Blue Gables Motel

Read the recent reviews before booking. Maybe this place used to be nice, and I was foolish to rely on old reviews. A friend from the area suggested the Occidental or Blue Gables, though he said he hadn’t been there “in years.” On 9/24, I phoned while we were on the way and reserved two nights. I was given a cabin number and door code over the phone. After our six-hour drive, we arrived at 3:15 to find the door wide open and the person cleaning yelling that check-in was at 3. We pointed out that it was already past 3 and said we’d walk around town and come back. No response. At 5, we returned to shower and get ready for dinner. There were bugs all over the room and hardly any ventilation. We got back from dinner around 8. My old friend, who’d once driven a moving van cross-country, fell asleep around 9:30, so he missed the motorcycles, trucks and high-performance cars heading north on the highway about 30 yards away. A huge downpour and thunderstorm started at 11:30 and went on until early morning. I managed to fall asleep, then was woken straight away by a sump pump right behind our cabin. Most of the cabins seemed to be occupied by construction workers who started their diesel pickups at 4:30 to warm them up, and most left between 5 and 5:30. I checked the forecast and saw the storm was meant to continue for the next couple of days. When my buddy woke up, he said, “This sucks, let’s get out of here.” We left, and I waited until 8 to call and say we’d gone. Nobody answered or confirmed our departure. They also hadn’t mentioned the no-refund policy when I booked. Easily the worst motel or hotel experience either of us has had.