Super 8 By Wyndham Golden

Great mountain views, a safe area, and lots of natural space for walking dogs. It’s dog friendly, and the rooms were very comfortable. For a budget motel, it’s newly remodeled, spotlessly clean, and a great value, with friendly, professional staff.

The room was filthy, and the staff came across as unprofessional. After about an hour, we noticed our children’s socks were dirty. I wet a kitchen towel and dragged it maybe 2 feet across the floor; it came back dark brown. There was crusted food on the kitchen counters, used shampoo bottles behind a curtain, food bits, hair, and dust along the floor edges, old food stuck on utensils, and a shard of broken glass where you leave the shower. It didn’t look like the room had been properly cleaned in a long time. The office staff barely acknowledged us at check-in or checkout and seemed robotic. I’ll give them this: someone came up within a few minutes to fix the TV, though it only had 4 channels. But he arrived in old sweatpants and bare feet in crocs. The lighting was an odd cold white and somehow the room was still dark. I can overlook dated, worn finishes in a budget motel if it’s clean and the operators take some pride in it. Here, it was the last straw.

I was surprised to find a 15 year old flat TV. What hotel still doesn’t have smart TVs? They’re so cheap now, every room should have one. Worse, the room smells like cat pee, even though I’m paying a pet fee for my dog. And the included breakfast is at another hotel, a 15 minute walk away.

We stayed at Super 8 with a booking for April 7, and it was a pleasant visit. The room was clean, hygienic, and super comfortable.