Motel 6 Oceanside Marina

We had a fantastic view of the harbor and beach from our room, and the location was great. The room itself wasn’t clean, though. There was trash from previous guests under the beds and in the bathroom. There’s also a serious homeless problem in the area. Better cleaning and full-time security to address that issue would have made this a four- or five-star stay.

The room we ended up with was a little neater, but safety clearly wasn’t a priority. While we were still checked in, the front desk gave our room and key to two other people. The first time, we were there and could explain the mistake. The second time we were out, and when we returned I saw a guy leaving our room. He said the front desk had given it to him and seemed confused that our things were still inside. At check-in, the beds in our first room were covered in hair, and the bathroom looked and smelled like a public gas station restroom. When I asked the desk to clean it, they moved us instead. The room they sent us to was still occupied, so I had to go back and get yet another one. That was the only decent thing they did, and they managed to mess that up too. I know it’s a motel, but they should at least make it decent for one night without worrying about strangers entering your room. Worst motel ever.

This wasn’t the quality I expect from Motel 6, and it didn’t feel like Tom Bodett’s Motel 6. The place was dirty, unpainted, and poorly maintained, and management didn’t seem to care. Three police units arrived when I did, and check-in service was horrible. I called ahead, and the person hung up on me. When I called back, he said he’d run my card and it was declined, even though I hadn’t checked it yet. They left a note telling me to call whoever the manager was. Corporate told me I couldn’t cancel my reservation.

The room was spacious, but the beds were hard and the TV didn’t work. I went to the office three times about it. More than an hour later, the kid at the front desk came to the room supposedly to fix the TV. He acted weird, looked under the bed as if we were hiding something, and wanted the door left open while he was inside, so we had to hold our two dogs. We finally told him to leave. The advertised rate was $62, but it came to $93.