Motel 6 Bellingham, WA

The bed was a surprising bright spot, it was really comfortable, and the staff were friendly and helpful. The room and bathroom were clean, though there was a musty, old-house smell that I stopped noticing pretty quickly. Our heater seemed very old, didn’t work, and was painfully loud when we tried it. I-5 is right beside the motel, so there’s a lot of noise. It’s mostly steady background sound, but if noise bothers you, you may want to stay elsewhere. The outdoor light is also very bright, and the curtain and door gaps don’t block much of it. With my eyes closed, though, I didn’t really notice. I know what to expect from a Motel 6, and this was about that. I’m sharing this because some reviews seem driven by anger or give a misleading picture, and I wanted to help others judge the place.

The room was awful and dirty. There was grease on the microwave’s glass tray, and the outside light by the stairs was broken. My debit card was charged twice. I got just one small bath towel, and the bedding was only a sheet and a thin blanket. The wood in the inside door frame was split and cracked, like somebody had broken in.

We rented two rooms, and both had problems. One was missing its shower curtain, while the AC in the other didn’t work. The faucets were loose, the toilet was cracked, some light fixtures needed replacing, and the window curtain was worn thin. The sheets felt gritty. We asked for fresh ones, but they never came. The room, especially the bathroom, was filthy, with some kind of goo on the walls, and I wouldn’t walk barefoot on the floor. The whole property seemed poorly maintained. We asked for a partial refund for the room with the broken AC and didn’t get one. We expected a bit better, even knowing it’s a Motel 6. It’s run down, so be prepared.

The front desk staff were great, and the location worked well for public transit, with lots of things nearby. But our room was filthy. It was a smoking room, yet that doesn’t explain the black gunk on the toilet seat or the holes and dark smudges all over the walls. The linens were already dirty, so we slept on top of the covers. The place needs better upkeep.