Motel 6 Albuquerque, NM - Carlisle

The A/C and heat worked well, and the room was clean. Staff were helpful, and for the price it was pretty good value. Still, the room smelled of smoke and some lights didn't work. The walls are thin, so you hear a lot, especially on the freeway side. It wasn't bad overall.

We were exhausted after a long drive, and I have small children, but I would have rather slept in my car than stay here. The first room's badly damaged door looked like someone had broken in before. It was hard to shut and could be pushed open from outside. I showed the front desk pictures and they moved us. In the next room I found what looked like drug paraphernalia. I photographed it and showed the office, and they gave me a full refund.

The shower pressure was the one impressive thing, like a firehose, and the microwave and fridge came in handy. Check-in was fairly quick and the motel is close to the freeway, but traffic was loud. People outside were singing and yelling, so bring headphones. There was a dead cockroach on the floor, which was uneven enough to stub your toes. Glad I had flip-flops and didn't have to go barefoot. The bathroom faucet handle was missing, the toilet seat was dirty and cigarette-burned, the tub had burn marks, and the toilet rocked when I sat on it. A new seat might cost $20. The bed only had two top sheets, no blankets. After I slept there, people banged on my door twice around midnight. Every footstep from the second-floor room above seemed to stomp through, whether it was the guest or thin floors. I saw corporate's reply passing responsibility to the location. It seems like they won't take any responsibility for how their franchises operate. I'm sure not every Motel 6 is equally dismal, but I'm not coming back to find out. Roaches aren't acceptable. Extermination should be company-wide policy, not left to the local place. Motel 6, you've lost me as a repeat customer.

I've stayed here lots of times, and it depends on who's at the desk. Some visits are good, others bad. Prices seem totally random, from $61 to $120 depending on their mood. Some rooms are cleaner than others. There aren't towels or bathtub stoppers, and they'll withhold deposits for petty reasons.