Red Roof Inns are a solid 2 star motel chain that have locations across the United States. So right off the bat you have to realize that these are considered budget lodgings, though on the higher end of room prices. Having been woefully disappointed by other budget lodgings in the area, I decided to give this
Red Roof Inn at 4325 Watt Ave in Sacramento, California a try.
Well… just read the review, I guess,
This location is VERY conveniently located smack dab between Interstate 80 and Business 80. Giving you immediate freeway access to the downtown area, Cal Expo and Sacramento International Airport. The small patch of Watt Ave (a main through way that connects Interstate 80 on the north and Highway 50 on the south) where this inn sits is accompanied by a Chevron gas station, Phat Jerry's Phillies, Starbucks and Wendy's restaurant across the street
A 2 minute walk to the north will take you to the SacRT light rail and bus station, giving you further economical access to the rest of the county. It should be noted that SacRT also has a dedicated shuttle service between downtown bus stops and the airport. A further 8 minute walk north will reveal a Super Walmart, KFC, Del Taco, Subway Sandwiches, Golden Corral Buffet, Carl's Jr, Waffle House and a Love Laundry laundromat.
The newly painted building is a rustic maroon and white. As I pulled onto the property, I passed a CHP (California Highway Patrol) vehicle, the officer stopping behind parked vehicles to look them over. This was not a good omen for this property. As I proceeded into the lobby, another guest came rushing out with a brass luggage cart full of suitcases and filled trash bags, cursing under their breath.
The lobby was big, much bigger than most budget inns. At one corner was a small waiting area with leather-like cushioned chairs in front of a big screen TV. A large table took up most of the space, situated by a breakfast station. The reception desk was large, a mini version of what you’d expect to find at a Vegas resort hotel. All in all, it was a clean and nicely arranged lobby area, however it was ridiculously hot. Whether the air conditioning was broken or just off, I don’t know. I do know it made me not want to spend any more time there than I absolutely had too.
The desk clerk was a soft spoken woman who spoke in such a low voice I found myself having to ask her to repeat herself several times. This location has a $35 fee for early check in and a $60 refundable deposit requirement if paying with cash. Check in was reasonably quick. WiFi password was written on the key card sleeve. Was then informed of breakfast hours and check out time, yet not even an ‘enjoy your stay’, was spoken as I took my room key card and left.
Finding my room, I went in and found it looked and smelled clean. The fresh smell of a mopped floor is hard to mistake, yet when I looked down, there were still small pieces of paper and leaves on the floor.
The bed was nicely made, the sheets and cover blankets all appeared fresh. The room was equipped with a hair dryer, coffee maker, microwave and mini fridge, nice conveniences. Unfortunately when I inspected the inside of the fridge it appeared clean, yet smelled odd. The microwave was clean as well as the coffee maker.
The TV, remote control, lights and A/C all worked as they should, however the problems begin here. I don’t use ironing boards, but my room had a crunchy, stained, ripped ironing board hanging on the wall by the bathroom sink. Oddly though there was no iron, I suppose many people travel with their own iron.
There was a hair dryer attached to the wall, so just to test it… I plugged it in and turned it on. It immediately popped the red ‘fault’ button on the wall plug. So I reset the plug and tried again, only to have the same thing happen. So I reset the plug and put away the dryer. Can anybody say ‘fire hazard’?
The tub was a bit dirty and had some items left from the previous guest still sitting in the soap caddy.
The floor of the tub was visibly dirty, stained with crude from 100 guests before me. Have I ever mentioned that I also travel with flip flops just for showers like this one… yes people, athletes foot is a real thing, and I don’t want it.
The shower rod was practically falling down. Visibly broken and coming apart from the wall, I was very concerned that it would fall when I was taking a shower. Toilet was clean and flushed… what more could a man want from his toilet.
Sitting down at the desk I turned on the desk lamp that had a convenient yet not functional AC outlet at its base. Just as I turned on the light a nice inch long cockroach made his way nonchalantly across the desktop. I of course squished him with the hopes he doesn’t come back as a Rottweiler in its next life or I may be in trouble.
I found 3 other cockroaches during my stay, one climbing the wall and two in the bathroom. We all just left each other alone.
Housekeeping only came by once during my 3 day stay, and one of those days I had to go down to the housekeeping laundry room to get fresh towels. The one day the housekeeper did visit my room, it was well after 5pm and I’m guessing I was just an afterthought. One of the housekeepers has a mouth like a ‘sailor’ and was dropping the ‘f-bomb’ every few words. This wasn’t an isolated incident, every day I was there you could hear here voice echoing through the corridor, cursing about something or someone.
The noise level after 10pm is ludicrous to say the least. Most motels, even the really low class ones, are strict about being quiet after 10pm, not this establishment. Here it's pretty quiet up until 10pm, when it seems like the place gets pretty lively. People roaming the property, groups gathered in corner areas and everyone being loud. One of those nights the police arrived on the property for something, my only indication was due to my being woken by the sirens then the flashing red/blue lights outside my curtain.
Hmm, the curtains… I’ve been to a lot of hotels, and curtains are often problematic. Some hang too far from the window, others are thin and a breeze from the AC can move them and others are adequate yet don't block out the light very well. This Red Roof Inn location has the best curtains I’ve found. They’re thick, heavy and hang close to the window. So NO ONE is peeping in through thin curtains or around open creases at this motel. It's sad that the curtains are the BEST thing about this Red Roof Inn location.
Oh this was funny, my room was across from the ice machine. So I could hear day and night whenever someone was filling their ice bucket. Each day I was there at approx 7pm, a young man would come to the ice machine and start filling his ice bucket. However his ice bucket was a 20 gallon trash bag. The first time I heard the ice machine dispensing so much I thought it was broken and looked out the curtain to see. He was nice and when another guest came to the machine he’d step aside and let them fill their ice bucket, then go right back to filling his garbage bag. I’m guessing from the load he walked away with each night, he was walking away with about 10+ gallons of ice
I went to the provided breakfast one morning, but only once. I knew they served a ‘continental breakfast’ from their website, meaning light stuff. So I was having mixed expectations, since I had seen such a large dining table when I checked in. I wasn’t disappointed, it was a ‘continental breakfast’, with choices of cereal, fruit, coffee and juice. But I had hoped for so much more… seeing that dining table against the small offerings it now seemed out of place in the lobby.
Check out was just as easy as check in had been, yet again the desk clerk a different person, said very little. No ‘have a good day’ or ‘thank you for staying’.
The fact is this location was adequate for a one night stay over if going over or coming from the Sierras. I wouldn’t suggest staying more than a couple nights here, mainly due to:
the inefficiency of housekeeping - not coming to refresh my towels and coffee supplies daily is inexcusable. And my having to hunt them down myself to get towels is unprofessional.
The noise level
after 10pm. Even at 3am, people were still roaming around being loud, and the echoe effect in the corridors doesn't help
The roaches - Roaches are common in motels, but when one crawls across your path at a snail's pace when you turn the light
on, the cockroach is basically telling YOU who’s in charge.
Broken shower rod - This motel has you sign a document making you liable for damages in your room. This is not uncommon, many motels have a separate form like this, or a similar statement on the room contract you sign. However unless you have hotel staff walk through the room with you upon arrival, maintenance concerns like that nearly broken shower rod could become YOUR responsibility if they choose not to acknowledge it was previously damaged. And there is not a doubt in my mind that housekeeping knew of the shower rod being damaged…. It was too obvious
Maintenance issues - a faulty bathroom plug or faulty hairdryer are fire hazards, additionally the inoperable AC outlet plug on the desk lamp, and the nearly broken shower rod
I’ve returned to this motel twice now and it still suffers from the same problems as before. Though on my last visit, the tub had been painted white... a very poor paint job too.
However when I have a craving for a great Philly Cheese-steak, I would stay at this motel JUST so I can go across the street to Phat Jerry's Phillies. So to the franchise owner of the Red Roof Inn location, you owe Phat Jerry's a big THANK YOU. Those sandwiches are the ONLY reason I would return to this location.
