Royal Gateway Motel

The room photos don’t match what’s here. They seem to be renderings for future work, and the property still feels partly under construction. The heater works, but the AC hasn’t been hooked up to electricity yet. The TV is small, though that’s understandable at a cheap motel. The sink looked filthy at first, but it’s the awful red-and-orange splotched design that made it look that way. As for the staff, people call them abrasive, but I think they just aren’t very good at English. That’s fine, just get your key card and skip the small talk.

When my wife, daughter, and I stayed here in January, our bed was dirty. I went to ask for clean sheets and blankets and showed them the dirt, but the owner and his wife responded with rudeness and threats to call law enforcement and have me trespassed. I hadn’t been rude or raised my voice. His wife came across as arrogant and unprofessional, and dealing with them was a pain. I’d tell anyone who values their time and money to avoid this disgusting hotel. Spend $30 more at the Super 8 down the street. The staff there are amazing, and they’ve heard horror stories about past stays at this motel too.

The mattress was comfortable, and the room had a fairly spacious layout, a fridge-freezer combo, a nice shower curtain, and down-free pillows. You could park right by the room. The furnishings and layout felt odd and inconsistent, but with places in town often costing over $200 a night, it worked for a decent night's sleep if you like the mattress. The lighting was harsh, bright white, and glaring. Changing the bulbs would help. There was only one trash can, and it wasn’t in the bathroom. The TV screen was scratched, Netflix wouldn’t connect despite what the remote suggested, and the WiFi was so-so. The fridge-freezer wasn’t as cute as the one in the online pictures, either. I’d called ahead, so it would’ve been a nice courtesy to have the AC on. When I arrived around midnight, the room was probably 85 degrees. Even after the wall unit ran all night, it was barely cool by morning. The place seemed to be run by a couple who live there, and they came across as pretty unfriendly.

The staff were helpful, and a housekeeper even stopped me before I headed out for the day to offer fresh towels or bedding. My sheets were clean and comfortable, and having no nasty carpet was a plus. It’s no luxury stay, but for a cheap night or two, it’s a reasonable option. I really don’t have anything to complain about.