La Hacienda Motel — Hotel in Seattle

Our first room smelled incredibly strong of cigarettes covered up by strong smelling air freshener. Even the sheets and bed reaked. When we (politely) told the front desk they acted like it was our problem and asked to come up to our room themselves. The man did not see a problem with the smell, but did say maybe it's because of the smoking which is allowed directly outside of all the doors (ashtrays on the ready outside almost every door). I had to specifically request to switch rooms at which point the man made me go "smell" the other room (?). Second room still smelled like overpowering air freshener but was at least tolerable so I didn't say anything at that point bc he was clearly not going to do anything else about it. The shower head in both rooms only reached my chest. I'm only 5'3 so I had to hold power squats to wash my hair which is fine if you're looking for exercise, but I just wanted a shower. My husband is 6ft, the shower was a joke for him. The first unit the AC/heat unit worked, the second unit the buttons were broken and it wouldn't work and would just blow ac on high and all you could do was unplug it. No hair dryers (which is honestly a minor complaint), spotty WiFi that wouldn't load anything. The neighborhood was sketchy with broken down cars and graffiti all around in an industrial area. I wish we hadn't prepaid this bc we would have left and gotten another place. Fridge wasn't plugged in and we didn't realize (guess that's our fault) then we when plugged it in it froze our food solid! Neighbors could be heard clear as a bell through the wall (they were not yelling) yet it also made our headboard literally shake anytime they got near our shared wall which made it hard to sleep. They were also ants in the bathroom (lots). Don't ask me why bc there was nothing sweet in there that I am aware of. There was also a laundry room which wasnt advertised so that was a good surprise, but then when we went in it is also like their really filthy utility closet. For anyone coming in they also have a policy of "no refunds after ten minutes" posted at check in so...

More affordable than most motels in the neighborhood. Close enough for reasonable commutes to downtown. Some pros:||* biggest TV I've ever had in a motel room by far||* rooms are plenty big||* bathroom is plenty big||* more hot water than I knew what to do with||* two big, very absorbent towels per person||* enough complimentary body soap/shampoo||* interesting pillows -- three/bed -- of reasonable size||* generally, plenty of parking||* easy-to-access; easy-to-downtown||* nice selection of reasonably-priced snacks in motel lobby||* wifi worked fine from room 121; seemed to be 3 repeaters||||However, there are cons:||* Five day stay, beds were made on arrival and one other day||* Towels refreshed just a few times||* Front desk sort of accepted all this as "that's the way it is"||* NO REFUNDS, approximately ever||* Pay in advance||* It's not the most spic-and-span of a lodging experience||* It is NOT new or recent construction; the fit-and-finish is decidedly older||* Not very many restaurants very close by (only important if you don't have a vehicle)||* Pepsi machine was $2.75 for the 17-20 ounce plastic bottle||* Supplied bar soap was thin and fragile||* The experience is just not very 'snazzy', overall||* Nighttime vehicular traffic and train noise was a bit high||* Saturday night revelry noise was quite high, until 2am||||Was it filthy? no.||Did I expect my bed to be made for $76/night? yes.||LIkewise, towels refreshed in some way? yes.||Did I expect front desk to be a bit sympathetic? yes.||Were they? no.||||I'm not just frugal on these sorts of trips; I am downright cheap. Tight. A skinflint. So, the stay was OK for me, although disappointing in the aspect of no bedmaking.||||Caveat emptor...

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised. I've definitely stayed in a lot worse, especially considering this is a motel in the industrial district. They outside had some nice charm to it, with a bit of white facade that looks pretty nice. The front desk clerk was really nice and polite, and though there was a deposit due that I hadn't expected, it was quickly returned.

The room itself was pretty nice, and everything seemed very clean. It smelled fresh, a little like bleach, but on the whole we felt comfortable and safe here.

There's a microwave in a mini fridge, and we got free water when we checked in. All in all, very nice.

There were a few downsides. I'm pretty sure I booked a queen, and what we got was a full bed. A little smaller than we were expecting. The sink is also in a weird place, so that I couldn't bend over it to wash my face because the towel rack was in the way.

I think the most notable downside, though, was the noise. You could hear road noise in early morning traffic, along with honking and revving engines. There's also a high-pitched whistling noise that happens anytime someone takes a shower, so if your neighbors are early risers, they might wake you up.

The bed was terrible. Very, very uncomfortable.

While the check-in clerk was great and very polite, the guy at the desk while I was checking out was rude and dismissive.

This is definitely the best price we could find in the area, especially at late notice, and we were pleasantly surprised with our stay. Judging from the reviews, it looks like other people didn't have the same experience, but we liked it for a...