We had seen pictures on the internet, and it looked very nice. When we went to check in, we should have realized something was amiss when the door to the office was locked and we had to press a bell.
When the owner/manager arrived, we decided (from his paint splattered clothing) that he had been painting one of the units, which, we assumed explained the locked office. We asked to see our room and we gave it a cursory glance. It seemed o.k., not our usual quality of efficiency unit, but the rent was cheap, and spending three weeks on the road can be pricey. My husband wanted to see a room on the second level. I said to the manager, "My husband is very fussy." We saw the second floor room, again giving it a cursory glance.
We checked into the second floor room and paid in advanced for 4 days.
The time of check-in was 10:55 am.
After dragging our luggage up to the unit, I went to use the bathroom. (which I had not looked at before. Mea Culpa.) Many tiles on the floor were broken and/or missing. The refrigerator was extremely old, unplugged and the gaskets were moldy.
My husband wanted to turn on the air conditioner, and realized he would have to stand on a chair to do so. The sink in the kitchenette was not nice, and the fluorescent bulb over the stove was so grimy you could see dust layered on top.
We decided we couldn't stay another minute.
My husband told me to tell them my sister was ill and we had to leave. He would take the luggage back to the car.
I went to the office. Again it was locked. A huge dog behind the desk began barking and leaping at the door when I pressed the bell.
A lady let me in. I told her my sister was ill and we had to leave. She said, "We charge you one night." She pointed to the "No Refund" sign which we had not noticed when we checked in. I told her I thought that was ridiculous and that we had only been there 20 minutes. "We have to change the sheets," she said. (My husband and I are 72 years old, so I doubt most people would think we were there for a quicky.) I asked for the manager and he (the paint splattered one) appeared. At that point I was furious and told him I thought the room was filthy and mentioned the bathroom and the light, etc. He said very angrily, "You said your husband fussy. I think you fussy. We charge you one night."
They credited our card for 3 nights. The time was 11:30am.
We had been there for 35 minutes from check-in to check-out. 35 minutes including the time it took for us to take our luggage to the room, me to get back to the office and wait for the door to be answered and then for the manager to get to the office and argue with me and finally refund the other 3 days. It cost us $54.oo.
Lessons Learned: Go with a National Chain, not a local motel. If the office is locked, that is a suggestion that it is not a nice neighborhood. Check rooms carefully before registering! You're paying for it...it's their business...don't be embarrassed to check toilets, showers, sinks, bedsheets, etc.