Cheap motels

[Arizona Wayne]

A few years ago we stayed @ a private motel in Idaho in a small town where the cost of your room was according to its luxury. We don't need fancy so stayed in the room for hunters($45).  They even let me change my motor oil there which was due. 

[Bill N]

On my trips I typically mix Motels with camping. Weather bad=Motel. I stay in cheap motels and have never been burned. Hain't seen a bed bug in my life. Cheap motels for me are those at $60 or less. Trip from Fl to CA I mostly used camping Cabins at KOA. In each case they were clean if not humble, but at $40 I was happy. In Flagstaff I did pay $80 but it had TV, wifi, heat and a large room. and  below the motel prices in the area. It's not a perfect world out there but in general I think our motel options are better than most (not all) countries.
Bill

[Chuck in Indiana]

Sometimes that hundred dollar hotel room is worth lots more than a hundred dollars.

Sometimes that forty dollar hotel room ain't worth spit.

I've quit staying at dives.  The novelty wore off years ago.

The problem is, that hundred dollar hotel room just might be one fiddy depending on what day. (!) Nope, we'll suck it up and sleep under the stars.  for normally under 30 bux. (Guzzi content)
We have friends that brought bedbugs home from a 4 star hotel. It took over a year until they were bedbug free. <shrug> Need I say, Dorcia would rather camp?   

[Lannis]

On my trips I typically mix Motels with camping. Weather bad=Motel. I stay in cheap motels and have never been burned. Hain't seen a bed bug in my life. Cheap motels for me are those at $60 or less. Trip from Fl to CA I mostly used camping Cabins at KOA. In each case they were clean if not humble, but at $40 I was happy. In Flagstaff I did pay $80 but it had TV, wifi, heat and a large room. and  below the motel prices in the area. It's not a perfect world out there but in general I think our motel options are better than most (not all) countries.
Bill

Our motel options are certainly more varied than in, say, the UK, which is one place I have experience riding and camping.    There are very few motels compared to here - normal procedure is to camp in the back garden of a pub (or sometimes the pubs have rooms upstairs, if you ask nice).   Lots of camping places, few motels .... but we always have fun there.

Lannis

[oldbike54]

 Bed bugs aren't class conscious .

 Dusty

[Chuck in Indiana]

Bed bugs aren't class conscious .

 Dusty

True, true..

[Guzzistajohn]

My mom says growing up in the depression they would put the legs of thier bed in cans of kerosene to keep the bedbugs out. Good old hillbilly injenuity.

[travelingbyguzzi]

My brother is a trucker for Frito-Lay out of Jonesboro AR. When I told him I tend to stay at Trucker Motels, he didn't know what I meant.
Rodeway or Knight's Inn. I think his standards are a bit higher.

Bill Lovelady     IS
Eskimo Spy

[leafman60]

Beware BEDBUGS

Also SCABIES (under skin colonies of mites)

I've known more than one person who have contacted both from cheap motels.

Scabies-

[HDGoose]

Beware BEDBUGS

Also SCABIES (under skin colonies of mites)

I've known more than one person who have contacted both from cheap motels.

Scabies-

I knew a couple in Florida that moved out of their house for 3 months to get ride of bugs brought home from a resort in Orlando. It never has been just cheap hotels. 

[Guzzer]

I usually use Expedia to book hotels and look at the reviews.  Before I hit the Reserve button, I check Trip Advisor reviews.  Often get nicer hotel for cheap hotel prices on weekdays by booking same afternoon. Weekends better to book in advance. 
Most motels have a headboard held loosely to wall bu two screws & a slot that I lift off and look behind before unpacking.  As soon as I get home, I strip off and put all clothes in black plastic bag(s) & leave in the sun, or directly into washing machine, even if I didn't wear them. Travel shoes stay outside for a while. Take a shower.

[leafman60]

It never has been just cheap hotels.

That is true.  If you check the various bed bug registry sites, you will see listings for all sorts of motels. If you go to the trouble to calculate percentages of total motel units for chains, you will see the places most often afflicted with bed bugs.  No info on Scabies, though.

I had a friend who worked with the highest rated luxury hotel chain in Canada.  Many rooms were $2000+ per night. Even they had bed bugs.

The explanation was that they had many wealthy foreign visitors whose cultural norms of cleanliness often was conducive to bed bug infestations.  That's what they said.

I check my bed in any motel. I've never found a bed bug but I have found lots of left-over hair in the bed and strong shaving lotion on the pillows. Those were all the cheap places in my case.  I have walked out on those. 

example of bed bug bites-

[Lannis]

I check my bed in any motel. I've never found a bed bug but I have found lots of left-over hair in the bed and strong shaving lotion on the pillows. Those were all the cheap places in my case.  I have walked out on those.

The reason why Best Westerns and Holiday Inns started out extremely successfully and made a fortune over the years is because (at one time) you could COUNT ON the standards and level of cleanliness at those and similar franchised chains (talking 50s and 60s here).

Until then, you were taking a chance on getting an hourly-rate flophouse, or a flea farm, or the Bates Motel; unless you were local, you just didn't know.   But Holiday Inns were all the same, the franchise headquarters checked on them all the time, you knew what you were getting.

Not any more!   Days Inn is a good example.   I've seen Days Inns that were nice clean bright three-star motels, and I've seen Days Inns on the same trip that I wouldn't let my dog stay in, because he'd be cleaner than the motel.   

Maybe franchising isn't what it used to be.   As many have said, you have to do your own checking, or use resources like TripAdvisor to get some data ....

Lannis

[JJ]

I used to camp a lot when I was younger, but now, there is nothing like hot shower and a clean bed after a long day's ride.  

On many an overnight motorcycle road trip, I have stayed in some flea-bag hotels of biblical proportions,  but for the most part, it's all part of the adventure!   For the most part, they are just fine...

Here is one in Magdalena, New Mexico that we stayed in a few years ago.  It is a hunting lodge for local hunters, actually, and it was OK.

For this year, we are staying again at the luxurious Largo Motel in booming Quemado, NM, just up the road from Datil.

[rocker59]

Stories like these make me want to buy an RV and sleep in my own bed when travelling !!!   

[Lannis]

Stories like these make me want to buy an RV and sleep in my own bed when travelling !!!   

I'm the opposite; I'm reading the current "camper/RV" thread and thinking "What a nightmare!   Having to drive a huge rig down the road, burning $120 worth of fuel every day, parking up cheek-by-jowl with other rigs in some Kampground at night for another $40 .... paying taxes and for tires and tags on yet another vehicle .... ".

I guess I'm just a motorcyclist at heart.   The Scots purists say "If it's nae rain, it's nae golf."   I say if it's nae motorcycle, it's nae vacation ....

Lannis

[Chuck in Indiana]

We prefer the bike in the van and pulling a 300 lb. motorcycle camper.. basically a tent on wheels with storage inside. It has a king size bed and stand up dressing room. On our mega vacation this year..Drone across the plains for 2 days in air conditioned comfort, then take the bike out of the van and ride. <shrug> works for us.
We slept and ate well. Cheap.  I cooked every night, some mornings. We'd normally grab a salad somewhere for lunch. Rode some of the best roads in the US. What's not to like? 
1-20160714_201324 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr

[Penderic]

And don't forget, proximity to loud Bars and run down Dives! That's a big concern to my peace of mind.







After all, if it is too far, I am sure to fall flat on my face on the way back! 

[Markcarovilli]

Somewhere there is a joke about staying in any motel with a number in it.....

Think I know what it was getting at.

Mark

[guzzipete]

Last year on my way to Abilene I paid $20 (including tax) for a motel in Benson, AZ. Cash only. It was clean, had free WiFi.

On my way back from Abilene I paid $100 for a Motel 6 in Bishop, Ca. It was supposed to have free WiFi, but their router could no handle the load.

[Arizona Wayne]

Last year on my way to Abilene I paid $20 (including tax) for a motel in Benson, AZ. Cash only. It was clean, had free WiFi.

On my way back from Abilene I paid $100 for a Motel 6 in Bishop, Ca. It was supposed to have free WiFi, but their router could no handle the load.

Yep, I found out a # of years ago don't plan on stopping in Bishop, Ca. for the night if you can help it.  All the motel owners there(including Motel 6) are in cahoots to make sure your stay ain't cheap.      In fact the adjacent motels are in cahoots with Bishop too.    Didn't used to be that way.

[Penderic]

Loved the TV series!



 

[oldbike54]

 Me too Pennie .

 "You need a plastic surgeon dear , not a doctor" 

 Dusty

[ken farr]

We prefer the bike in the van and pulling a 300 lb. motorcycle camper.. basically a tent on wheels with storage inside. It has a king size bed and stand up dressing room. On our mega vacation this year..Drone across the plains for 2 days in air conditioned comfort, then take the bike out of the van and ride. <shrug> works for us.
We slept and ate well. Cheap.  I cooked every night, some mornings. We'd normally grab a salad somewhere for lunch. Rode some of the best roads in the US. What's not to like? 
1-20160714_201324 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr

....I think I kinda like your set up, makes sense.  Travel, use it as a base camp for a day or 6...hmmm.

[Chuck in Indiana]

....I think I kinda like your set up, makes sense.  Travel, use it as a base camp for a day or 6...hmmm.

It works for us, Ken. We've tried other things, but always come back to "put the bike in the van, tow the camper." It even works for one night stands. You get pretty fast at setup and tear down.
The van can be used as a normal vehicle, too.. not just a camping thing that you have to store somewhere. <shrug>

[Lannis]

It works for us, Ken. We've tried other things, but always come back to "put the bike in the van, tow the camper." It even works for one night stands. You get pretty fast at setup and tear down.
The van can be used as a normal vehicle, too.. not just a camping thing that you have to store somewhere. <shrug>

Our variation on that is the "Roadrunner Magazine"-style "Shamrock Tour".   Well, not style, really, actual.   

Fay and I were looking for something to do on our 40th Anniversary, and we got down all the old RR magazines, and she decided on a tour of Southeastern Kentucky.

So we rode (oh, it was hot, but we managed it!) to Williamsburg, Kentucky and got a nice room for the week at the Cumberland Inn.   Then each day, we'd follow RR's pre-run maps (paper, of course) and take a 200-mile ride each day - one each north, south, east, and west.    We really got to know the countryside well, from the South Fork gorges to the Middlesboro coal mines, and each night we'd end up back at the Inn and splash in the pool and pick a nice place to eat.

Then the last day, head toward home, no rush ... and all the road miles on the bike ...

Lannis