Motel 6 Eau Claire, WI

I spent close to two weeks here recently, and getting room service meant asking for it. My friend had been there three weeks without even a knock to change the sheets. The $50 deposit itself wasn't bad, but they kept half after I used a towel to clean up a soda spill. The manager argued that I was lucky to get even that much back. He said to come by later and maybe he'd return the rest, but I doubt it. I would have called the police, but something urgent came up. There were rats coming out of the sewer at night and getting into garbage that wasn't taken out every night. In Room 112 I had ants, and he claimed someone sprayed the room, but that wasn't true because I was there all day. The internet is an open network, and the cable kept freezing, especially when it was windy or raining. The shower curtain had mold and mildew, which I cleaned myself. I've had serious health problems from other mold situations, and this makes me wonder whether curtains are cleaned or changed between guests. It's sad, because at first I thought the place was decent. But don't waste your hard-earned money. Why pay so much when you can't use what you paid for? If a drink spills, of course you grab the nearest thing to clean it up. I won't stay here again. I'd sleep in my car rather than worry about rats or ants.

I've stayed here about half a dozen times while traveling and have always been happy with it. The rooms are clean and comfortable, the location is good, service is good, and it's mostly quiet. For Eau Claire, it's the best cheap motel.

Trash cans outside were overflowing, the hallway smelled bad, and I saw rodents running along the side of the building. The room itself wasn't clean, hadn't been remodeled, and still had food in the microwave and fridge. The key machine was broken at check-in, so I couldn't lock the door if I left. This motel used to be run a little better. The health department should be called, really. I booked for one night, but I won't stay here again. Terrible, terrible.

We'd stayed here two years ago and it was clean and nice, but the standards have dropped badly, apparently under new owners. The room smelled strongly of pet urine, and then we found cockroaches. Before that, the front desk guy tried to charge us for another night even though we had confirmation we'd already paid. Those deals might look tempting, but save your money. This was disgusting, and I hope the health board inspects the place.