OYO Cameron Historic Hotel Brownsville I-69E

A friendly, helpful staff and a good price made this an easy budget stay. The hotel is in a historic building that’s about 100 years old, so bathrooms are shared on each floor. It’s in historic downtown Brownsville, TX, within walking distance of restaurants, bars, and Mexico, and about a 30-minute drive from SpaceX. Cheap and cheerful. I’ll stay again.

The front desk staff were nice, though there was an English barrier. I can’t say the same for the rest of the place. The repairs were sloppy, it’s not taken care of, and the parking arrangement was confusing and sketchy. I’d steer clear and spend the extra $20 for a decent motel. I booked because my friends had picked this place for Starship’s fourth test launch, and I didn’t research it. The room was incredibly tiny, with beat-up furniture, a spring mattress over 20 years old and without padding, and musty bedding full of cigarette holes. There was no bathroom in the room. I saw three small cockroaches, and one crawled onto me in bed. White powder around the bedposts and along the room’s edges looked like it might be for deterring bed bugs. Yuck. The walls were so thin I could hear neighbors talking loudly, walking across their rooms, or even turning over in bed. Road traffic was loud too, so sleeping was impossible. This was honestly the nastiest hotel I’ve stayed in. It’s a health hazard.

I left an hour after arriving because the tiny room was dirty and I didn’t feel safe. To reach it, I had to cross a trashed rooftop, and the door looked like it could be knocked down. The place seemed not to have been updated in 30 years. It was extremely disappointing. I booked through Priceline and contacted them afterward. The owners should do a complete remodel, though the building has potential.

This historic hotel has some wear and tear that comes with its age, but it was good value. The family running it were lovely and attentive to guests’ needs. The area isn’t the best, though the hotel is near the border crossing if you want to go to Mexico, as well as shops and places to eat.