Retro Inn at Mesa Verde — Hotel in Cortez

While planning a road trip from Ohio, we came across this motel. It looked so neat and unique. It also had decent reviews. We travel often and this isn't the type of place we would normally stay in, but its quirkiness won us over.

We drove 12 hours prior to arriving at this motel in the early evening. When we arrived, we were greeted and given room 1979, which was decorated for that particular year. The outside of this place is cute, but cluttered. They had a cool Elvis sitting on a bench (though his arm is falling off), a cute trailer, a checkers board, outdoor (dirty) grill, and a few overflowing trash cans.

We arrived at our room and initially it looked cool - brightly painted walls, cool posters - a simple, though outdated, motel room. Upon further inspection, we came across some gross issues. I have asthma, which is triggered by allergens. Usually, one of the first things we check is the filters in the air conditioners. This room's filters were pretty dirty and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in awhile. The smoke detector had a piece of tape over the sensor clearly to avoid the smell of cigarette smoke. The sheets had stains on them and we found a few hairs too. Then there was the shower. This by far was the worst shower I have ever encountered anywhere. The handle was virtually falling off and I had the hardest time trying to get the right temperature for myself and my kids to take a shower. The water barely was coming out and once I got a temp I could tolerate, we had to leave it running and have us all take a shower back to back to avoid fighting with it further. It was a horrible experience.

Breakfast was simple and lacking. Boxed cereal, frozen breakfast burritos and tamales, and pastries.

Honestly, I wanted this to be a fun and quirky experience on our once in a lifetime road trip, but we just left there feeling dirty. The sad thing is, this place has so much potential and its concept is brilliant. Cleanliness is so important to so many people when searching for a hotel and this is why I gave this place 1 star. ...

We are on a cross-country road trip and have been choosing hotels based on reviews. So I had read the reviews of this hotel but was still blown away!

It is a very cute hotel. Part of me wonders how they started - someone told them their hotel was too old, and they decided to embrace it! It has that charming, older feel, but it was clean, comfortable, and really well kept.

I had seen the reviews about the themed rooms. We haven't been reserving rooms ahead on this trip since we don't know how far we'll go each day. But that was no problem. The rooms are numbered based on year, from 1920s to 1980s. We wound up getting a room that was a very important year in my life, so that was pretty fun! It had some really neat prints of old computers on the walls.

My husband and I both have back problems, and really don't sleep well on hotel beds. Always wake up sore and eager for our own bed. We were again pleasantly surprised! The bed was a pillow top with just the right amount of support. I felt like Goldilocks in baby bear's bed - even the pillows were just right!

I was so impressed with the community areas - pool table, foos ball table, board games, HUGE lawn chess set, plenty of seating outside for visiting, grilling, and picnics. And a large porch swing set up that was pretty fascinating! I actually wished that we had brought the kids with us. They also have a dog run, so I guess we could have dragged the pups along as well...

We knew there would be a continental breakfast and weren't expecting much, but I was impressed at all the choices. They had the basic cereals, oatmeal, fruit, and baked goods, but they also had a little fridge stocked with breakfast burritos, waffles, and corn dogs that could be heated in toasters or microwaves. And the little dining area was adorably designed as well.

The prices are reasonable and I would definitely enjoy...

Had made reservations weeks in advance to stay here based on recent reviews. Thought we’d try something outside of the standard hotel chains and give our business to a local place bringing an old hotel back to life. Our visit was that of mixed experiences which is why we ended up with a 3 star review.||Positives: Staff at check-in was very helpful. Parking was easy, right outside our door, and location made it easy to walk down the Main Street for dinner. Game room was nice, checked it out but didn’t use it, and outside grounds were nice. Little dining area for breakfast was ok and breakfast selection was ok and expected for a hotel. The bed was comfortable and the AC kept the room cool.||Needs attention: Bathroom could really use an exhaust fan to help with moisture from showers. The shower had an overhead rain shower head, which was different and ok but was in need of repair/replacement. The tub drain did not keep up with the water from a shower so we had to stand in ankle deep water while showering. Bathroom sink spit out black “stuff” when used. Didn’t want to drink from it. Toilet was low to the ground, which was ok for us, but someone might have difficulty getting up from that low so a grab bar could be helpful for them. Electrical outlets could be updated to accommodate USB A or C or just updated. Several were so old and worn that our electrical plugs just fell back out when plugged in. It would be nice to have a luggage rack to set up. There was nowhere to set our luggage except on the floor, bed, or on the table with chairs. Would be nice to sweep outside the rooms on the sidewalk. Our entry mat and other room mats were full of dirt/debris. BTW, this was in room 1957.||Might consider staying again if things were attended to. Hard to spend $140/night for a room that needs more….||We wish ownership the best and keep on...