A Day in Mesa

Travelodge is a known name and the price was cheap ($70/night), so I booked for a night at this hotel right on the edge of Mesa's "downtown." Unfortunately, I was not happy with the experience. My first room, 118, smelled strongly of mildew. My allergies kicked in within minutes. So I requested another room (222). This one smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. The clerk insisted it was a non-smoking room, but I found ashes on the windowsill. I didn't bother to switch again (as who knew what problems I'd find in another room), and just ran the fan all night.

The room itself was kind of dingy and reminded me of the movie "No Country for Old Men." The light switch didn't work. There was no outlet near the bed so the alarm clock was on the far side of the room (I suppose that forces you to get out of bed to turn it off). There was a heat lamp in the bathroom, but it didn't work. There was no "Do Not Disturb" sign for the door (a small thing, but I don't need my room cleaned if I'm only there for a couple of nights). My travel companion was in the room next door (221), and his bed squeaked like mad.

I remember being able to stay at places even lower down the cheapness totem pole, like Motel 6, and always having clean rooms. I'm wondering if times have changed.