Saturday, April 12, 2008

Horror Hotel: La Quinta Fresno



We'd made reservations at LaQuinta Fresno for two people plus a dog. When we showed up we learned the dog had to weigh less than 50 pounds. Jon said she was a German Shepherd and weighed 55. (give or take 30) The woman at the desk didn't know what a German Shepherd was. We tried to be discreet with the dog.

We were about to leave our second floor room yesterday to go to dinner but I peeked out to get an all clear. There was a ruckus in the hallway. The young chubby manager in a white shirt and tie was accusing the guy across the hall of smoking dope in the room. The guy was in shorts with a goatee.
He denied it.
The manager said "You can't deny it, our ventilation system shares the same air in all the rooms and other guests are smelling it. Let me in your room." (meanwhile Jon gets on chair to reach air vents- no just kidding.)
The manager repeats "Let me in your room." The guy says "No, I can't do that. There are several people in the room and none of them are wearing clothes." !

The manager huffs and puffs, says this is your final warning, and stand on notice that you won't be extending your stay. (his exact words- WHAT A WIMP!)

Everything seems quiet in the hall after this melodrama, so we venture out, rush to the escape exit stairs, and run right into the manager, who says "That's a BIG DOG!" We agree that yes she is. "Thank you for not using the elevator" he says, then scurries on.

That night it is incredibly awfully noisy all night long across the hall. Several times the night manager comes up to knock on the door and they're quiet a few minutes, then resume.

In the morning we put Molly in the car, then go to the buffet room where they've run out of yogurt. A woman says to me, "Just get some out of the refrigerator in there," so I walk in the adjacent room and get my yogurt. Then the front desk lady comes toddling in while panicking: "This is a liability problem! You can't open the refrigerator."

We leave. Outside our Honda element the party boy, with the goatee is looking in the window, along with his older bud who's around my age and very beat up in a life sense. This guy is covered with tattoos and rolling a cigarette. They say to me, "Is that a German Shepherd?" "I say "Yes, and she's really friendly."

We get in the car, and Jon says, "Why do you tell people like that, that she's friendly. That's the last thing you should tell them."

We think they were probably recently released cons celebrating the freedom on someone else's credit card.

Picture above is actually a building on the Ram Tap horse show site. Here's a picture from the La Quinta room:



Cute goat pictures tomorrow as well as show report.

9 comments:

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

Good heavens, Sally!
Some of the people and places you run into are as colorful as your cartoons.
Do the gift shops sell "Fresno Survivor" shirts?

Anonymous said...

I can't quite make out the blue sign above the doorway in the first picture. Seems to read "Fresno Chamber of Commerce"

Sally said...

Namowal, this place was extra weird, especially the company. We're going to post do not go there comments on the site where we found it. (which already had several do not go theres, duh.)

A Wanderer said...

Yikes. Reminds me of a place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina my family and I almost stayed in sometime in my glorious mid-90s childhood, the Cherry Tree Inn. My parents didn't book a room that year for some reason and we spent an hour trying to find a place. We were about to stay there, and the rather stoned-looking manager smiles, holds out the key, and asks "Wanna take a look first?" in a giggly sort of way.
I won't go into gruesome details, but let's just say the bathroom was as far from clean as possible in the worst possible way and the room was already occupied by several million flies. Yikes. Always read the reviews first, and heed them well.

Linda Davick said...

That is a hilarious photo! (The one you finally admitted was a building on the Ram Tap horse show site.) You really had me going.

How awful though.

Funny you have both a Wanderer and a Stray (I'm sure she'll wander in later) commenting on your blog.

Sally, go home.

Anonymous said...

Here I am! (Central Time, you know.) This story is hilarious; we love when you share these with us. You really can't make up stories as bizarre and funny as life just hands you.

Sally said...

fearless, I wish I could read what that sign says too. Linda, funny noticing the wandering posters. Wandering is so much what the internet is about.

Anonymous said...

I went to La Quinta Hotel in Fresno.

Very good place.
And quite cheap!

serniega said...

I went to La Quinta Hotel in Fresno.

Very good place.
And quite cheap!