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MarkWestman
Trad climber
Talkeetna, Alaska
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Jun 22, 2018 - 10:45pm PT
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I was once staying in a hotel called the Puffin Inn in Anchorage, which is in the sketchy Spenard Road district. My dad was coming to visit with a late night arrival so we booked in instead of making the long drive back to Talkeetna (it was dead of winter). All evening long there were seedy people coming and going in the room below and one door over- it was one of those "lanai" style hotels. The visitors included what looked like hookers, and also people buying drugs. It was exceedingly obvious. Middle of the night, we're jolted awake by 6 shots from a large caliber handgun, probably a 9mm, right out front of our room but down in the parking lot. Then silence. We covered under the covers for a few minutes, then I went to the window and slowly peeked outside. Nobody there. I cautiously ventured out onto the balcony. Two cars parked below have bullet holes, as does the door frame of the hotel room in question. In front of the room, on the ice, is a large pool of dark red blood, with blood droplets and spatters leading in a trail off around the corner away from the hotel. Cops didn't show up for 45 minutes! Later learned it was an Anchorage resident who got shot. There's a banner over the hotel that says "Where Alaskans Choose to Stay!"
Or deal drugs.
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MarkWestman
Trad climber
Talkeetna, Alaska
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Jun 22, 2018 - 10:57pm PT
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Out of quite a few horrible hotels I've seen in third world countries, nothing can top the Park Motel in Winnemucca, Nevada. Lisa and I pulled into town late one spring night and the sign says $27 rooms. Cool.
There's a few guest cars but otherwise not many people. In the dark, it's hard to tell but appears decent.
The lobby is filled with cigarette smoke, and out comes an elderly couple, both of whom are smoking while wearing nasal cannulas and toting oxygen tanks on wheels. No lie.
Lisa is unpacking the car while I go to check out the room. The door has a foot sized hole in it and the lock and doorjam are heavily damaged. I can barely unlock it and then, I can't really close the door or latch it. I flip on the lights to witness an absolute house of horrors. The carpet is probably 50 years old, missing huge chunks of fabric. It was originally tan, but is now mostly dark brown with innumerable large black stains that look like motor oil was spilled all over it. The air conditioner is running, and there are 3 foot long streamers of lint and hair extending out into space from the vent opening, flapping in the breeze. An overpowering smell of urine nearly knocks me over. I glance at the bed, which sports a heavily stained, threadbare comforter that looks like some drapes from the 1960's that were thrown over the bed as linens. I don't investigate further. I don't even look in the bathroom. Lisa hasn't come in yet and I'm not sure I want her to, but it's too late.
"Are you fuc*king kidding me?" are the first words she speaks upon opening the broken door.
She storms back to the lobby and demands a refund. The hoarse emphysema lady croaks "we don't give refunds!". Lisa snaps back "tonight, you DO! the door doesn't latch and I don't feel safe, not to mention, this is the MOST DISGUSTING hotel I have ever seen and that includes hotels in Central America, Asia, and North Africa!". The lady didn't have the energy to fight with my wife and refunded our money.
So if any of you's are truly slumming it, look no further than this place.
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EdBannister
Mountain climber
13,000 feet
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Jun 22, 2018 - 11:24pm PT
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Worst: Ramada Hotel Oceanside, just outside Camp Pendleton.. I was there to sell to the Marines, and trying to save my employer money... The carpet was so dirty in the traffic area, it was smooth. hookers, cops drugs, the works.
Worst hotel for the money:
Stovepipe Wells Death Valley 2013 visit .. 115 bucks, but the bathroom sink faucet was fed by a pipe above the sink that came out of the wall through a a 3" hole. a classy place. Just overall bad but priced as if it were in great shape.
Worst casino hotel in Vegas: Palace Station on Sahara, musty shower, curtains in front of AC, filthy, noisy, basketball dribbling at check in, sorry just running in the hallway at 3 am but no gunfire..
Best place for the bucks? J.W. Marriott Summerlin, 7 miles west of Downtown Veags, almost out to Red Rocks. Go to the Marriott website, select my dates are flexible.. sometimes the place is 400, but occasionally a sunday night drops below 100 bucks, every room has a walk in closet, floor to ceiling stone showers with overhead and conventional shower heads, Jacuzzi for two, and the three season pool area with waterfall is great. If Youe hit it off with the desk, you mightt get a room with a view of Red Rocks, or, if you are platinum, tell them you want #6300
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10b4me
Social climber
Lida Junction
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Jun 23, 2018 - 07:37am PT
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Super 8 in Elk City, Oklahoma. a haven for oil field workers who like to party all night.
Worst casino hotel in Vegas: Palace Station
I vote for Arizona Charlies. Barely made it thru the first night.
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i-b-goB
Social climber
Wise Acres
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Jun 23, 2018 - 08:09am PT
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Some years back we stayed in a motel in Ventura that we called "The Shipwreck Inn"
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Jun 23, 2018 - 12:39pm PT
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Worst casino hotel in Vegas: Palace Station on Sahara, musty shower, curtains in front of AC, filthy, noisy, basketball dribbling at check in, sorry just running in the hallway at 3 am but no gunfire..
I stayed there about 25 years ago. It was nice then. Late one might I was shooting craps there. I was on a real roll, I had the dice for a good 20 minutes. I was making $5 bets. A guy at the table was betting $100 chips. He made a lot of money while I was rolling. I expected a tip, but no!
About 2 in the morning this gorgeous, beautifully, but simply, dressed young woman walked up to the table. She looked like Sandra Bullock, only prettier. The entire table, dealers and customers, froze for a good 20 seconds. Then it started again. Eventually some guy started talking to her. "What do you do for a living?" "I'm an actress." I don't think anybody at the table believed that for a second.
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Bargainhunter
climber
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Jun 23, 2018 - 12:56pm PT
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I regret to inform that both the Gold Spike and the Palace Station on Sahara are no longer dive hotels. They've been remodeled and spruced up. The Palace Station tower rooms are identical to the Monte Carlo. You can still get cheap rooms there; I paid $28/night including tax last year (resort fee additional $15) for a room on the 21st floor overlooking the Vegas sprawl, freeways, and construction. It also has a free shuttle to the airport.
The Gold Spike is downright trendy, but you can still get dirt cheap rooms there mid-week. I paid $20/night 10 months ago including tax (resort fees were $20 more)...
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