Atomic Motel — Hotel in Astoria

Our family booked the Atomic Motel for an end of summer road trip before sending our two kiddos back to school. We had a high hopes for the kitschy, 1950’s themed road side motel. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend staying here. I rarely leave reviews unless we experience friendly, memorable customer service, and I almost never leave negative reviews because establishments and individuals can simply have an off day. However, our experience was bad enough that others should know before booking. We chose the Atomic Motel as a budget friendly option for a single night in Astoria. Our expectations were for a basic, little bit run down, highway stop based upon the price. Reviews seemed to be positive and when we arrived that is more or less what we found. After dropping our bags around lunchtime in our room (never opening any of our windows and locking the door behind us…this will be important later), we spent the rest of the day exploring Astoria. On returning back to our room after dinner, my wife and kids started getting ready to settle in for bed. I went over to close the blackout curtains and my wife noticed what looked like a dark stain on the curtain. I got close to inspect and realized it was a bat. Yup, a small furry, napping bat. While I find bats to be relatively cute creatures, they are far less cute in a motel room with two young kids. We quickly evacuated the room, and I went to the front desk looking for help. The young woman working the front desk was as freaked out as we were, but one of her friends was in the lobby and we all headed back to remove the bat. I could regale you with the story of trying to capture the bat, it getting away and doing laps around the room, the young woman working at the motel screaming bringing folks outside from their rooms, and it eventually getting out the front door, but the main problems started after all of this. I went back into the room to try and find where the bat had entered. My family was already on edge and we did not want other friends of the bat to come and hang out (sorry couldn’t resist) while we slept. Upon opening the drapes to investigate, folks who were living on the street behind our room in an old RV starting screaming at me, yelling expletives. I know lots of folks are struggling and living rough on the streets, but between the bat and now people screaming, my kids were crying and no one wanted to stay in this room. I let the young woman working the front desk know that we were going to find another motel, and she was friendly and understanding about our need to leave. She also said she would advocate for us with her manager about a refund for our non-stay. Since it was past 9pm at this point, we booked whatever we could find which ended up costing us twice the price of the Atomic. I guess you have to pay a bit extra for a room without bats and without people screaming at you through single paned windows. The next morning, I came back to the Atomic to speak with the manager to confirm a refund. After I explained the events of the previous night (backed up by notes left by staff), the manager refused to even consider a refund. She said that sometimes bugs or creatures get in a room and that is not their problem. She also said that she cannot control what people on the street are doing. I absolutely agree, but you and your family should be aware of the potential issues and likely make the choice to book somewhere else. We are a small family on a budget, and the expense of booking a safe room at another establishment and not receiving a refund for the non-stay, blew up the rest of our short vacation. I urge you and your family to find another...

My family spent two nights over the last weekend here with some mixed results. I really wanted to like this place. We had booked it once last year and due to a family emergency had to cancel (they were very accommodating when that happened) When it was time to book again we contemplated going to one of the newer, more expensive chains but decided to give this place a shot. It looked like a cute local place and we wanted to support it. I wish we hadn't.||The good:|It's very affordable which makes it great for a traveling family. The staff was kind and curious. And, while to property is dated, our room was clean. The breakfast was light but fine for our needs but if you want something more factor that in.||The bad: |The walls are like paper. I could hear the conversation of the neighbors or the television and footsteps of the people above us. These people weren't being loud to the level of a noise complaint. Just living their lives but we could hear and were kept awake by every detail. We were lucky to come in February when we didn't need to open the window (their is no air conditioning) or it would have just been louder as I could already hear every passing car. |The beds are not great. I wasn't expecting much but hearing and feeling the springs move under me with every small movement isn't great. This just added to the difficulty sleeping for my family and caused some back pain for me and my wife.|It's dated. Newly decorated and maybe painted but don't let that make you think it has been remodeled. Honestly, other than the walls and bed, this didn't bother me much but I can see how the details a photo doesn't show may make someone feel they have been duped. |There was a bunch of little stuff. None of these are deal breakers but good to note. For example, the bathroom light is connected to the vanity light so when your kids have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night it wakes everyone in the room up (if they were managing to sleep in the first place). Or that the mid century bedside lamp in our room was not plugged in and we couldn't find an outlet. Their is Wi-Fi but it isn't posted on your check in registration or in the room what the password is. This wasn't a huge priority for us but I know for some people this would have been an inconvenience. The TV in our room took some figuring out before we could get the cable box talking to the TV. I will concede that may just be user error or the person before us messing with the settings but it was a bit annoying. The parking lot is small and cramped. There is overflow parking but the main one filled up fast and we were not there during peak season. ||Ultimately, for me this came down to sleep. The mid century decorations were cute but at a motel I pay for sleep. And if I total the amount of hours I slept I did not get what I paid for, even at a low rate. Did it ruin my trip to Astoria? No. But I think next time I will try to book with one of the other chains first, even at a...

☀️READ THIS BEFORE STAYING AT THIS HOTEL!!!☀️ The walls are so thin no matter what room you are in that ANY noise, talking, TV etc from the surrounding rooms literally sounds like it is in your room. You can talk normal and every word can be heard by neighbors. Trust me, no exaggeration at all. If you stay here, you will see what I mean by the time you check out. You will hear people talking over your TV and you will hear other people's TV over your talking. It's absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable!! The hotel staff is fully aware of this yet will fill the rooms around you on a slow night instead of spreading people out in other rooms because it's easier on them and cleaning staff. Meaning, they could care less about your peace and need for sleep. They just want your money. Another fact to note, while they collect your money knowing you will not have a peaceful stay because of the paper thin walls, they also do not have anyone on site for the evening or night shift. So, if you need towels, toilet paper, etc. Good luck with that because the front is locked and not staffed!! I have never stayed at a hotel that is not staffed during the evening or night. This wasn't just a one night thing either. This is every night. Go ahead and book a night here if you think my review is just me being negative and you will see what I mean by the time you check out....lol..... seriously. I have stayed at MANY hotels and understand that some have better sound barriers than others. This hotel is so bad that I wonder how they can even operate this way. The rooms are okay though but that doesn't make up for the absolutely unacceptable thin walls between you and neighbors. I'm literally listening to a guy on the phone talking in the room next door to me right now while writing this review and he's talking at a normal volume and I can hear his entire conversation clearly OVER THE...