Blue Mountain Motel

The Wi-Fi details weren't given unless you asked. The owner seemed to have left his wife to run the place alone; she was tired, caring for a baby, and didn't speak English. When I called for the password, we struggled to understand each other, so I ended up going to the office and getting it from a post-it. I don't blame her or me, but her husband. The rooms were cramped and dirty, with roaches everywhere and little bugs flying into food and dying. The AC units didn't work, and it was sweltering with a smell like an estate sale. The windows were greasy, painted over carelessly around the sills, barely opened, and had no screens to keep mosquitoes out. I had to go to Walmart in omak to buy a small standing fan. I grew up in poverty and squalor, and this brought back those memories in a bad way. The photos in the ads don't match the place at all. Honestly, it was hellish. Go somewhere else, like the Quality in.

The shower was thick with mold and roaches, and the heat didn't work. By then it hardly mattered, since my husband and I were already leaving. People hanging around also had me seriously worried about our safety. The whole place was filthy and falling apart. The kitchen floor gave way under my feet, opening another way for roaches to get in. There were roaches on the counter, in broken ceiling and wall chunks, and blankets that lit up under my UV flashlight. Old food sat under the table, and the only trap was carelessly set in a crumbling, stained cabinet that was mostly mold. The kitchen window was nearly black with mold and looked out on a decrepit trailer surrounded by trash. The mold smell made my eyes sting and water as soon as I entered. I had brought a UV flashlight to check for bed bugs, but the obvious problems needed no close inspection. I'm not fussy about lodging. I've slept in my car in snowboard gear and lived in a tent years ago, and that tent was far cleaner than this motel. It felt like a horror movie, so we fled after I took photos. Booking refunded us, but management never replied to us or Booking. The photos say plenty.

We planned on three days but could only manage two. The room was awful, and I wouldn't let my dog stay there. It smelled like cigarettes, looked extremely dated, and had mold in the shower. The floor felt soft from water damage, the windows didn't lock, and most outlets were dead. The bathroom sink didn't work. The fridge was broken, the microwave barely worked and its turntable wouldn't spin, and the stove was so filthy I didn't try it. The shower had two settings: scalding or only five degrees warmer than outside, and it was winter. The heater and AC didn't work either, apart from a baseboard heater in a separate room. Check-in staff were rude and seemed not to know what was happening. Our key didn't fit the bolt lock, only the handle, so we had to trust that to protect our things while we were out. Other people staying there seemed to be living there; there was yelling, the smell of drugs being smoked, and police had to come multiple times. None of it was worth the risk.

The room was dated, nowhere near five star, but clean enough for the price. I got a shower and some sleep, and felt better knowing my motorcycle was safe since the accommodating owners let me bring my brand new bike into the room. I was riding across Washington and stopped here. I'd definitely stop again when I'm back this way.