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The Joy Motel – reviews, photos

216 W. Van Buren, Eureka Springs, AR 72632
Hotel amenities
The Joy Motel
The Joy Motel
The Joy Motel
The Joy Motel
The Joy Motel
The Joy Motel
Ranked #28 of 34 hotels in Eureka Springs
3.0 of 5 stars 31 Reviews
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31 reviews from our community

    Trip type
Traveller rating
    4
    11
    1
    6
    9
Date Rating
Little Rock, Arkansas
1 review
“I liked my stay at Joy”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 2 August 2011

At first I wasn't going to review because I'm told this is the only hotel with vacancies when events come. :) I was in Eureeka Springs for my first time for the Fat Tire festival, Eureeka Springs is awesome! There were only about 5 other rooms taken, all by other mountian bikers. Joy motel had just hired a new manager I thought she was the owner at first because of how invested she was, she was super sweet, nice, and helpful. Well after reading the reviews I was half expecting to find a dead hooker in my bed when I opened my hotel door...what I did find was your typical older motel. There was a TV with cable, a bed with some old but clean sheets, a clean old bathroom, so to sum it up it's an old Motel. From what I gather talking to the manager some of the lower floors had a mold issue and that led to allot of the reviews, I thought the room was fine. Would I stay at the Joy again HELL YEAH! If you're trying to impress a girl on a romantic weekend not the best option, otherwise it's a cool Motel.

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  • Stayed July 2011, travelled with friends
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Memphis, Tennessee
1 review
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
“may not have bedbugs, BUT bugs in the bed”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 27 July 2011
2
people found this review helpful

I am pretty sure like the person from Hot Springs said every good review was written by the owner. The rude girl(Laura) who checked us in looked like she was on some kind of drugs and was bobbling her head and crossing her eyes.The pool was green and we were told they had an agreement w/ Inn of Ozarks across the street. I asked the Inn before swimming and this was NOT true. We pulled back the sheets to find a big black spider and crickets in the bed. We were in a 'suite' that had rotten baseboards, but the bugs were the final straw. We ended up checking in across the street. We should have been clued in when we saw the tarps on several buildings. There were also MANY caged exotic birds squaking in this house(w/tarp on the roof) you could smell them when you walked by. I was curious, so I took a look in there...VERY nasty conditions. We were told they were the owners and for sale, but he lived in Texas. How does someone take care of birds that far away? I wish I had taken pictures to post

  • Stayed July 2011, travelled with family
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 1 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 1 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
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Little Rock, Arkansas
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
“Stained carpet, stained toilet seat, green pool, need I say more?”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 18 July 2011

I stayed here recently. First of all, our room was hotter than Hell when we checked in, and we had a reservation, so obviously they knew we were coming. Usually motels will turn on the AC before guests arrive, but hey, anything to save a buck, huh? Much to my dismay, the "comforters" on the beds were thin and rough. Nothing "comforting" about that at all. That wasn't the worse part, though. The stained carpet, the questionable stain on the toilet seat in plain view, and oh, the pool. Green, brown, murky - yuck. The balcony was frightening because the railing was way too short and rickety. It actually moved. I do not recommend getting a room with a balcony because of this, especially if children are staying with you. A short, rickety balcony rail is no joke. When I turned on the water to take a shower, orange rust flowed out for a couple of minutes. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, because that's something that only happens in movies. The photos on the Joy Motel website are an inaccurate depiction of the motel's current state. Especially the sparkling blue pool. It is a far cry from what it looks like now. The pool looks like it hasn't been maintained in years. I can't imagine why the Dept. of Health and Safety hasn't been on their tail to drain and cover it. It seems like it would be a West Nile hazard. Bottom line - I don't recommend this motel.

  • Stayed July 2011, travelled on business
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 2 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 1 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 2 of 5 stars Service
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1 review
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
“This is by far the worst place I have ever stayed”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 29 May 2011
2
people found this review helpful

My husband and I stopped in to rent a room because it was the only hotel in town with vacancy. I should have known better by looking at how dirty the manager was and the fact that the sign on the wall said "no refunds". We were tired and thought it couldn't be that bad. After Rosco (the foreign bellboy or whatever) returned with the key after checking to see if the room was presentable, we were told it was in "tip top" shape. Well....not so much. As soon as we arrive we inspected the sheets...nasty and stained. The bathroom was even worse-there were pubes from the previous occupant on the toilet and a tampon wrapper on the floor. Then I notice that the chain lock is missing from the door and the window is cracked. I realize at that point we should have left but we decided to go eat. We left the lights on and returned about an hour later. When we walked in, the lights were turned off. CREEPY!!! Someone had been in our room. Another weird thing is that the phone kept ringing but there was never anyone on the other end. At this point, it is 11:00 at night....we just left. There was something evil about that room, the motel and the management. I have never posted a negative review about a motel before but I had to get the word out to as many people as possible so please do not stay there....it just isn't safe and it has bugs.

  • Stayed May 2011
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 1 of 5 stars Location
    • 1 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 1 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
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Moore, Oklahoma
Senior Contributor
39 reviews 39 reviews
Reviews in 30 cities Reviews in 30 cities
69 helpful votes 69 helpful votes
“Not a joy for me”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 3 January 2011
1
person found this review helpful

They told me the room I was getting was one of the newly remodeled rooms, maybe in 1970! I did not have any shower shoes so I skipped my morning shower and I checked out. The bedding was clean. The pancakes were good and the lady at the front desk was hospitable.

  • Stayed July 2010, travelled as a couple
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 1 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 1 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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The Joy Motel Also Known As

  • Joy Hotel Eureka Springs
  • The Joy Hotel
Address: 216 W. Van Buren, Eureka Springs, AR 72632

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