Description: We were thinking that we’d not find anywhere to stay when we saw the "bright lights" of Baker. I use the term advisedly because there is not a great deal in Baker, other than the world’s biggest thermometer. This was erected to commemorate the highest temperature ever recorded in the U.S. In 1913 in Death Valley, the temperature soared to 134 degrees—wonder what sunblock you’d require in that heat!
Motel choices were limited, and we opted for Bun Boy in preference to the one across the road, which resembled a trailer park. The Bun Boy Motel was hardly salubrious, and the price did not match the amenities, but limited choice often equals hiked prices. I guess it’s a typical one-night-stop establishment, with all the room entrances being accessed off the car park and the main road through town leading directly into the car park. Opposite the car park was the Greyhound bus stop—glad we’d opted for the comfort of a Cadillac!
We were greeted with what we assumed was typical off-handed Nevada hospitality—a kind of, "I’ve got things I could be doing, but if you want a room here, take the key, and the room’s out there somewhere." They weren’t rude; I guess the TV programme was just more interesting.
The room was simple, or to be more exact, basic and in need of some modernisation. But it was clean and had air-conditioning and a reasonable shower room. The cable TV worked, but the reception was not brilliant—who cares, we’re on holiday and only want to check out the weather forecast. And thinking about it, who needs to check out the weather when you have a 134-foot thermometer outside your front door!
This first Bun Boy was built in 1926 (you mean to say there’s a chain of them?), and we kinda hoped that the establishment’s stronger point was the restaurant and not the motel rooms. The restaurant was somewhat utilitarian in design and the view not stupendous, but we decided to have dinner here. Seeing the portions carried out to the tables, we chose "to share". As is usual in the States, the waitress didn’t blink but came back with a meal on two plates—it was still huge and rammed, I guess, with cholesterol. The puddings gave us the biggest dilemma—there was a superb choice, and we just couldn’t agree on one to share. In the end, we went for a portion each and could hardly move from the table afterwards. I am sure that Bun Boy is not the highest quality, but if you’re feeling peckish, this will certainly fill the gap, and in fairness, we didn’t feel that we’d been overcharged.
If you don’t expect frills, then Bun Boy is an acceptable place to stay and eat. If you can tolerate basic, then it’ll do, but if you want special, avoid Bun Boy; indeed, I’d avoid Baker!
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