Hotel to Avoid in Los Angeles

A recent article on CNN.com called "Dirty Hotels Gross out Travelers" deals with an issue that many U.S. travelers and visitors from other countries deal with every day. Though there are many hotels who provide great service, some hotels lack in the area of cleanliness. The travelers told CNN about their experiences with cockroaches, stains on their sheets, rotted food in the microwave and dirty wash rags. A while ago, Tripadvisor.com began releasing annual lists of what they consider to be the top 10 dirtiest hotels in the U.S and in other countries such as Canada and France.

The Heritage Marina Hotel in San Francisco, California, claimed the number one spot for the dirtiest hotel in the U.S. on the most recent list. According to A. Pawlowski at CNN.com, "the hotel's general manager said the rankings were based on 'subjective, irate, anonymous postings' that did not reflect the true condition of the hotel nor the opinions of the thousands of guests who have stayed there". CNN claims that some of the reasons why these hotels are chosen are because of price, location and accessibility. Hotels that are near exits are convenient for travelers as well as hotels that are low in price. Pawloski wonders why these hotels are still in business with all the online tools and reviews available to travelers.

In 2006, like these travelers, I had the misfortune of staying in a dirty hotel. Price and location were two of the main factors that led me to the hotel of my choice. The word hotel itself was misleading; it was definitely a motel if I am correct in my understanding of the differences between a hotel and a motel. Regardless, I was willing to give it a shot. The room appeared fine at first. However, once I pulled the blanket off to go to bed, I noticed the stains on the white sheets and the bad condition of the blanket. There were large rips that one would have had to be blind to miss. The most annoying part about the whole experience was the maid. When I first moved in, I was asked if I would like my room to be cleaned and I said no. Still, after returning back to the room on the first day, I noticed that my things had been moved from the bed and the blanket was properly fixed. I pulled it back for my inspection and realized that neither the sheets nor the blanket had been changed. What exactly she did in the room apart from fix the blanket is beyond me. The other guests were also a bit too loud and friendly, though that is not the fault of the hotel/motel. My 'neighbors' knocked on my door to introduce themselves on my first day there. They made it seem like we were at an apartment and was going to be there for a while. Truthfully, I would assume that the majority of people who stayed there were long term visitors. Like me, my neighbors had just moved to California and were still looking for a place to stay. The one creature that I spotted was one too many for me. I have always heard that if you see a few roaches, there are a million more. Though I requested a non-smoking room, there was an ash tray with ashes and the scent of smoke in the room. It is safe to say that I used a whole lot of air freshener in that room during the one week that I spent there. I would like the answer to the same question asked on CNN: with all the online tools and reviews out there, why are these companies still in business?

Sources

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/01/29/dirty.hotels/index.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/