Let's Talk Motels/Hotels

After many years in an RV and not having to stay in hotels or motels, we were faced with making a quick decision on December 30th 2017 when our fifth wheel was totaled in a collision. We were both very cold, tired, hungry, not to mention homeless with the clothes on our back and whatever happened to be in the truck.

All I knew was that I needed a fridge for my medication that the fire department recovered for us. So, I immediately thought of Extended Stay America. We paid $71 to stay for the night. It was the worst night of sleep not only from the stress of the accident, but the bedding was horrible. They have a vinyl flooring that makes every room very noisy all around you. 

For breakfast we were sorely disappointed. All they offer are oat based options and only two at that, oatmeal or granola bars. Both of us do not respond well to oats, in fact we consider ourselves allergic and avoid oats whenever possible. In addition, I signed up for a membership thinking I would get a discount for each night's stay. Nope, you get one 20% off on one stay and the rest of the discounts are for other things we are not even remotely interested in. 

After two sleepless nights, we stayed a few nights at the Verde Valley Thousand Trails in a cabin and that was heaven! We paid about $8 more per night than ESA. for the cabin and it was well worth it, but was not going to be sustainable long term. I reached out to my FB peeps and one recommendation for less expensive lodging was to sign up for Choice Priveleges, so I did. Unlike the ESA "club" the Choice Hotels "club" does discount every one of your stays. When it came time to leave TT, I found a room at Econolodge for $43/night with fridge and microwave. I called them to be sure every room came with these items, and got the affirmative. Our room was soooo much more homey than ESA I cannot believe the difference! 

The breakfast buffet was light years better than ESA, the king bed had quality bedding and pillows, true pillows, not little squares of down that are hard as a rock. The floor was carpeted. For us, paying anything for a room is a shock after staying at campgrounds for no cost or $10-$15/night. So it is nice to have a motel chain that we like dialed in at a somewhat palatable price per night.

Now, for our next hop to Idaho, there is no Econolodge, but I did reserve a Rodeway Inn for $46/night, we will see how they compare. Rodeway is also part of Choice Hotels so I expect them to be similar. What  an eye opening experience all this is!