The Sage Motel — Hotel in Saratoga

We traveled to Saratoga, WY, on business, scheduled last minute, over a busy holiday weekend. After calling several local motels to find accommodations, we were able to book what was apparently the last available room in town at The Sage & Sand Motel. While we are budget travelers accustomed to older properties with bare-bones amenities, this ranked among the worst experiences we have ever had at a motel, especially for the outrageous rates they charge.

Upon check-in, we were greeted by two gentlemen, both of whom were personable enough, but they attempted to charge us quite a bit more than the rate we were quoted. Fortunately, I had a written confirmation of the rate, which, to their credit, they honored. When we asked why the rate was so high, they answered in a “nudge nudge wink wink” way that “it’s a holiday weekend, that’s when we make our money!”

The room was obviously old, with wood-paneled walls, dated furniture, and worn carpets. It was clean enough (except for the visible ring in the toilet), but had no coffee maker or drink cups, nor did it have any soap, shampoo, lotion, or any of the personal care products you’d expect to find at even the most no-frills motels. The bathroom had an old-style medicine cabinet, which was so rusty and filthy, I didn’t dare put anything in it. The room had a large walk-in closet, which was nice, but no dedicated light switch. It was apparently tied to the main light switch in the room, so once the room light was turned on, the closet light was turned on too. Not exactly conducive to a good night’s sleep. The ceiling fan only ran on one very slow speed, so the room was almost uncomfortably warm. There was a TV, but the remote was missing, and there was no way to turn the TV or the cable on manually. I called the front desk, who managed to scrounge up a remote, which did everything except adjust the volume, which was too quiet to hear. The wi-fi didn’t work the whole time we were there, and we were told, “it’s a cinder block building, so you have to go outside to use the wi-fi.” We know that’s a crock because we stay in a lot of motels built out of cinder block and have no problems! Whatever the walls are made of, they must be on the verge of disintegrating because you can clearly hear the conversations of other guests milling around outside smoking, or showering in the adjacent rooms. About the only things that worked properly the entire time were the microwave, fridge, and the hot water in the shower.

The capper to the whole lousy experience was the quality (or lack thereof) of sleep on the double bed in the room. My husband woke up with horrible back pain from sleeping on a too-soft mattress that is long overdue for replacement. Since we had worked late the night prior, we would have loved to sleep in, but we woke up after a few hours of sleep and booked it out of town.

We would happily return to Saratoga, WY, the Hobo Hot Springs are lovely and the people are very nice. But barring credible news of a drastic turn-around and/or a total renovation, we will not stay at the Sage & Sand,...

I just spent a couple nights here and was initially pretty pleased. My impression has dramatically changed based on the one and only interaction I had with the woman who works here.

I was standing outside my room cleaning my car’s rear window when she literally skulked up behind me yelled at me for using the incorrect piece of cloth for the job. (I guess I grabbed a “washcloth”, and not a “rag”) You owe me twenty bucks!” she yelled. “And you’ll see it on your bill as a pet charge” she continued. I was taken aback. Her demeanor was so rude and caustic, I almost thought she was joking! She was not.

The whole interaction really left me with a bad impression. To make matters worse, this is a very small place and this extremely unpleasant woman lives here as the onsite manager. The second half of my stay was made uncomfortable by her scowling presence.

I love this part of Wyoming, and will definitely be returning. In the future however, I’ll book a room at the Hotel Wolf, Hacienda or Rivera Motor lodge. All are located right in Saratoga, offer great customer service and are clearly better places to stay.

Update: the owners reached out, apologized and refunded the erroneous pet charge. I appreciate their care/concern about my experience and have adjusted my...

I just spent a couple nights here and was initially pretty pleased. My impression has dramatically changed based on the one and only interaction I had with the woman who works here.||I was standing outside my room cleaning my car’s rear window when she literally skulked up behind me yelled at me for using the incorrect piece of cloth for the job. (I guess I grabbed a “washcloth”, and not a “rag”) You owe me twenty bucks!” she yelled. “And you’ll see it on your bill as a pet charge” she continued. I was taken aback. Her demeanor was so rude and caustic, I almost thought she was joking! She was not.||The whole interaction really left me with a bad impression. To make matters worse, this is a very small place and this extremely unpleasant woman lives here as the onsite manager. The second half of my stay was made uncomfortable by her scowling presence.||I love this part of Wyoming, and will definitely be returning. In the future however, I’ll book a room at the Hotel Wolf, Hacienda or Rivera Motor lodge. All are located right in Saratoga, offer great customer service and are clearly better places to stay.||Update: the owners reached out, apologized and refunded the erroneous pet charge. I appreciate their care/concern about my experience and have adjusted my...