Travelodge By Wyndham Turlock

After we checked out, I called about belongings we’d left in the room. They said they’d look and thought something might be there. When we returned four hours after checkout, nothing was there, and they denied anything had ever been left. The staff may be lying or even stealing.

I’ve stayed in some awful places around the world as a former U.S. Marine, but this was worse than sitting in a bombed-out building in Baghdad in 2004 with bodies in the same room. Cockroaches were climbing into my mouth while I slept. When I jumped up and pulled the covers off, there were blood stains on the sheets and bedbugs on the bed, coming out from behind the headboard. There was clearly a bedbug outbreak. The bloodstains on the white sheets hadn’t been cleaned before we arrived. They’d just remade the beds and ignored them. Are you kidding me, calling this a Travelodge? It was horrible.

The place has always been a bit run down, and the rooms are dated. I did see roaches, and possibly bed bugs. Still, for what you pay, it wasn’t too bad. The people staying around the area mostly kept to themselves when I was there, and those who approached were at least friendly. The gate out front suggests they’re trying to provide some security, though people can slip in when others leave. The front desk guy made check-in easy, and the management and staff were friendly once they knew you weren’t there to cause trouble. I had no real negative experience, and the staff seemed to be trying with what they have. It’s also convenient to the freeway, grocery store, and hospital.

The staff member was nice and polite, but there were so many cockroaches on the walls, bed, and TV that we checked out the same day instead of staying overnight.