Marlinton Motor Inn

We'd stayed here before, so we knew it was a bare-bones motel room, but this visit was awful. The room smelled intensely of pet urine. It had soaked into the bedding and bathroom, and even the air from the AC unit reeked. We bought odor remover at the dollar store, but it didn't help, and we were wary of taking our shoes off. There were cigarette burns on the bedding even though the room was marked non-smoking. The online Expedia rate was $90 with no pet fee mentioned; at arrival we were charged $105 and told that included the fee. Basic and worn is one thing, but that smell was unbearable, and the pricing wasn't clear.

For $80, the room wasn't terrible, especially since the nearby alternatives were around $250-$300 a night. Ours was clean but worn, and the motel itself gave us a sketchy impression. It sits outside town at the top of a mountain, which wasn't a problem by itself. There is no cell service at all because this area is in a NASA quiet zone, so guests have to rely on the motel's Wi-Fi. The ground-floor rooms especially seem to have just one window, tucked at the back, which felt odd. At least the lights, AC, TV, and hot water all worked, and the beds seemed clean. That mix is why I gave it 3/5.

The staff were polite and really nice, and there are slot machines if you want something to do. The rooms, though, were very dated and dirty, with things falling apart and cigarette smoke stink inside. There were cigarette burns on the bathroom floor, too. No housekeeping came to freshen the room each day.

The picture window at the back looked out over the mountains at sunset, which was lovely. My room was quiet, clean, comfortable, and roomy, with updated furnishings. The price was reasonable, too.