Budget Host Inn Ft Collins

The room had a broken bed frame, no phone, cut reading-light cord, and a TV remote that didn't work, leaving the television stuck on QVC. The online rate showed $37 a night, but staff said they wouldn't honor it because the rooms had supposedly been renovated. When I mentioned going to a competitor, they lowered the price to just above theirs: $200 for three days. It gets you off the street, but I'd avoid bringing guests, especially anyone with a car. My friend came at 6 a.m. with my tax refund, which had just arrived at my old address. She stayed a few hours, then found her car had been towed to Greeley. Getting it back cost $300. The office woman said her husband had knocked on every door to find the car's owner, but there were no signs posted, we were awake, and nobody knocked.

The bathroom is a closet with the toilet and shower, and even as a small person I could barely turn around in there. The sink area reminded me of a YMCA pool changing room. The outlets wouldn't charge a phone, rusted vent covers had fallen off the ceiling and were still lying in the bathroom, and the beds were awful. It was $80 a night, too. I visited two friends who'd found this place while in town for a couple of days, and it was gross. Hair clips from previous guests were still on the bedside table, which made it seem like cleaning wasn't taken seriously. The A/C barely cooled at all. After running for 14 hours on 60, the room was still warmer than outside. What a joke.

The room cost $55 a night, or $65 with tax, and I still thought it was too much. The carpet was old and filthy, the curtains were dated and in rough shape, and the bedspread had a tear. The freezer had so much ice buildup that only a bag of ice barely fit, and there were no ice buckets. The coffee was weak, and the donuts in the morning were stale and gross. I wondered if they came from the nearby food bank and had been frozen. The outlet by the dining table and the in-room phone didn't work. The clothes rod was right over the nightstand, so hanging anything long meant giving up the nightstand. The window cranks in both the bathroom and main room didn't work properly, and I had to go outside to push a window shut. The TV remote had its batteries taped in, and it often stopped changing channels. The microwave door had to be pulled open by hand. Worse, the phone cord plug had exposed wires and the jack was hanging from the wall, which looked like a real fire hazard. There was a lot wrong here. You might be better off at the America's Best Value just north of here.

The rooms are simple, but comfortable. The new management seems friendly and is taking on a lot. If you're after an inexpensive room, the renovated ones feel like a place where you can rest easy. I'm looking forward to seeing what they renovate next.