Foot of the Mountain Motel — Hotel in Boulder

We stayed at this motel for several nights. Here is what we faced:

Noise: The rooms have zero sound insulation. Apart from being able to hear your neighbors’ conversations, they have some novelty, toy-like refrigerators that run extremely loudly because they are not designed for commercial efficiency. Loud enough to wake you each time the engine turns over throughout the night. We had two rooms and the fridge in one of the rooms died on the first night causing all the food we put in there to spoil.

Customer Service: when we spoke to the front desk person about our fridge dying and losing our food, she told us that it wasn’t her problem, but to wiggle the flammable tangle of extension cords that they use to power these toy refrigerators. She told us three times that we should just jiggle the plug and then finally said that the “janitor” would come to fix it. When we stopped back at the room, we found the toy fridge laying in the parking lot in front of the room covered in dust.

The “Janitor”: the first time I saw the so-called janitor, he was exiting his truck after arriving to work in the morning. As he opened the door, a haze of smoke billowed out drivers door and he proceeded to start his rounds. I have more to say about this person in my later points but that it is his introduction.

The Coffin-Shower: the shower in my room was the size of a coffin. This was a real problem because the shower handle and really the whole apparatus was extremely janky. They had to put a sign inside the shower instructing guests to place one hand on the shower wall and then firmly pull the handle. The reason for this instruction as I found out was that the shower handle was not anchored, so if you pulled it without counter weighting with your other hand, there was a risk it would rip through the plastic shower wall. Now, as aside from the handle issue and the shower head spurting water toward the ceiling or out of the shower due to poor seals, the water temperature fluctuated wildly at any given setting. This was the true problem because when it fluctuated to scalding hot, you could not escape the water because the shower itself was the size of a coffin and thus there was no room to escape the scalding water. You just had to endure the pain until the water fluctuated back down to a normal temperature.

The Furnace Filter: on the last night we were there we began to hear loud beeping five times in a row every 7 to 8 minutes from 10 PM until 4 AM. Because there is no staff there whatsoever to address any issues during the night we had to use a flashlight to explore the different areas of the room where this beeping potentially was coming from. Finally, we discovered that the alert was due to nobody replacing the furnace filter for the entirety of the summer season. When we informed the front desk in the morning that they should replace the furnace filter and that we were not able to sleep due to the continuous furnace alarm, the janitor then began to insult and berate us. He started out by insulting us for having notified him about our fridge dying and then called me a “loser” for notifying them about the furnace filter. After being called a loser, I attempted to calm the janitor down by telling him it wasn’t personal, but that we were just having problems with the rooms. He told me not to talk to him anymore. I felt concerned because during the whole conversation he was facing right up to the wall with his headphones, which I found to be deeply concerning. It seemed to me as if he was trying to calm himself from resorting to violence. At least that is the sense I got, and I felt concerned for my security. I will say that the front desk manager was listening to this whole situation and attempted to contain the janitor and deescalate this absurd situation.

Overall, I cannot recommend this motel, especially at this very high price point due to my experience of being insulted by the staff on multiple occasions, including being called a loser and barely being able to sleep...

Step into the past at Foot of the Mountain Motel! It is a gem, it is also dated. Located perfectly just outside of the main Boulder streets (you can walk to Pearl Street in about 20ish minutes right along the creek that has both paved and unpaved sections) and with splendid views of scenery. It is comprised about maybe about 10 cabins or so and to my understanding they are all simple dwelling units with the exception of two, which are more like suites and have adjoining kitchens and bathrooms. We stayed in a suite. It was definitely dated - but this is not a bad thing, it's charming - and here are some details on the layout so you can set your expectations accordingly. First walking in is the sleeping and lounge area with a 27" flat screen TV mounted on the wall and a sofa. The sofa and bed are well - very well - worn in, not uncomfortable, but certainly past their prime. Carpeting is basic and unpadded. There is a small nook for an office setup and a small closet to hang maybe about 10 items at most. On the far end is the kitchen, now get this, the kitchen and the bathroom are separated only by a cloth shower curtain on a rod that is more semi-circle than straight. I am just over 6' tall and could not stand up straight in the shower and had just, and I mean just, enough room to turn around (beware of this!). In the kitchen there is an oddly placed 'step' that runs the length of the counter and sink. Nothing in this unit is ADA, nor parking or main office, is ADA suitable (beware of this, too). It's clear that over time pieces have been added or fixed, but not necessarily updated, hence the odd step in the kitchen. Here is one unique experience I've never had: Within 15 minutes of arriving we noticed the kitchen sink did not drain and the toilet seemed clogged. We called the office and Eve is so incredibly sweet, and I cannot overstate how awesome she was, she offered to plunge the toilet for us. I can't imagine how embarrassing it was for her because I declined her offer and instead plunged it myself...to no avail. Long story short, a plumber had to come and since the suites are also adjoined to the office, the main sewer line had a blockage. It took nearly four hours for it to be fixed, but it was fixed and (again) Eve was so wonderful. The toilet and sink worked fine afterwards, thankfully. We passed the time by walking to Boulder and then having a campfire with the provided wood in the provided fire pit out front of the motel. It was definitely an experience. In all, if your goal is nature, charm, and adventure then stay here. If you can only tolerate first-world luxuries then this might not be the place for you. I would...

This motel has so much potential. It is in a beautiful location, at the foot of the mountain, walking distance from Pearl Street, and near a beautiful park and river. However, The small cottage was very dirty and it was extremely hot due to the fact that there is no air conditioning. Also, the beds are extremely hard and we did not have a good night sleep. The staff is somewhat attentive but the girl running the front desk had a strange attitude. She was not terribly friendly. We did know about the air conditioning so choosing a motel like that is on us, however, for $200 we expected it to be cleaner and the bed to be more comfortable. There was dust and cobwebs on our lights that we noticed when turning them on and when we laid on the bed we could see lots of dust and cobwebs on the walls and ceiling. Also, the carpets were disturbingly dirty and had lots of mysterious stains. We spent the night and day in our socks because we did not want to walk barefoot on them. This place has so much potential and could really be fantastic with a little more help with the renovation and cleanliness. Again, the location is amazing and we would really love to say we would be back for that alone but I am afraid you next time we will have to find somewhere else to sleep. I understand that cost can be difficult but my advice to the owner would be to attempt to change the carpet in the cottages and re-train staff for deeper cleaning tactics, and also it would be nice if there was an ice machine to cool down overheated guests. I truly hope this little spot succeeds with a little help because it was beautiful and perfect...