Budget Inn — Hotel in Alamogordo

PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS IF STAYING AT THIS MOTEL||||My wife and I recently had an unsettling experience at the Budget Inn in Alamogordo, New Mexico, prompting us to share our encounter to raise awareness among fellow travelers. ||||We had initially chosen this motel for its affordable rate and positive reviews, as we only needed a place to stay for less than eight hours, and it was conveniently located for our early morning plans.||||Upon entering our room, we were pleased to find it clean, spacious, and even with some modern touches, indicating an effort to maintain the property. We performed a thorough walkthrough to ensure all amenities were in working order, including checking the hot water temperature, shower pressure, availability of clean towels, and other essentials – all of which were great.||||However, during our walkthrough, we noticed an alarm clock oddly placed and facing the bed, somewhat concealed within the TV unit's shelf. Suspectingly, we investigated further and discovered a CAMERA LENSE WITHIN THE ALARM CLOCK. Moments after this, we received a call from the front desk informing us of a water heater issue and that they needed to move us to another room.||||Feeling uneasy about the situation, we opted to check out immediately. We contacted the local police to report the presence of a hidden surveillance device in one of the motel rooms. Subsequent online research revealed the exact device, complete with a detailed review of its capabilities, including an SD slot for storing captured videos. ||||The police officer reported that the device we encountered was no longer present in the room, which leads us to believe that the staff of the motel may have been the ones who placed the hidden recording device in the room, as they would have access. This happened around 10:00 in the evening.||||We documented the device with photos to aid other guests who may recognize it from their own stays.||||Our experience at the Budget Inn in Alamogordo is deeply troubling, and we strongly advise against staying at this motel until a thorough investigation is conducted and appropriate measures are taken to guarantee the privacy and security of all guests. This violation is particularly concerning for families with children, and we hope our review serves as a warning to exercise extreme caution when considering accommodations at Budget Inn...

The place is decent enough if you dont care much about motels. We were on a road trip from California and ended up checking in at midnight so that was rough for us. There was a person who called us around 8pm to verify that we would be there and when we said we wouldn't be until midnight there was a person waiting for us to check in which was nice after driving all day/all night.

We stayed in a room with one king sized bed and it only had a sheet, a thin fleece blanket and the top decorative cover. The door looks like it's been kicked in before and poorly repaired, there is no deadbolt, only a door handle lock. The toilet had an oversized bowl and was placed by the sink about 12 inches away from the wall in front of it which meant to sit you had to either straddle the seat and then plop down or nearly face plant into the wall before trying to adjust. I'm about 5'1 but my 6'2 boyfriend was reasonably uncomfortable with the lack of space.

On the bed the sheets seemed clean (who actually knows) but did have some stains and questionable marks on them. When we tried to turn on the heat pump from the wall ac unit it smelled like burning dust and did a poor job of heating the small room during the cold night. The heater also made loud terrible popping noises all night loud enough that we thought someone was at the door. Oh, and since it is right off the main highway every big rig and car goes rumbling by in between the train rumbling by every few hours. Basically every sound comes right through the thin walls...

The mark of an establishment is how it deals with a concern/complaint. You can't see that unless something is not initially ideal. We were initially given a room that wasn't cleaned and readied for guests. I walked back two doors to the office and let them know, and was instantly given a new room. One of the proprietors went through the new room to ensure it was up to specification before handing us the key with the deepest of apologies, and the head housekeeper was dispatched to clean the room that had been mistakenly reported as ready. Our final room had a spacious floorplan, an incredibly comfortable bed, a desk, a fridge, a microwave, and a sizable flat-screen TV. The complimentary toiletries were a surprisingly high quality, and the bed linens and towels were also a cut above what I expect at a motel with only one star in its rating. Best of all, the walls and windows were insulated well enough that I couldn't hear the comings and goings of the bikers also staying at the lodge. Considering that touring motorcycles are made to be loud, that was...