Townhouse Del Rancho Motel

There were flies in the room when we arrived, and the walls, ceiling, and couch were dirty. I spotted ants by the sink the next morning, too. Customer service wasn’t good, and I don’t know how this place is still in business. Worst stay of my life.

The TV shut itself off in the middle of the night. It was too late to call the front desk then, so I waited until morning and asked if they could repair it or move us. The woman said she couldn’t do either, even though there were other rooms available. I asked nicely a few times, but she still refused. I was there with my daughter, and with it too hot and dangerous to play outside, having a TV mattered to us. We pay too much to stay here and not get help when something breaks. The staff can be nice sometimes, but broken things should be fixed or guests should be moved.

The real problem came after I got home: they charged my card $115 for the room, even though I’d paid cash. I’d told the employee I was paying cash and handed him two $100 bills. When he said my card would only be used for the deposit, I gave it to him. He later returned with my key and $85 change, after I reminded him about it. But when I called to ask about the charge, I was repeatedly told to call back when that employee was there. I emailed instead and got a personal number for someone I assume was the manager. He said he’d check the records, then sent me records that somehow left out my cash payment. I was told I hadn’t paid, and after that they ignored me. Before all this, I’d arrived at 10 p.m. with my little brother for a quick night before taking him to the airport early. There were several melted holes in the bedding, which scared him because he’s autistic, so I changed the bedding with him. Not ideal, but it seemed like a cheap place. I was assured only the deposit would go on my card, but ended up paying twice with no way to resolve it. They need to keep proper payment records. Get a room at a Marriott instead, since you could end up spending about the same anyway.

The key situation is what made me feel unsafe. After I lost my key at the zoo, I asked for another one and they only asked for my room number. Nobody checked my ID. Another time, while I was looking in my wallet for my key, a man I assume worked there, though we’d never met, came out and handed it to me. Again, no ID check or effort to see if I had a right to the room. I could have been anyone, including another guest who wasn’t sober. I had the key, but how could I know someone who looked like me hadn’t also been given one? The place was loud all night, with no quiet hours that guests seemed to respect. We got maybe three hours of sleep, including after a bloodcurdling scream at 3 a.m. The bathroom door latch didn’t work, our latched room door opened by itself at 2 a.m., and damaged floors had been patched with duct tape. It’s cheap, right? Not really. At $85 a night, it was comparable to Motel 6 and others. I might have let the other problems go, but the careless key handling is inexcusable. Once could be a mistake. Twice feels like a habit.