Bring me your tired, your grumpy, your road weary, your pet owners...
Written: Aug 10 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Accepts Pets, No Shortage of Econolodge Locations Around USA
Cons: Accommodations in most locations mediocre and inconsistent at best
The Bottom Line: Stay here at your risk - good for budget travelers and those with pets
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| phoenixx's Full Review: Econo Lodge Bowling Green |
Econolodge is a name I thought little about prior to my recent cross-country move. When transplanting my little zoo (Rottweilers, cats, bird, fish, etc) and my "honey" from California to Massachusetts, I was quite concerned about obtaining suitable lodging for the entire entourage along the way. I found myself in a bit of a quandary, as I realized that the number of pets I have, plus traveling with both a personal vehicle and a moving truck towing another personal vehicle and my "honey" precluded being able to reserve hotel rooms across the nation in advance as I would normally have done. After checking the Econolodge statistics online and at my local AAA office, I decided to keep an eye out for them and see what happened.
Happily, there was an Econolodge in every town I stopped in along the long and winding road. Equally happily, they accept any kind of pet short of livestock, no questions asked, for a minimal fee of $5 per pet at some locations or free at others. The Econolodge motels were always easily visible from the road, easily accessible from the turn offs and exits, and located in well lit areas. Every Econolodge provided ample parking for large vehicles such as moving trucks or semi trucks in addition to the usual lot for standard cars and trucks. Each Econolodge along the way provided ample lighting within these lots, and standard security for night arrivals in their lobbies. The rates were within an acceptable range for the quality of the hotel, anywhere from $45 per night for two people to $60 per night for two people. In a few places a minimal charge for pets was attached, but not at all locations.
The motel still will receive a mixed review from me, however; mainly because of inconsistency throughout the chain. While I accept that hotels within a chain may differ, when staying at a chain I expect a certain degree of consistency between locations. For example, Motel 6 is another budget hotel chain that accepts pets at some locations. Motel 6 has achieved an incredibly high rate of consistency in the quality of its hotel rooms across the country. You can safely assume that you will walk into any Motel 6, anywhere, and see the room and cleanliness you have come to expect from the chain while being served by staff that seems to be universally hospitable. Not so for Econolodge. There was a vast amount of difference between locations in cleanliness, room size, hotel quality, availability of food and hospitality of staff.
Of the Econolodge accommodations we stayed in along our particular route, I must give extra kudos to the managers and staff of the locations in Flagstaff, Arizona and Lebanon, Missouri. These two hotels exceeded my expectations for quality. The rooms were nicely decorated and exceptionally clean considering we were not the first smoking pet owners to stay there. The staff was friendly and helpful, the rates were reasonable at both locations and food was readily available either on the premises or very close by. Those two locations made our trip more pleasant for the rest we received.
The same can not be said for the other Econolodge locations. The places we stayed in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Ohio were filthy, with subpar room quality and staff that were downright rude. These locations also had other problems as well which varied for each one. The Econolodge in Oklahoma advertised a restaurant on the premises, which was essential as there were no other restaurants nearby, but upon arriving we discovered the restaurant had long-since closed it doors to the public. That Econolodge, when queried, said that they left the restaurant as an amenity in the guidebooks because they wanted to continue to get the same amount of patrons they had when the restaurant was open. Such a blatant case of false advertising really got me steamed.
In short, I can only partially recommend Econolodge to fellow weary travelers. Its main selling point is the fact that every location accepts all kinds of pets. Its main drawback is that there is no quality control across the chain.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
phoenixx
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Member: Leslie
Location: New Hampshire
Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 15 members
About Me:
Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult
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