Motel 6 San Simeon, CA - Hearst Castle Area — Hotel in Cambria

We were on a road trip of the pacific west coast in the 1st week of June 2017. I stayed in 5 different hotels during my entire stay. I had no issues anywhere except during my stay for one night in Motel 6 at San Simeon, CA. Room and location were fine. At the time of check in, all my personal information from my driver's license was saved into a computer. I asked front desk if they could give me a print out of the company's privacy policy to assure me that my information would not be shared or sold to other businesses and would remain protected. They said they did not have it handy but would look into it. At the time of check out I asked for a print out. The Manager stood defiantly defending that they were required by law to collect the information in order to check people in. "That may be true but it is also the law to protect people's personal information and if you could just give me a copy of the company's policy on protecting customer's personal information, I will feel assured" I said. This was important to me because after a similar trip a couple of years back, my mail box has been replete with unsolicited mails, I receive numerous unsolicited calls. An iphone was ordered by a perpetrator. The manager of Motel 6 - San Simeon, almost made it look like she had no obligation to give me any information, there was no attempt to take down my information and follow up later or to try to find or print the policy from the company's website. She went on to say that "I oversee 10 different Motel 6 in the area and I am not allowing you to stay here". Since I was checking out that day, it did not matter to me. But my issue is - how come front desk has no knowledge or access to this information. In fact a copy of this policy should be handed to every customer before they even make the payment so they know how seriously the company takes the business of protecting personal information of customers and what ,how, with who the information...

Labor day weekend, 1 night. I booked through Travelocity Fri night (though it was past midnight already), to check in on Sat, check out Sun for 2 adults about $240. We were looking for a hotel near Hearst. Hotels were selling out for the weekend and so was Motel 6. I needed a room with 2 beds. I was going to book at The Morgan which included Free Parking and Breakfast and I wanna say also Free Wi-Fi but they didn't have the room I needed so Motel 6 came to my rescue, phew!

I called to make a special request,after I booked it: ground floor and that we wouldn't be arriving until late. The gentleman on the phone was a little hard to understand at first but was friendly and happy and didn't mind repeating himself and assured us they would accommodate us, and they had someone at the desk 24 hours.

We arrived around 10 30pm. They held the room for us and it was ground floor indeed. By design of the hotel, it did involve some stairs but No big deal. They need to air out The hallways more. A bit musky.

The room was standard. Beds were comfy. I forgot to bring slippers or socks so I was unfortunately barefoot and my feet felt dirty walking around barefoot so I recommend flip flops or blck socks. Tv has basic cable. No shampoo or anything like that so bring that with you, if you need that. The room really was great for what we needed. A quiet and comfy place to sleep that was basically clean. Check out was easy and staff was all smiles and very friendly :)

They have an on-site little bar with a pool table/restaurant. There is a pool. Walking distance to restaurant across the street & beach. Free parking.

Minus star: no breakfast included. No Wi-Fi included: $2.99 per day per device. But maybe that's why their prices are sometimes lower than some of the others? Depends on what you're looking...

What struck me most about this place was the effort they went to ensure satisfaction...

It started with a phone call a few hours before I arrived. The general manager called to see if I had any special requests, such as extra blankets or towels. The room comes with bare essentials, so she wanted to ensure I had everything extra I could want or need upon arrival. I’m not picky, so I declined anything extra, but I appreciated the gesture.

When I arrived, there was a heartfelt letter from the same general manager thanking me for choosing this hotel. I could tell it was a letter given to all guests, but I could also tell it was personally written by the general manager in her own words. The “thank you” letter acknowledged that I had many other choices of places to stay, some of which may have been “nicer.”

The room was very clean. You wouldn’t know they’re a very pet-friendly hotel by how clean it was.

However, there was also a goodie bag of gifts left for our pet, including treats, a foldable dish, and a flashlight meant to help pick up after dogs if walked in the dark. Just another way in which they went above and beyond expectations for customer satisfaction.

The beds were nothing to go crazy about, but they weren’t anything to complain about either. Certainly comfortable enough to get my family through the night.

Five stars for putting so much effort into customer satisfaction. I’ve stayed in many hotels all over the United States and Canada and I’ve never experienced been called by the general manager, received a “thank you” letter from the general manager, or gotten a goodie bag of gifts for a pet.

Like the letter said, there are many other places I could have chosen to stay... But I definitely didn’t regret...