Traveling with my golden retriever I have always kept things simple by relying on Motel 6 and their dog-friendly policies. All told, I have stayed in 25-30 different Motel 6's, and never has anything compared to the scary reality of this location.

The women staying at the motel were really, really, really friendly if you get my drift... But after returning to the motel post dinner at about 9pm, ten minutes of observation and i came to the quick conclusion that this Motel 6 wasn't a safe place to be! I demanded a refund and moved on to another Motel, albeit at twice the price.

This isn't a matter of you get what you pay for. Over the years Motel 6 has always been a cheap if inelegant solution when traveling. However this location was beyond the pale, with obvious drugs and prostitution about the property.

Fwiw I have contacted Motel 6 about this situation. In the meantime I would steer clear of this particular location. When doing the cheap motel thing I have dealt with a lot of iffiness. But never have things felt so unsafe at a national chain.

I flew into Fort Lauderdale, FL on Thursday, November 8, 2012 and thanks to issues with my credit card was unable to pick up my rental car until the next morning. I decided to find somewhere close to get some shut eye but had no intention of paying $180 to have a room close to the airport from about midnight until 6 am.

I have stayed in several Motel 6 locations over the years, first as a child traveling with my parents and later as an adult traveling on my own, so when I discovered there was a Motel 6 not too far from the airport I told the cab driver that I needed an inexpensive place to sleep for a few hours and I heard there was a Motel 6 nearby. He stated there was two locations and asked to which I would like to go.

I responded that it didn't matter to me since I trusted in the Motel 6 name and had never had any bad experiences at one. He pulled up in front of a run down building with a security guard standing out front. My gut reaction was, "This isn't the place!" But sure enough, there was the giant blue and red Motel 6 sign, so I ignored my gut and paid the cab driver and ventured inside.

The lobby area was locked and the woman (not overly friendly but pleasant enough and the only positive part of the experience) was behind a solid plexiglass window with a small opening to pass papers and payments through that was covered on both sides by additional plexiglass protection. The floor was dirty and matched the run down appearance from the parking lot, but I quietly assured myself the rooms must be better. I requested a non-smoking room, paid, signed my papers and upon receiving my key, thanked her and headed to my room.

When I opened the door, I was immediately hit by the stench of smoke, dampness, mildew, and just general filth. I stepped inside the room far enough for the door to close and set my bag on the table next to me. I then set my keys and purse down on the dresser and noticed a scattering of tiny things in all directions. At first, I thought it must be dust, but then they kept moving and circled around and didn't stop moving. I picked up my purse and saw more movement on the wall behind the dresser: BUGS!!! I don't know what kind and I don't care what kind. I was so disgusted I almost barfed.

I have never been into a hotel or motel room where I was greeted by such a crowd as was already staying in the room for which I just paid! I burst into tears, grabbed my stuff and quickly made my way back to the front desk. I never checked the bed or the bathroom. I didn't think my stomach could take more.

Back outside the lobby, I had to wait in line behind a girl wearing pink leopard skin spandex, stilettos, and a shirt that looked six sizes too small (and this is not meant to indicate she was heavy, as she was not.) She was arguing with the receptionist because she didn't like being asked to keep the door to her room closed except during exiting and entering. The girl believed she had the right to keep it open to talk to anyone who might pass by her room. As the argument gets more heated, two males walk in and stand in line behind me who, on a quick glance, looked to be in their early twenties.

I hadn't slept in almost 24 hours, I was exhausted and frustrated from traveling, disgusted by my room, alone, and my anxiety from all of this was beginning to get the best of me. My first thought upon seeing these two young men walk in and stand in line behind me was, "Great now I'm in line between a prostitute and a couple drug dealers who are going to see me put cash in my purse and walk out of here. I am going to be followed, mugged and left for dead." The quiet tears begin to border on uncontrollable sobs.

I will readily admit here that I come from a small town in New Hampshire. I grew up sheltered, naive and uncultured. The girl may very well have been in the same situation as me, just trying to have a relaxing night in an inexpensive place, and just has what, in my opinion, is a bad fashion sense, and those two young men could very well have been students from Harvard there doing research. I really can't say for sure who they were or what their stories are because I didn't ask, but prostitutes and dealers were the type of people I would imagine would frequent such a place.

All I do know for sure is that in that moment, fear and paranoia kicked in and my "Fight or Flight" reaction told me to run. As soon as I had my refund for the room I bolted out the door and booked it down the street, bawling and speed walking, and though I am not religious, I may have even been praying. I just wanted to put as much distance between me and that place and those people as possible before they hopped in a car and came after me.

My account of the night in Fort Lauderdale goes on, but the portion relevant to Motel 6 is over. This particular location was: Motel 6 - Dania Beach #376
I-95 at Stirling Road, Exit #22
825 E Dania Beach Boulevard
Dania, FL 33004
(954) 921-5505

This location does not in any way live up to the Motel 6 reputation that had been built for me through previous satisfactory visits at other locations. Someone from corporate should be frequently visiting this place until it is brought up to par, the management should be fired and all members of the staff should be retrained or dismissed. If these options are not possible, Motel 6 should either close or sell this location and any others who have been neglected and misused to this extent.

As far as customer service goes, like I said, the receptionist was pleasant and very quickly processed my refund when I asked for it. In all other ways, this location was a disgusting disappointment. Owners/management of this location have no idea how customer service extends beyond the front desk. Motel 6 should be embarrassed and ashamed to have their name on this location!!

I have stayed here about 3 times in the past 3 months. This terrible review is not based on the staff - the staff is very friendly. Now, I do not have very high expectations for Motel 6, but this one didn't even come close to meeting my low expectations. I asked for a room near the back of the hotel because I thought it might be quiter. The lady at the front desk told me I would have to deal with the huge number of bugs in the back due to the standing water in the parking lot. She said they have a drainage issue with the parking lot so when it rains the back of the lots floods and the standing water attracts bugs. I did not have any bugs in my room that I could see but I got lots of bites going back and forth to the car. The safety of the location is questionable. I try to never be outside here after dark. On my last stay there were some suspicious looking characters hanging out in the back of the hotel where I had to park. When I left at 6 am to go to work a man dressed in dark clothes approached me and asked me for money. I said no and he left and didn't bother me, but as a woman traveling alone, it was not good. Location wise, it is not that far from the beach. Though the staff tries very hard to make this a good location, I do no recommend this location due to safety concerns.

I stayed there for a year . I never had any issues at all with my room or front desk