American Inn

I wanted some fresh air in Chico and opened the window, but after moving a stick that was being used instead of a window lock, I found there was no screen. Bugs could come straight in. When I raised it with the front desk, the daughter was covering for her parents. She laughed, said her room had a screen, and asked if I'd seen one in another unit. I hadn't. Check-in took 15 minutes while the married couple at the desk argued in another language. It annoyed me, especially since they were doing it in front of guests. The shower was another problem: no light in the dark little closet of a space, and the water temperature kept changing. I don't expect much for $50, but Motel 6 is much nicer than this.

The staff were wonderful, but the place itself is a dump. My toilet was broken, the bathroom light was just a bare bulb without a cover, and the door was falling apart. The whole room smelled dirty. A fresh coat of paint doesn't count as a remodel. This was the worst place I've stayed. I'd rate it a 2, except for the cockroaches and prostitution, which bring it down to a 1. I booked because of a review and found it very misleading. I want to affect the inflated rating they've clearly managed to build up.

The carpet was wet from the leaking fridge, the TV had no remote, and the room had no fire alarm. Breakfast was advertised, but it was cleared away two hours before it was supposed to end. Someone said the Motel 6 was better, and they were right. One of the worst stays I've had.

I found this post on Face Book: "I don't post much here, but wanted to tell the Oroville community what happened to my family at a hotel during the evacuation last week. Things were hectic, and by 7pm the hotels in Chico were mostly booked. A friend helped us get two rooms at American Inn on Esplanade. We were desperate, with four young children, including a newborn just over a week old. My husband, the kids and I were in room 116, and my in-laws were in room 111. We got settled around 10pm. Just before 3am, I woke to feed the baby and saw little brownish-red bugs crawling on the sheets and under our pillows. I woke my husband in a panic, and we gathered the kids and our things and stayed in the car for the rest of the night with it running so they could stay warm. Once everyone was settled, around 4am, we went to tell management about the bed bugs and showed photos. The husband wouldn't even look. He raised his hands as if to silence us, then went to get his wife. While he was gone, another man who was considering renting a room overheard us and asked if it was true. We showed him our pictures, and he left after thanking us. When management came back, the husband angrily asked why I'd spoken to a potential customer. They refused to refund us, saying it was past the cutoff, even though it was only a few hours after check-in, around 4am on Monday, February 13th. I asked if he expected me to lie when the other guest had heard us. They said it didn't matter, that I wasn't to speak to anyone even if they spoke to me. I stayed calm and went back to the car where my babies were. It was awful for our family, especially during the dam evacuation when we just needed somewhere warm for the children. I wanted people to know so another family doesn't go through the same thing if Oroville has to evacuate again. I called Butte County environmental health department to report them. The woman there apologized and said California has no law keeping them from reusing that room or nearby rooms after an infestation. She advised reporting them to The Better Business Bureau."