Capone's Hideaway Motel

The room felt like an 8-by-10 cinderblock cell, and the damage deposit at check-in seemed especially galling once I saw its condition. The sink was coming off the wall, the thermostat and smoke detectors had been removed with wadded paper shoved into the openings, and there was graffiti on the headboard. Furniture had cigarette burns all over it, and the baseboard heaters were broken and falling apart. I was in town for a couple of nights and thought this might be a cool place. It’s a dump. I wish I could add photos. Don’t stay here.

Don’t book here, even if a site says it’s available. The motel is closed and boarded up after a fire in December. In our experience, Hotels.com and other partner booking sites hadn’t been notified and could still take reservations without knowing. We had a booking for April 4-6, 2025, with no notice that it was closed. We only found out when a friend in Moose Jaw texted to say the place was boarded up.

The air conditioner worked and the room was dry, but the carpet had old vomit stains, there was fresh pee and some blood, and the window screens were missing. The water tasted like it had sat in a garden hose all summer. We asked to change rooms and were refused. Somehow the pee smelled a little better than the old cigarette smell. Edit: They offered a full refund if I wanted to go elsewhere, or a partial refund if I stayed. I left after paying in full, since they were renovating half the rooms and had no more doubles. The desk clerk did his best to sort it out.

We’d been checked in for less than 15 minutes when we knew we couldn’t stay. The train, nowhere walkable for our dogs to go to the bathroom in green space, a strong old mold and dust smell, and what passed for beds made it impossible. They should consider not accepting dogs if there’s no suitable green space. We hadn’t even used the washroom, so we asked for a refund. The place had cost them nothing to have us there, but the man working said he called the boss and the boss said no. They took our money. I found this place while looking for a fun addition to a one-night stop in Moose Jaw on our way to a family wedding in Manitoba. The price should have warned me. I thought it might make a good story, and that we could put up with anything for one night. I was wrong. You should be ashamed. You’re not Canadian, nor what I want visitors to this country to think Canadians are. I’m reporting this to the police and the city of Moose Jaw.