Wow...

I was travelling from Toronto, Canada, to Washington DC and I needed a place to be quiet, with WiFi internet, to finish work. For the first time in my life, I stopped at a Motel-6. They were promissing a nice room, with wifi internet, for 49$.

Well... They gave me a first room, with no internet connection at all. After spending half an hour on the phone with technical support (the guy at reception had no idea...), they offered to move me to a different room or to refund the money! Well, at 2am, I really needed the internet so I accepted to move to a different room.

It was a smoking room! Smelly! The pillows were yellow! So... there was wifi signal but the internet card they made me buy wasn't working. So... I had to get another access number, to finally be able to connect! And guess what? The first thing I'm doing, is to write this review... Bad bad bad management!

The guys from technical support said that management knows about this internet problem since a long time, but don't seem to do anything about it!

July 2009: the buildings are refurbished some time ago. Still lots of homies hanging around. Staff if not rude, is unfriendly,

I stayed at this location on my way up to New Jersey from South Carolina. The motel was easily accessible off the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (arrival route), but it took a little longer to get to I-95 in the morning when I left.

I am not sure about the former condition of the motel and judging by the prior comments of previous posters, it wasn't good. From what I could tell, the motel was recently renovated. For a Motel 6 (and I've stayed in some bad ones and good ones), this one was certainly above average.

I had arrived late in the evening (around 11:30). I had booked the room earlier that day online and had called ahead while on the road to ensure the room was ready. The receptionist on the phone was very pleasant and confirmed the booking, and instructed me if I was late, where she would place my reservation so the night manager could find it okay. No problems checking in!

I got a good rate, especially for the DC area. The motel was about half-full, but I didn't notice any delinquents and had no disturbances over night. As typical Motel 6's go; there is no continental breakfast, but there were several breakfast options on Old Annapolis Road (the Dunkin Donuts was especially good and right across the street). The area appeared to be safe; certainly better than the Greenbelt or College Park areas of DC or areas closer to Baltimore.

Overall, a 4 out 5. Nothing truly special; just a relatively comfortable bed to stay the night on my way to someplace else. For a Motel 6, it is one of th ebetter ones.

Booking on the corporate website gets you the best rate. I paid something like $33 a night. That's a good deal. As soon as I checked in some mid-40-year-old lady knocked on the door and asked if she could use my bathroom. WHOA I thought, what is this place??? Your guess is as good as mine. Crummy cars parked in the lot tell me people are probably living there short term too.

The Good:
The room was clean as all Motel 6's are. I got my towels, soap bar, and free cable tv. You really can't go wrong. Double door locks, and a window to watch your car. There were no vandals to be seen anywhere, and actually the neighborhhod is quite good. Several stores and restaurants close by. I'm not sure what some reviewers were thinking when they said the neighborhood is ghetto. The Laurel area is pricey for real estate, and is mostly filled with DC professionals. I stayed in the NW corner of the motel and got two Internet signals from somewhere nearby. The metro is down the road a few miles, and you can zip right into DC on the cheap without having to drive. I stayed for a week and hit all the museums on the cheap. Front desk was efficient.

The Bad:
Crummy cars in lot, limited parking within view of your window if you get to the room late. As in all Motel 6 rooms, cigarette smoke seems to be the aroma, and they try to cover it up with some type of room freshener I've seen the maid squirt on the carpet from a big water bottle.

Overall:
Thumbs up if your traveling on a budget, on self employed business, or alone.