Motel 6 Waxahachie, TX

The bed was pretty comfortable, smelled fine, and the AC worked well, though it was noisy. The TV was small but had HBO. Other parts of the room were rough: the showerhead was crusty, there was a hole behind the toilet, only a partial roll of toilet paper, and no tissues, just hand soap. The pillows were thin and less comfortable than ones at a doctor's office. Light from outside shone into the room, and the walls were so thin I could hear everything next door. Still, it was definitely not the worst place to stay after Scarborough Faire.

The location was great, and the dog potty area was nicely set up, but it had trash and small grills left there for long-term workers to use. Things on the ground from grilling made me trip twice. Inside, the bottom of the door was torn and caught my leg every time I came in or out, and the room lighting was dim. There was no outdoor lighting around 9 pm, so I tripped while looking for the ice machine. With no directions in the room, I had to call the front desk to find it. The refrigerator shut off overnight, ruining $250 worth of medication, and left water that I had to clean up. The TV channel selection was poor. The front desk clerk kept calling my service dog, who was wearing his vest and notification, a pet even after I corrected her several times, and made me sign several pet policy forms. For a $100-per-night room, this was not what I expected.

We drove in for the races and arrived at 3:00 a.m. Online, everything showed $65. A man came to the door after I called the number posted there, and said a room was available for over $100 plus tax, with checkout at 11. I was tired, so I accepted, even though he couldn't explain the difference from the online price. In the morning, the receipt showed $80. When I asked why I'd paid $100 cash and still had to give a credit card, he said it was taxes. I asked for a receipt showing that, but he said he was new and didn't know how to print one, then handed back $20 cash. The TV would turn on but didn't work otherwise. I won't stay there again. The people didn't seem very honest.

There was no shampoo, hair dryer, pillows, or towels in the room, and only one towel in the bathroom. I went back to the office for pillows, then for towels. The TV remote failed too, and the desk clerk had to come to my room twice to get a working one. By then I just laughed because it was so ridiculous. At least the office lady was nice, probably the only positive thing about the place.