Ambassador Lake Tahoe — Hotel in South Lake Tahoe

The only reason for one star is because I can’t give no stars! ||||Ok here we go. So, the smoke in the Bay Area forced us to take a much needed but very spontaneous getaway to Lake Tahoe because we were so sick of getting slowly suffocated here at home from all the wild fire smoke. We made a snap decision to drive out to tahoe to clear our lungs... which apparently every Bay Area resident had the same mindset lol. I ended up finding a few places to stay on a travel website and found the Ambassador Motor Lodge, not my first choice but the bf’s coworker had suggested it. Looking online, the rooms were going for about $80 a night, so I called and got a rate of $59 a night. Not bad at all right? Well... here comes the fun part! ||||We get to tahoe around 11 am and I go to check into the hotel. Check in was easy but I found it strange that the man behind the counter charged me a separate “resort fee” of $10 that was to be paid in cash only... and I didn’t get a receipt for it. That was the first bad taste. I get our room key and it’s an actual key, not a key card which I found I interesting considering its 2018 and not 1965. The man at the check in also told me I was one of the lucky ones because they were OVERBOOKED BY 10 ROOMS! How does that happen?! ||||We find the room, I open the door (which was only a working, locking wobbly doorknob, the deadbolt didn’t work). The room smelled like someone had smoked an entire carton of cigarettes in there, hot box style. I literally choked — NO LIE! ||||So this room was beyond tiny, had a chair that looked like it was bought in 1965 and never cleaned or refurbished. The bed was made, sheets did not have the clean bleach smell to them, the comforter was dingy and questionable to touch. The shower was something I can’t even explain, there was no door at all to it. I immediately went outside and told my boyfriend we need to find somewhere else to stay because I wasn’t trying to have my 9 month old baby in that filthy, smelly room. It was hard finding somewhere but I ended up finding another motel which ended up being like the damn Ritz compared to this dump. ||||Now here’s where the real fun part happened... after we ended up finding another room (it took about 30 min total) we went back to the Ambassador to return the room key because we didn’t want to stay there. It was about noon and we noticed the office was closed with a sign saying they will re open at 4:00 and there was a sign outside saying something like “room keys are in the mailbox for those who booked with us”. Trying to avoid angry patrons who you overbooked much?? I wish you guys could have seen my face.... lol really tho. Literally, anyone could have walked up and grabbed a random envelope with a key in it and take someone else’s room. So, we go back at 4 and the office is still closed. Go back again at 5 and at 6 and still closed. I was figuring I could return the key since we didn’t want to stay in that dump, and that one of the people who were overbooked could have taken it, but nope. ||||So on to the next day... my boyfriend left our hotel and went to the Ambassador to return the key at about 8:30 am.... THE OFFICE WAS STILL CLOSED, but the open sign was lit up! He told me he noticed a few guests waiting with their keys outside to return them too, but no luck. We went back at 9:30 and... closed. Went to go eat and then went back at 1:30... the open lights were still on but THE OFFICE WAS STILL CLOSED! I got out of the car because I saw someone walking around in the lobby and knocked on the window like... hey I’ve been trying to return this key since yesterday! This lady, I don’t know if she was the manager or what not, yells... “JUST DROP THE KEY IN THE WINDOW SLOT!” Really tho..... the old man was there along with this lady just looking at me. Like wtf... open the damn door and have some customer service please! ||||Anyone and everyone needs to avoid this place. From the shady $10 cash only “resort fee” (which btw the pool was all nasty and had black water in it), the dirty, dingy, cigarette smelling rooms and complete lack of customer service, a regular Motel 6 seems like a 5 star stay compared to this dump. Sorry not sorry guys, they need to rip this place down and rebuild. ||||Oh did I mention on their website, the hotel pics all look like they’re from the 60’s too. Take note of the swimsuit styles on the people...

If I could give this hotel a 0-1 star I would. It was such a terrible experience for not only myself but for my family as well. And DEFINITELY NOT WORTH the lrice of $400 a night!!!! |Cons: The staff was unprofessional & didn't care if you had an unpleasant experience or not. No one answers the phone. The air conditioning was broken in ALL of the rooms (something that wasn't disclosed to us & we had asked other patrons). Our room stayed at 88° the ENTIRE time we were there - it was cooler OUTSIDE! The vent in the bathroom that was supposed to suck out hot air did not work despite being plugged in. The shower was built for very short people (I'm 5'3 & even I had to duck down under the showerhead so I didn't hit my head). The tub was uneven & at a slant downwards where the faucet was. The floors were dirty (in less than 10 minutes our bare feet were black!). The wifi did not work (no one answered the phone when we called about it either). They locked the ice machine room before 11 pm (another thing NOT disclosed to us). No map was given to find your room nor did they tell us where our room was. You have to pay for parking. Despite the advertisement of a pool, the pool has been closed since 2020. There aren't enough WORKING outlets in the room (2 outlets doesn't do it when you have a mini fridge, microwave, & lights in the room). The microwave has a lock feature (an annoyance really). No elevator (another annoyance). Oh but they give you a $5 coupon to go on the beach (rather than paying $30 per adult & $20 per kid). I'm glad that we only stayed only ONE night. ||Pro:|It was within walking distance of the strip. ||But that was enough for all of us. Some serious updates not only to the room but also to the staff AND the advertisement of this place needs to...

Even though you may be trying to find fresh air, do not book this place if you have compromised immune system, children, or are not willing to disinfect room yourself. Luckily we didn’t peel back our covers because the heaters were stuck on full blast- because there was blood????? in the bed & we didn’t stick our hand in the semen on the dresser (yes, in the shape of a discarded condom) until we were packing up. The owners, which live in this place also let their dog relieve itself all over the property when they let him out to run around (pic won’t upload, but just picture little poops ALL over by picnic tables, grills, & front of property). When I mentioned to the owner that they needed to check their rooms upon giving back the keys, (as she was in the parking lot arguing with other guests about how their booking issue was not her fault) she said “well, we just got this place”. When I went to the office (sans infant) to discuss their approach to the issue & ask that they look at the bed, they actually denied being the owners (huh?) & said they didn’t care if there was a dead body in our room... no way they were refunding any money & “they’re quitting”. They are apparently off their rockers at this point & this place is nasty to the point of being dangerous. There’s also no breakfast (if that’s your breaking point) & upon checking in you may be informed they are taking a deposit ‘so you don’t tear the room up’. (What??) Moral of the story- always take disinfectant wipes & pull back the covers in cheap motels before you settle in. Good thing my infant is immunized...