Sonora Gold Lodge

The staff were friendly, and the place is close to downtown. We stayed warm in January and had plenty of hot water. They offered fresh towels and linens on our second night, which was more than I get at a Hilto. The room had the basics, but bring your own pillows and soap. Breakfast was thin after the coffee, just cookies and wrapped danishes. Fruit, yogurt, or milk and cereal would help. If you stay, ask for a room at the back, away from the highway. It's much quieter. Ownership should replace the pillows and get better soap.

I come back every year when I visit Sonora. The hotel is handy for downtown and sits across from the fairgrounds and event center. It's kept up reasonably well for an older place, and I'm not in the room much anyway. There's lots of history and great sights around Sonora, with a small-town feel but bigger-city amenities.

Keith, the manager of maintenance, came across as really rude and seriously creepy. I saw him making what looked like questionable transactions with several people who came and went from the hotel without staying.

The building and rooms need a lot of attention. The walls were white but filthy, with a small indented crack in one. The bathroom floor was cracked, and the old tub looked worn out and was very slippery. The cooler looked worn too. When we switched it on, the lamp flickered. Its shade was coming apart, with threads hanging down, and only half the lamp worked. There were reading lights by both beds, but they worked on just one bed. The refrigerator also looked dated and beat up. The lobby felt old and grimy. Breakfast was a nice idea, but there wasn't much, and there were no tongs for the toast bread, so everyone had to reach into the bag. One tablecloth was filthy. Worst of all, a man two doors down from my room seemed completely spun out and was talking to himself. Other people around there also looked drugged as they came and went. Save your money and stay somewhere else.