No Frills pet friendly hotel $10 Pet Fee per night. Staff was very friendly. Not much to town but pretty drive to and from town. North of town. Head to downtown, fun square. Very eclectic, hippy(Humbolt County) vibe. Mexican restaurant at hotel has nice staff and strong beverages. Not much area to exercise pet.

Bluntly, and unlike most Quality Inn hotels in other places, Arcata’s Quality Inn is a poor place at which to spend your time or your travel dollars.

These are my specific concerns:
1. The staff member who checked me in was just short of rude of to me and I got the impression I was interrupting whatever she’d been doing before I arrived. (Reading a book? Texting? Doing a crossword puzzle?)
2. My room key did not work and I had to return to the lobby to get it fixed.
3. My room had a detectable odor of age and lots of people having been in and out.
4. The towels were old and thin. I have thick, waist-length hair and I had to call for extra towels just to be sure I got it, and myself, dried.
5. The small refrigerator in my room made odd noises, loudly and at irregular intervals, that woke me up from sleep a few times.
6. The refrigerator did not adequately cool my food or milk, something I learned only after losing some of both.

All of the above would have been tolerable, and I would not have written this critical review, except for the incident at breakfast the first morning I was there. That is not something I can let pass without comment.

Most Quality Inn hotels offer a wonderful breakfast and this one, according to the website info, was no different. The breakfast room was half full when I arrived and the items out for breakfast looked tempting. As soon as I arrived, I took a place in line to make a fresh, hot waffle. (This is always, unfortunately, a very slow process as only one person can make only one waffle at a time--but the waffles are really tasty. Every Quality Inn has an option: waffles or fresh eggs.)

The batter was in an inexpensive plastic pitcher, already quite messy by the time I got there. Next to it was a small, well-used, soggy paper cup that guests filled with batter and then poured that amount of batter into the waffle-maker. When it was my turn, and just like guest before me, I scooped and poured. I added a tiny bit more because a big dollop had dropped from the cup to the table before I poured the rest into the waffle maker. I was closing the lid on the waffle-maker when someone rushed toward me from the other side of the room. She startled me by screeching about me pouring too much batter into the waffle-maker—but by the time she got to me, the lid was closed and my waffle was already cooking. Everyone in the room stopped eating to watch the spectacle unfold. I sank into a nearby chair, extremely embarrassed, while she kept up her tirade.

I started getting a little angry at this Quality Inn employee. After all, there was waffle batter all over around/under/down the sides of that waffle maker, and almost all of it happened before I got there. It was not like I had dirtied a spotless appliance. I just told her what happened then kept my head down when she--still angry way out of proportion--refused to listen. I got some coffee, ate my waffle, and left. I didn’t go to breakfast for the rest of my stay, and remain stunned by the incredible rudeness she displayed toward me. I’m sure my fellow travelers will not forget her tirade, either.

Both before and after my stay at this particular Quality Inn, I spent the night at another Quality Inn, this one closer to my home. When I compare my stay at the Quality Inn in Ukiah, CA, with my stay at the Quality Inn in Arcata, CA, I feel sorry for the one in Arcata. My stay in Ukiah was as wonderful and pleasant as a hotel stay can be. The proprietor, Jag, is a warmly welcoming woman with a magical smile. Those who run the Arcata Quality Inn could certainly learn a lot about how to treat hotel guests from Jag in Ukiah.

I will not return to the Arcata Quality Inn.
I will definitely return to the Ukiah Quality Inn.
Quality Inn hotels vary widely, in all ways.

The room we had was a double queen. It was smallish but we were only there for a day so not concerned with space. The room was clean, quiet and had no odors. The place is set in a somewhat rural area, back far enough from the highway that it's nice an quiet. The beds were a bit on the firm side for me but I still slept fine. The plumbing in the shower was somewhat aged and the faucet was loose but it worked and I had no trouble getting the right temperature. The tile showed it's age a bit. There were enough electrical outlets so we were able to charge our phones and computer - which is sometimes an issue. My biggest complaint was that the small refrigerator did not work and our milk was warm in the morning. The desk staff was very friendly and helpful. I left a shirt in the closet and had to come back 2 hours later and it was at the desk waiting for me.

The reception area is nice. We did not have the free breakfast.

My family and I just stayed a few nights here, and were so pleased at the great service, that we had to share. It's nearly impossible to find a hotel that will let us bring our dogs, and the desk girl was so nice. It's pretty obvious that the building is a bit old, and some of the room furniture is a little worn, but everything was very clean, and our room smelled fresh, unlike a lot of roadside motels. We were able to stay right in our budget and they had a wafflemaker that the kids just loved! Thank you so much!