker and her pimp having a loud argument all night/morning in the room next door.

From an experience standpoint, the Motel 6 in Chico, California was pretty bad. HORRIBLE freeway noise, lumpy bed, lousy room, and I was in the absolute coughing and gasping-for -breath throes of seasonal allergies, and I knew I had to wake up early next morning to bicycle the Chico Wildflower Century.

 

[Tranplanner]

I once stayed at a dumpy Bed and Breakfast in London, England. Had to share a bed with my brother.

Stayed at a crappy hotel in Chicago once on a university field trip. Freaked everyone out when I demonstrated how easily I could break into the rooms with my student card. Had to share a bed - unfortunately it was not with one of my female classmates.

A few years ago, a buddy and I took a roadtrip through upstate New York and stayed at a series of progressively worse motels. The one in Poughkeepsie was the "winner" - reeked of smoke, stained walls, noisy.

 

[nerudite]

I've stayed at pensions throughout Europe, a few in some questionable neighbourhoods. The only time I was truly scared though was a place I stayed in Downtown Vancouver (BC)... this little hole in the wall over a bar. There were lots of fights outside and the door didn't lock. The police showed up three times that night, and there was a ton of activity in the hallways. Oh yeah... and the bed was nasty.

 

[otterpop]

On our honeymoon my wife and I went to Skagway, Alaska. Oh, I know what you're thinking -- doesn't everyone? Anyhoo, I booked a room in what was supposed to be the best hotel in town and it was not cheap. Our room turned out to be in the annex, which was a cinderblock motel with no air-conditioning, no fan and virtually no ventilation. Our room was next to where the college students who worked there for the summer lived. Needless to say it was loud. Lots of collegiate whooping and foul language (fortunately my wife's English wasn't so good at the time). The college kids kept late hours (okay, it was our honeymoon, so we weren't really bothered too much by that) Our view from our room was someone's back yard.

The room sucked, but otherwise it was a great trip. We happened to arrive at the town's 100th anniversary, so there was a big free party. Also there was a Summer Solstice Party which rocked. On the way back, flying into Juneau, the bush pilot took us over the Mendenhall Glacier - which people pay about $60 a head to get to do and ours was gratis.

 

[SlaveToTheGrind]

Summer 1988, Stavropol, Russia. Our tour group from People to People spent three weeks in the Soviet Union. We went to the the Stavropol Krai, or region and stayed in the city of Stavorpol - our (Iowa) sister state, situated between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. The hotel was just awful with one community bathroom per floor. I've seen better bathroom facilities at truck stops in the middle of Wyoming. It was bad. Because it was so bad, we complained and only stayed there one or two nights and then took a bus to Pyatigorsk and got a decent hotel.

 

[Queen B]

The Parrot Inn outside of Springfield, MO.
A lesson in: Don't travel on Memorial Weekend without a room waiting. All the rooms were filled in Springfield and the Parrot was the closest.

Huge neon Parrot flashing all night. I did not actually see any roaches but the family talked about it so much you could feel them crawl.

 

[Jessie-J]

in my 83 Toyota Corolla SW, high as a kite all night.

after that, there was this Ramada in north dallas and I swear there was blood splattered on the wall. I asked to change rooms I was freaked out by it so much.

 

[El Feo]

Budgetel, somewhere around Dearborn (Taylortucky, maybe?). On the upside, it was cheap.

All of the above horrors. I think the chain's name is actually a contraction of "Budget Hell."

 

[Plannerbabs]

Funnily enough, considering the other post going about APA accomodations, it was the youth hostel they recommened for Denver. Three bunk beds in a room, linoleum floors (probably cleaner than the carpet in the common area), locked gates on all the doors, oddly lumpy beds. But it was really cheap and relatively clean, so we stuck it out. And kept our shoes on.

 

[Jen]

Fell into the maw of a Red Roof Inn once, tween Atlanta and Valdosta somewhere late at night.

The hotel was cloaked in a filmy greasy residue, there was a mold galaxy established behind the curtains. we slept in our clothes on top of the bed. Shoud've slept inthe car instead!

My last hotel stay was a dream, King size suite, two big tvs, mini fridge and microwave, booked it in advance so I got a great rate!

 

[el Guapo]

I slept in the front bucket of a backhoe in Iraq so the tanks wouldn't run over me at night during the groundwar.

I slept in a sunken house boat that was laying on the bay floor right behind the Amsterdam train station.

I have slept in the AstroWorld Hotel in Houston right next door to the entire Ranibow-Push Coalition Staff (The Who in concert are quiter).

But the worst was the Dreamland Motel in Junction City Kansas. Made famous by Tim McVeigh. I believe the managment, not the staff or maids, were helping themselves to guest items when the guests were away from the room. I did 30 days there.

 

[BiteMeElmo]

get yer candy apples here!

I worked with a carnival as a teenager (yes, I'm a real ex-carnie). Not that I had career aspirations in the field or anything, it was just for summer money and the odd lay (emphasis on ODD). During those couple of summers, I slept on truck floors, piles of wrenches (when there was absolutely no room anywhere else to sleep in a moving vehicle), and the bare ground, to name a few.

For motels, one time I stayed in a little roadside motel. I found hair on the pillow and in the bed, as well as a dried up "wet spot" on the comforter.

 

[H]

So Huston, how many dates did you take to the Ponotac back in your day?

Never heard of it? maybe it changed names, hotels in that areas seem to do that on a regular basis.

FYI: the date hotel was the OLE MISS MOTEL in my day
(also full of roaches).

 

[Queen B]

el Guapo says
"But the worst was the Dreamland Motel in Junction City Kansas. Made famous by Tim McVeigh. I believe the managment, not the staff or maids, were helping themselves to guest items when the guests were away from the room. I did 30 days there. "

It is such a small world after all!!! Don't we know.

My daughter's Grandfather is a business man in JC and in fact at one point owned the Dreamland Motel. Not on the top of the list of things I would just acknowledge being proud of in my life! But an interesting twist.

 

[SkeLeton]

The worst place I've been, and that I can remember, is one cheap hotel in La Serena, due to the peak of the summer vacations, everything else was full. We only stayed one night and when we left we saw people that had slept in their cars.

Let me describe the horror of this "hotel" (I bet it could easily pass as a Motel), first off, being in a family of 4 and the only room available was a triple with one extra couch that could be used as bed, I got that couch, that of course was "extra comfty", the wonderfull view out of a minuscle window was to the roof of the supermarket/restaurant that was next door. The best thing was the smell of the "hotel" a lovely mix between excesive humidity and ciggarette smoke. The walls were evidently stained and the paper was peeling off to give it a classy touch .
The carpet had clear signs of ciggarette and ironing burns, and the bathroom had a few broken tiles and no ventilation at all.

Yeah.. it's not THAT bad, comparing with others some have mentioned... but we generally go out camping rather than hotels and lodges.

 

[Trail Nazi]

Has this been done before? Did a search, didn't find it.

Mine was a motel in Daytona Beach that a boyfriend took me to. Miniscule room, no rugs/carpet, non-adjustable thermostat, the proprietors were two Chinese guys with thick glasses who spoke minimal English. The lowest point was the towels. They were so worn, there was no "terry" left on the terry-cloth. I was afraid to touch anything. $18.99 a night. Ick.

We must have stayed at the same place. My husband took me there when we were dating and I swear it must have been a pay by the hour place because it was so cheap. However, our towels were about the size of wash clothes, as thin as paper, and just as rough as sand paper. I was terrified that we were going to get raided for something. Talk about being affraid to touch something, that is why you never ever use a hotel room comforter.

 

[dreamlandmotelks]

dreamland motel

I slept in the front bucket of a backhoe in Iraq so the tanks wouldn't run over me at night during the groundwar.

I slept in a sunken house boat that was laying on the bay floor right behind the Amsterdam train station.

I have slept in the AstroWorld Hotel in Houston right next door to the entire Ranibow-Push Coalition Staff (The Who in concert are quiter).

But the worst was the Dreamland Motel in Junction City Kansas. Made famous by Tim McVeigh. I believe the managment, not the staff or maids, were helping themselves to guest items when the guests were away from the room. I did 30 days there.

my husband and i purchased Dreamland Motel in jc july 2001. I am the owner, manager, and the maid... I have had a few girls help me from time to time, one lady cindy has been here since sept 2001. I have been in the motel business since june of 1978. Our policey is if something personal is left on the bed you don't touch the bed. we wont touch your stuff, i wont even dust my table if it means moving your stuff.
i guess my question to you is when did you stay here? and what were you missing? if you didn't think the maids were doing it why didn't you bring it to someones attention, say the maids or file a report with the police? I also know that the motel next door had a big problem with people going into other peoples rooms and helping them selves... Playstations, food, even some clothes.
In my travels i have stayed in some places where i got charged alot of money 68.00 for a dump as that was all that was left i keep a can of lysol in the trunk of my car for places like that... but you as the public have a chance to make these places clean up... contact the health department, fire marshall, even the local police and file a report. i know of one local motel that the health inspector is out there if not every week every other week. and this place is still in business.
you may go to yahoo travel and search junction city. we are now listed number 2 as places to stay in jc. i work very hard to keep a nice clean place, we give a great discount to not only the army troops but also to their families coming to see them, we have helpped meny people stranded or stuck here due to car problems, lack of money, pay it forward is all we ask from someone when we help them, just help the next person
please reply public or personal.
thank you
marsha
American owned mom and pop

 

[The One]

Kans-ass

Any Motel or Hotel in KANS-ASS is my vote! Roaches and bugs that make Florida look tame.....:-c

 

[Repo Man]

I guess I have 3 and they all fall into different categories.

First, while in Tampa for a college bowl game we found this motel on Hillsborough Avenue for 25 bucks a night. We were well aware that it was probably a rent-by-the-hour place but it had a pool and would have only cost 5 bucks each. We went in the room and I was shocked by what I saw. The towels in the bathroom were dirty and the light was burnt out. The carpet was ripped up. The air conditioner had no cover and was dripping on the floor. There was one pillow and it had no cover. It was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. We demanded our money back (2 of the 5 guys on the trip wanted to stay there) and headed to a Holiday Inn down the street. I guess we never actually stayed there so I can't really count it.

Second place was the Super Inn near Laclede's Landing in St. Louis (I think it is a chain now). It was nice because it was dirt cheap and walking distance from the bars. However it was a dump. There was a rotting banana peel hanging from a lamp shade and some graffiti that read "Blackjack Tripped Here" The owner would come in the morning and pound on the door yelling "You pay your rent now." We actually stayed there twice and dealt with the nastiness because of the price and location.

Third place was the Brookshire Suites near the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. We were in town for a wedding and stayed there because of the location. It was somewhat pricey ($160 a night). The lobby was really nice and we were excited to see the room. We were very disappointed. The carpet was worn out and the furniture in the suite was worn to the thread. The shower had mold and was barely trickling when you turned it on. The blanket on the bed had holes in it. One of the biggest rip offs in Baltimore. We sent a complaint letter to the hotel and heard nothing. Later that year the convention and visitor's bureau called me for a random survey and I ripped the hotel to shreds and criticized the bureau for writing up such a nice description of such a dump.

 

[Tide]

I stayed in the Chicago Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel for the 2002 APA convention. Had bugs in the bed, no joke! So they moved us to another room, gave us wine and fruit basket, took a night off our bill, and comp cards to the BIG bar. At least they took care of us, but still that was pretty gross, especially considering we stayed there one night already and didn't notice them till the next night. blech!

 

[Jaxspra]

Second place was the Super Inn near Laclede's Landing in St. Louis (I think it is a chain now). It was nice because it was dirt cheap and walking distance from the bars. However it was a dump. There was a rotting banana peel hanging from a lamp shade and some graffiti that read "Blackjack Tripped Here" The owner would come in the morning and pound on the door yelling "You pay your rent now." We actually stayed there twice and dealt with the nastiness because of the price and location.

Jeez, I can only imagine how gross (and scary) that place must be!!! There are places I would stay in downtown St. Louis, but anywhere near Laclede's Landing is off limits, especially any place where they have long term residents!!! Scary, scary, scary!! Glad you made it out of there
I read your other posts and see that you even went back!!! Hilarious!!:-D

 

[giff57]

I stayed in the Chicago Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel for the 2002 APA convention. Had bugs in the bed, no joke! So they moved us to another room, gave us wine and fruit basket, took a night off our bill, and comp cards to the BIG bar. At least they took care of us, but still that was pretty gross, especially considering we stayed there one night already and didn't notice them till the next night. blech!

Damn! We didn't figure it out until we got home.

 

[the north omaha star]

Some hole-in-the-wall motel in Virginia Beach on Labor Day weekend 2003. My wife then girlfriend was runnning the rock n roll half-marathon there. I'm glad we we armed with bleach to kill the mold and extra blankets. That was the worst place I ever stayed.

 

[Repo Man]

Too funny. I only read page 2 of this thread and realized that I had already posted two of the three hotels I mentioned back in 2003. Sorry for the redundancy.

 

[Maister]

Too funny. I only read page 2 of this thread and realized that I had already posted two of the three hotels I mentioned back in 2003. Sorry for the redundancy.

That's okay, my granddaddy always tells the same four or five stories over and over every time we see him, ya know....;-)

 

[SkeLeton]

The worst place I've been, and that I can remember, is one cheap hotel in La Serena, due to the peak of the summer vacations, everything else was full.

I forgot to mention at that time that that "hotel" (more like Motel) had a very "The Shinning" feel... Probably because the decorations were from the 70's. Sadly there was no elevator to see blood flowing out of...

Oh and after like 2 years.. it's still the worst place I've ever been.

 

[Bear Up North]

This Bear cannot think of a place that was so bad that it has to be included on this list. However, I can safely speak for Katie....she still rambles on about.....

A small family-owned motel in Three Lakes, MI. This tiny village (consisting of a few houses, a marine dealer, three motels, a tavern, and 3 lakes) is about forty (40) miles west of Marquette, MI.....in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

This motel was your typical 1940's construction. Lucky for us.....they had dropped-in new carpet, perhaps about 1973.....orange shag. :-c The TV was about a 1965 floor model, with rabbit ears. No cable, no dish. The bed covers and sheets so turned-off Katie that she made me bring in the sleeping bags from the truck and we slept on those.

It WAS clean, though. The shower was a second-thought, obviously designed for somebody about as tall as.....well, let's just say somebody as tall as some goddess from central Florida. :-c

OTOH.....the bar was about forty (40) feet from our motel front door. The name of the tavern.....Stump's. Boy did I get blitzed. :-$ Didn't have to drive anywhere.

Bear Down By Da Fish Kamp, Eh

 

[Floridays]

International: Mumbai (fka Bombay), India: Some flea-bitten dump with no shower/bathtub -- just a bucket sitting next to the spigot sticking out of the wall. When the creepy crawlers started emerging, we booked it out of there and checked into The Orchid which was SWEET!

Domestic: a Motel 8 in South Carolina (Buford) -- on our way back from NYC, it was dark & pouring rain so we pulled in. The bedside lamps didn't work -- but it was the "fresh" STAINS on the sheets that really did it for me! :-D

 

[Breed]

Stayed at a hostel in New Orleans during the 2001 Planning convention. Ended up sleeping in my car. Kept getting bitten by bugs in the night. But at $8/night, there's little room for complaints.

 

[LMJ]

Tie between the hotel that was once the Radisson on Canal Street in New Orleans, LA. Bathroom hadn't been properly cleaned in months and the staff was surly when we complained. I called Radisson to complain and no response....

La Quinta Inn right off of I-10 in Baton Rouge. Hairs of pubic origin between the sheets , ecch.

 

[jmello]

Stayed at a hostel in New Orleans during the 2001 Planning convention. Ended up sleeping in my car. Kept getting bitten by bugs in the night. But at $8/night, there's little room for complaints.

Not the India House? I was there too.

 

[CosmicMojo]

Most uncomfortable psychologically (as opposed to physically) was a small B&B in Pennsylvania recommended to me by someone at Falling Water when I called for the hours, etc.

It was owned by a VERY religious woman with crossstitch Jesus pictures and bible quotes and you name it covering every wall, table and flat surface. My boyfriend and I were NOT married, but she called us Mr. and Mrs. Mojo and we decided not to correct her least she kick us out into the cold night.

Awkward, and being referred to as a married couple all weekend did not pull my boyfriend any closer to the proposal I was waiting for (this is all years ago, previous boyfriend, Not my husband)--so it was just awkward and scary (being discovered and being called a sinner) and useless.

But Falling Water was GREAT!

 

[Bubba]

The Viking Motor Lodage in Troy, Alabama, circa 1985. Holes in the walls, stains everywhere, broken HVAC, strange odors, bugs, dirt, mold - you name it, it had it. As one of my current co-workers would've said had he'd been there - "it's nothing a quick fire wouldn't fix."

 

[DetroitPlanner]

My worst was a budget chain in Essington, a south suburb of Philadelphia (by the airport), and one of my favorite towns, Chester. I was having a hard time getting a room for my last night, so I went to the airport and started calling from the hotel board. This was the final place I called and it had a room. It was either a Rodeway or an Econolodge (I get those chains mixed up). The van came to the airport to pick me up. The hotel appeared to be a 1940's-1950's vintage Holiday Inn or Howard Johnsons. Well, the parking lot was surrounded by a high razor wire fence and you had to be buzzed in. The place had a resturant at least but it did not appear to be a nice one. I opted for the bar across the street. I walked to the bar, but did not stay or want to eat there as there were not so attractive topless dancers running around on the bar itself. Back to the hotel I ate at the resturant, it was chinese and it did not look like chicken. After eating I went back to my room, but could not get the door open so I went to the front desk. The guy at the front dest followed me back to my room and opened the door by kicking it in and breaking the locks. He would not give me a new room and told me to use the chain to keep people out. Needless to say I did not get much sleep as the hookers kept trying to coax me out of the room, or to open the door. The hookers did disappear for a while when there were all of these cops in the parking lot going through a rental van and harassing some people (how probably needed harassing).

I need to take a shower now just thinking about that place!