A little more than a year ago, I wrote a scathing review of the Motel 6 in Watsonville CA. If you read that review, you’ll hear about noise, poor service, and all the rest.

Being a glutton for punishment, when I took a recent road trip which involved two nights in different locations, I booked myself into two Motel 6's–one in Ventura and the other in Lompoc. What I learned was that what you get at Motel 6 varies quite a bit by location.

The Basics

According to the Motel 6 brochure, they believe in giving the customer the lowest prices of any national chain. While Motel 6's rates are quite reasonable, I have found lower rates on occasion when I have comparison shopped.

The brochure also says that you will get a clean room with free local calls and no motel surcharge for long distance, facilities for the disabled, free morning coffee, a 19 inch TV with HBO, ESPN, and a few other channels. You get adequate towels and small bars of soap. Ice machines and vending machines are available and most of their locations are within easy range of restaurants and stores. Many locations offer a pool and some offer data ports.

The people who work at Motel 6 are generally polite and will answer questions. Don't expect them to go out of their way for you in any way. When I wanted to use a pencil (the rooms did not supply pens or pencils or paper), I was asked to bring it back. This is basic, basic, basic.

I have found their rooms clean, though sparsely appointed. You will find no pictures on the walls and the rooms definitely are small. Storage facilities are minimal. The rooms have a cart to put a suitcase on and some hanger spaces. Lighting is adequate.

Motel 6 now offers an even lower rates if you book online at their website (which is motel6.com)

Room service, gyms, and other amenities of more luxurious hotels are non-existent at Motel 6.

Differences Among Locations

Having been at three different California locations in the last year, I see many differences among them.

Last year at Watsonville, I noted that the walls were so paper-thin that you could hear everything. The Ventura location was very quiet while the Lompoc location was somewhere in between. If hearing sounds from the next room bothers you, Motel 6 may not be for you.

Last year at Watsonville, I could not even get an ABC affiliate when the Gary Condit interview was on. The Ventura location had all the major networks except for PBS and also had several cable channels. The Lompoc location had a variety of networks and cable stations including PBS, several news channels A&E, and ESPN 2.

Shower facilities varied also among locations with Ventura having a tiny round shower with no mat and Lompoc having a bathtub with a mat provided. The rooms in Lompoc were larger than those in Ventura. It appeared to be a newer facility.

Making Your Motel 6 Experience More Palatable

Having been to several Motel 6 locations, here are a few things you might want to do to make it more palatable.

1) Bring your own radio. Motel 6 does not provide a clock radio. Bringing your own will help.

2) If you like thick towels, bring them from home.

3) Bring your own shampoo and all your other toiletries. Only soap is provided. You can buy other necessities at the vending machines, but they don’t offer much variety and the prices are kind of inflated. I forgot everything and a last minute trip to the nearby 99 Cent Store in Ventura took care of all that.

As a matter of fact, don't expect the room to have any extras in them. If you want an iron or anything like that, bring it yourself.

In Conclusion

If you totally view a motel as a crash pad and plan to spend just about all your waking hours elsewhere, Motel 6 might do for you. The rooms are clean and you really don’t notice the small sizes, lousy decor, and all the rest when you are asleep. If you expect almost nothing, you will not be disappointed. Also, if you expect nothing, you may be pleasantly surprised as I was in Lompoc when I got the large array of cable channels (considerably larger than I got at a Sheraton where I went for a convention).

If, however, the motel is any part of your traveling experience, think again. The rooms are small and that might be an inconvenience for a family. There is no lobby or continental breakfast other than free coffee. The facility is no fun to wander around in. There is no gift shop. Some do have a pool.

At its best, Motel 6 is usually a clean, reliable crash pad. At its worst, it can be a disaster. At its best, it can be an economical way to sleep on the road.

Recommended: Yes