Tustin Motor Lodge

The room was a mess: I woke up with bugs next to me, there were cockroaches around, and it smelled of tobacco. The microwave and fridge had disgusting stains. The shower curtain was ripped off and left by the sink, the sheets had holes, and the bed had no blanket, so it felt like sleeping under a satin dress. The phone was completely broken, the TV had no signal, and most drawers wouldn’t open. There were makeup or paint marks on the doors, walls, and light switches. The pictures were crooked, and something kept hissing nonstop. The heating and cooling system was stuck on one setting, and the air conditioner smelled of cheese and dust. Even the manager lives here. I’m from Irvine and figured it couldn’t be that bad. I was wrong. This is probably the worst hotel I’ve stayed at. I don’t know how people manage more than one night here. For a two-bed room, this was really bad. I’d honestly rather sleep in the car. I’m amazed anyone stays more than a day.

The location is great, and it can be quiet here much of the time. The family who owns the place lives on the property, which at least made me feel safe. I’ve stayed here quite a bit, but the rooms aren’t cleaned very well, with food crumbs around and black hairs on the pillowcases. The sheets could have used more bleach. I also ran into shortages of towels, toilet paper, and lights bright enough to see properly. They only give one toilet paper roll per room, so I had to buy my own. One or more workers were rude, especially one woman. The rooms are very dark, and one had a mold smell with mold visible on the ceiling. Don’t trust the fake five-star reviews. This place needs major work before it deserves five stars.

The bed was great, and the shower had super hot water. There wasn’t much parking by the rooms, though there’s lots of shopping nearby around Old Town Tustin. They didn’t take a deposit, which was a plus. The problems started with the floor: there’s no carpet, and after walking barefoot my feet were black. It seemed like the room had never been mopped. It was in the 90s, but the ice machine was broken, so we had no ice for our three-day stay. The TV setup was frustrating too. Cable channels had three digits, but the remote only had up and down buttons, so getting from 76-5 to 30-3 took forever. There also wasn’t a channel guide posted, and it took us a day to write down the numbers. It shouldn’t be that hard.

The linens were clean, which is the only reason I’m giving this place one star. The bed sagged into a sinkhole in the middle, and I barely slept. The smoke alarm was in a dresser drawer without a battery, with its ceiling wires left exposed. The bathroom doorknob was coming off, and the tub stopper was broken and unusable. After I showered, a nasty smell came up from the drain for the rest of the night, and bugs came out, so I had to block it with a wet towel. The carpet was filthy enough that my feet were dirty again five minutes after my shower. The walls were so thin I could hear someone snoring through them all night. I really don’t recommend it.