Hotel Zico, BW Signature Collection

The renovated upstairs room and the friendly front desk staff made my second stay much better. One employee even let me into the secured underground garage after hours. Some rooms open onto a shared balcony, and breakfast is simple, with egg wraps, oatmeal, bread, and bagels. I especially liked the new espresso machine for lattes and other hot drinks. My first visit a few months earlier was rough: the check-in worker was unpleasant, and my room just off the lobby was very dirty. I gave it another try mostly because it was much cheaper than the other options, and I'd book again if the price is right.

We paid $250, and the free breakfast felt like a joke at that price. The place was filthy, the walls were yellow and cracked, and the bed was dusty and smelled awful even though it wasn't stained. The pillows were terrible, and our whole bodies hurt after the night. We slept in our clothes because it felt like bedbugs might be biting us. The linens are kept in dirty containers in the garage, and the elevator gets stuck. At night, the refrigerator made explosion-like noises, and the track outside the window kept making noise too. The room had no soundproofing, so we could even hear people washing on the second floor. This was the worst hotel of my life. Don't stay here if you care about your safety, money, or time.

Every morning at 5, water running in another room woke me up. It sounded like a waterfall. The appliances all buzzed and clicked, so I had to unplug every one in the room. The bed was awful, the pillows were flat, and the lighting was harsh. The shower and soap were laughable, and the decor made the place feel like a prank. It felt like sleeping in my grandma's guest room ADU. I'd sooner get an air mattress and stay at a friend's place.

I spent eight nights here and had to beg for fresh towels and for someone to service my room just once. They say rooms get cleaned every three days, but that didn't happen after three days. I checked with them three different times over the days after that, and nobody came. They acted as if I was the one with a problem for asking for clean towels, then made me carry the used ones to the laundry room before they'd hand over new ones. The service was abysmal, worse than I'd expect at Motel 6. Stay somewhere else.