The Best and the Worst | The Boneyard

The Best and the Worst

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Best hotel or motel you have stayed at, and why so?

Worst hotel or motel you have stayed at , and why so?
 

8893

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Finca Rosa Blanca in Costa Rica was the best. We stayed in the Rosa Blanca suite:

The Rosa Blanca Suite is a stunning duplex, with the sleeping quarters occupying a tower 40 feet above the ground with a 360-degree view of the surrounding lush countryside and the Central Valley beyond. Stairs built around a Cristóbal tree trunk lead down to the master bathroom. There, a hand-painted tropical rainforest mural surrounds the bathtub which is fed by spring water cascading down a stone waterfall. You will enjoy your own bar and sumptuous living room which opens onto a large private deck overlooking the coffee plantation below.

'Design definition: The outrageous, free-form rain-forest bathroom in the Rosa Blanca Suite is filled with plants, painted with jungle designs and the royal-blue bath is big enough for two and filled by a waterfall running through rocks.'

The on-site restaurant was only for quests and it was an excellent farm-to-table restaurant with an excellent wine list. The grounds were exquisite and the coffee was, too.

 
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Best -- Bellagio in Vegas, got a suite on one of the top floors overlooking the fountains, my GF at the time (now wife) pulled some strings with her travel agent and it was spectacular. Red carpet VIP treatment every step of the way and incredible view of the strip at all times

Worst -- the infamous Grantmoor on Berlin Turnpike...everything you have heard is true, and no, your date (not my now wife) won't be impressed with mirrors on the ceiling
 
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Worst stay for me was the Hotel Viking in Newport. My daughter was about two at the time. There was a wedding there and about 3 in the morning two brothers got in a no holds barred fist fight in the hallway. At one point one of them got thrown into my door and cracked it. It took about 20 minutes for security to finally come and break it up, then the police finally came and hauled them away . There was a girl staying in the room with them and she caused a big loud scene when she was told she had to leave the hotel as well.

Finally after everything calmed down and got my daughter back to sleep at about 5 am, they sent up a cleaning crew to very loudly vacuum, shampoo, and clean all the blood off the walls.

The next morning we were refused a late checkout. The front desk was totally unaware what transpired the night before.


The best probably is the Cliff House in Maine with a room overlooking the ocean and a gas fireplace.
 

Chin Diesel

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Hilton Tel Aviv was pretty spectacular. Right on the Mediterranean looking towards the west. There was a lounge on the 17th or 18th floor with panoramic views. Watching the sun set over the horizon every night over drinks is a memory that shouldn't fade any time soon.

Most interesting hotel I stayed at which was way beyond what I was expecting was a countryside Best Western in England. I was there for work for several weeks and this hotel would be a boutique B&B here in the states. Had an on premises spa, two good dining facilities and a separate on site pub. Property was on about 10 acres with rock walls and rolling hills. Had weddings 4-5 days a week and a stately afternoon clientele for tea service. Definitely not your stateside interstate roadside Best Western many of us know.
 
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On a business trip to Vegas, I went out a couple days early. Got a good deal on a regular room at the Wynn. I want to say it was 150.00 a night? When I got there, the room wasn't ready. They told me an hour. It took 3 hours (where I drank by the pool and stared at topless women) and my room still wasn't ready. I asked to speak to the concierge and they upgraded me to the Encore Tower Salon Suite.

I think it was 2,200 sq ft. Wet bar, separate room with a massage table, king bedroom and bathroom with all the fixins. Great night view of the strip. Separate elevator with a security guard. I think I checked online and it was 1,500 a night back then? Two nights there have spoiled me to the Red Roof Inns of the world.

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Best/favorites in no particular order:

The Hotel Donaldson in Fargo, ND. Each room is designed and inspired by the work of a different North Dakota artist. The room we stayed in included work from ceramist Richard Bresnahan. It was tiered into three levels, bed on highest level, tv/living room in the bottom level and a freakin' tub in the middle of the room with water coming down from the ceiling. @NDakotaHusky Have you stayed there? Insane hotel.

The Porches Inn in North Adams, MA. Owned and operated by Mass MoCA and right in downtown North Adams. I love that town, especially in the autumn. If you haven't checked out the town, do it this autumn. Great art/food/drink town.

Murray Hotel in Livingston, MT. Livingston might be my favorite town in Montana. It's on a corner of the main street where it has an attached bar, an amazing coffee/breakfast spot and a nicer restaurant with some of the best steak in the state. Beautiful historic hotel with bullet holes in some places!

The Roundhouse in Beacon, NY. A former lawnmower factory, the Roundhouse is on the eastern edge of Main Street that hugs the Fishkill Overlook Falls. Insane rooms with views of Scofield Ridge. With my wife's birthday the first week of October, we leverage our education schedules and book it every Rosh Hashanah Sunday so the prices are much lower than weekends, but we have that Monday off. Their breakfast is in-freakin-sane. It's the most local to most of you in CT and I HIGHLY recommend.
 
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HuskyHawk

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Best is pretty much a three way tie.

Fairmont Mayakoba in Riviera Maya. The room we had was in these small clusters of rooms, 4 to a building, spread across the campus with jungle, beach, river views. The whole facility was tremendous and the service level was as good as anything I've experienced anywhere.

On my honeymoon we stayed at the Merrion in Dublin, which was pretty spectacular. Just such a first class establishment all the way. It sits opposite Parliament, which we looked at from our window. The house is remembered historically as being the birthplace of Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington. There is a wine storage room in the basement that has been converted into a really interesting Cellar Bar.

Also on our honeymoon, we were given a free upgrade to the bridal suite at the Castlegrove Country House Hotel near Letterkenny, Ireland. The dining experience was tremendous, as the guests waited in a separate room prior to ordering, where we mingled with other guests, had drinks etc. Then one group at a time is admitted and orders. When that order is prepared another group comes into the dining room. Chef prepares meals for one party at a time. There was a cozy pub, and even our first night there I ordered a Guinness and the man behind the bar knew who we were, everyone there knew all the guests by name.

Worst was a hotel somewhere near Needles CA. It was essentially a gas station with an on site motel. I was driving a diesel Budget rented truck, and needed fuel. They shut off the diesel pumps at 6:00 PM, so none was available. Beyond this spot is the Mohave on I-40. So we were forced to spend the night. Just an awful dump, plus their tactic to strand truckers is beyond awful. Gas pumps remained open.
 

Fishy

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The Pan Pacific in Vancouver was great. The President Club or whatever they call it has some solid perks - separate check-in, great lounge. Boston Harbor Hotel was great, too, but it’s been a while.

Absolute worst..the Lamplighter in Clinton. My mother booked us there when we went out to visit them once....we checked in, saw the room, walked back to the desk, handed them the keys and went the hell home.

Absolutely disgusting.
 

8893

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Absolute worst..the Lamplighter in Clinton. My mother booked us there when we went out to visit them once....we checked in, saw the room, walked back to the desk, handed them the keys and went the hell home.

Absolutely disgusting.
Yeah that's a known drug trafficking place with frequent police activity and occasional deaths on premises I believe.

We have often had to put up my father-in-law and his girlfriend in the area when they can't stay with us for one reason or another; that's off-limits even for them.
 
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Best: I'll name two, the Peninsula in Hong Kong and The Muse in New York City. The muse is quirky, but the rooms are huge by NYC standards. Honorable mention -- ITC in Delhi, St. Regis in Mexico City, and Cuisinart in Anguilla.

Best value -- this is going back a few years, but we stayed at a place in Clearwater Beach called Barefoot Bay. It was dirt cheap (maybe $110 at the time), with a large, clean suite on the bay within walking distance to the beach.

Worst -- Scotty's Lakeside in Lake George. For $375/night I expect less dirt on the floors and less mold in the bathtub. The place was disgusting, except for the pool area.
 

nelsonmuntz

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I have been in a lot of hotels over the years, and my memory is foggy about many of them.

Best:

Hotel Valencia Santana Row - San Jose - cool little boutique hotel that has a big Silicon Valley scene at the rooftop bar.

Monarch Beach Resort - Dana Point - Super high end luxury resort. Costs a fortune, but it is incredible.

Kurhaus - the Hague - This is a beautiful, palatial hotel on a cheesy seaside boardwalk. It feels a little out of place, but the hotel is incredible. I recommend going in late June or early July, and watching the sun set over the North Sea at 11 pm.


Worst:


Econolodge - Peterborough, NH - I stayed here in the 90's. I can't believe my employer at the time would make me stay in dumps like this. I would collect 10-15 bugs every night and leave them in a cup for the cleaning crew, but I don't think anyone at the hotel cared. This place no longer exists.

Days Inn - Bremen, GA - This place still exists. I stayed here in the 90's too. I have never been more scared at a hotel. Back then, Bremen was in the middle of nowhere, but the hotel had a thick wire mesh created a cage for the night clerk. I checked in by sliding my credit card and ID into a steel drawer like at a bank drive through.
 

Waquoit

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She was actually the first person I'd ever seen with actual green teeth. So the stay wasn't all that bad.
Got a thing for green teeth, eh? Kinky!
 

storrsroars

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Got a thing for green teeth, eh? Kinky!

Whenever I encounter some true Americana that I thought was just the stuff of legend, I feel patriotic.
 

storrsroars

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I mentioned above I have several bests, but I think I'm going to settle on one, not necessarily due to the room itself (which was magnifcent, but not as much as some of what I've seen/read here).

One of the perks of having been in the travel business was that you knew other people in the travel business. When I was with an internet travel startup back at the turn of the century, the #2 in our customer service dept was a guy who used to be with Sheraton Waikiki in a management role. I rarely asked for favors, but we were going to attend a conference in Honolulu in 2001 and being engaged, I figured why not use that to get married and have a honeymoon. Both wife and me had already done big weddings so she was up for something small on a beach.

So I talked to this guy and he asked me where I wanted to go and what we wanted to do and how much I wanted to spend. I said, get married on a beach in Maui, go to Lana'i and spend some time on the Big Island and gave him a figure. He took care of the rest.

After the convention was over, we head to Lana'i. We're staying at Manele Bay, where Bill Gates got married. We didn't get anything close to what I imagine Gates' room was like, but for $300/night we got a $750/night suite overlooking the bay and beach. We took a ferry to Maui to get married, came back, saw everything you could (it's a small island) then hopped down to the Big Island and stayed at The Orchid. Again, kamaaina rates or better and a fabulous room that would normally be 2x the price or more.

It wasn't so much the rooms but the service. My guy had some pull. We were treated like royalty to the extent it was starting to get embarrassing after 10 days There was nothing we could want for. Obviously he told them we were honeymooning, and every day flowers and fruit would show up, sometimes wine. We got the best seats in restaurants, we got comped drinks, it just seemed ridiculous... I'll never experience anything like that again.

And all I had to do for him was get a case of steak sauce from Merriman's, where we also got VIP treatment.

Manele Bay. Larry Ellison owns the whole island now.

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Best/favorites in no particular order:

The Hotel Donaldson in Fargo, ND. Each room is designed and inspired by the work of a different North Dakota artist. The room we stayed in included work from ceramist Richard Bresnahan. It was tiered into three levels, bed on highest level, tv/living room in the bottom level and a freakin' tub in the middle of the room with water coming down from the ceiling. @NDakotaHusky Have you stayed there? Insane hotel.

The Porches Inn in North Adams, MA. Owned and operated by Mass MoCA and right in downtown North Adams. I love that town, especially in the autumn. If you haven't checked out the town, do it this autumn. Great art/food/drink town.

Murray Hotel in Livingston, MT. Livingston might be my favorite town in Montana. It's on a corner of the main street where it has an attached bar, an amazing coffee/breakfast spot and a nicer restaurant with some of the best steak in the state. Beautiful historic hotel with bullet holes in some places!

The Roundhouse in Beacon, NY. A former lawnmower factory, the Roundhouse is on the eastern edge of Main Street that hugs the Fishkill Overlook Falls. Insane rooms with views of Scofield Ridge. With my wife's birthday the first week of October, we leverage our education schedules and book it every Rosh Hashanah Sunday so the prices are much lower than weekends, but we have that Monday off. Their breakfast is in-freakin-sane. It's the most local to most of you in CT and I HIGHLY recommend.

I have not technically stayed there, but i have received a tour of the place. I am familiar with the uniqueness of the rooms. Its very cool.

I live a mile away. So this is totally my hood. But there's not much point in me staying the night since i live so close.

The restaurant and bar are solid. Dined there multiple times.
 

August_West

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Absolute worst..the Lamplighter in Clinton. My mother booked us there when we went out to visit them once....we checked in, saw the room, walked back to the desk, handed them the keys and went the hell home.
Yeah that's a known drug trafficking place with frequent police activity and occasional deaths on premises I believe.

We have often had to put up my father-in-law and his girlfriend in the area when they can't stay with us for one reason or another; that's off-limits even for them.


Would it surprise either of you to learn that I lived in the lamplighter for 4 months on a weekly rate in late 95 early 96?
 

August_West

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I will add the nicest (or top 5 I stayed in) Leela Palace in Chennai, India.


Insanely great,

By the way just looked it up. Book your stay right now for less than 100 a night.
 

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