Surf Motel and Gardens

The motel’s been in Fort Bragg California for years, and the new owner is awesome. It’s clean, and the rooms have coffee pots. There are two full kitchens, though the glass top stove in one room doesn’t work. Room 144 has everything. Prices are lower Monday to Wednesday, and higher for the rest of the week as you’d expect.

The beds were so uncomfortable that sleeping was pretty much out of the question, especially on vacation. You might as well sleep in your car, prison, or even motel 6. They said all the rooms have the same beds, so switching rooms wasn’t an option. That was all they did.

Traveling solo, I wasn’t happy about having an adjoining room, and both rooms had them. I was put on the "back side" by the "dog park," where "tweekers" kept coming and going. The next day they moved me to a somewhat better room beside the mechanic shop, but around 1:45am I woke up to tinkering. There was something "stuck" in the outlet, and the a/c electrical seemed sketchy. I also never figured out what happened to the coffee creamer, though there’s a good coffee place within walking distance. The gentleman on duty said he’d discount my stay for the discomfort, but he didn’t. I won’t be back. The first room was filthy and hazardous, with blood on the sheets, biohazard on the wall, and a shocking hazard on the hair dryer plug. I slept in my clothes on a blanket I’d brought from home.

I had to get another room because the key wouldn’t work. The first room smelled horrible, and it took three tries before I got one that worked. The fridge in that room was broken, there was something on the tub, dog food in the sink, and a big red stain on the carpet. The person at the service desk was nice but didn’t care that I wasn’t satisfied. I’ll never be back.