I am not hard to please. I know this is a budge motel and I was not expecting much. We wanted to check out the Plaza Rio in Tijuana, and this is close to the border so we went with it.

Things immediately got off on the wrong foot, even before we left. I had made reservations on the Travelodge website two days prior, but before leaving Phoenix for San Diego I called to let them know we would be arriving late. The woman at the other end said they did not have my reservation. She offered to rebook the room, but said there was a chance I could be double charged. I gave her my confirmation number etc., but to no avail. I called the 800 number for the main reservation line, and had a very professional and nice woman help me. She called the motel while I was on hold, and supposedly everything was straightened out. But when I finally arrived in San Ysidro my reservation was still missing, and we had to go through the whole thing all over again. I am still worried I might be double charged. I guess I will find out when I get my credit card bill later this month.

The rooms here were not terrible, but very small even by Travelodge standards. You are close to the border as advertised, and the front of the building commands a very cool view of Tijuana, which is impressive at night. But everything closes at 10PM for miles around. I could not get pizza delivered or anything else, so bear that in mind if you get in late. I did not see any convenience stores close by either.

In all, I would rather have stayed further north. The trolley goes right to the border, so any hotel near the train line would have been just as good, and probably in a better area for restaurants and amenities. Maybe Chula Vista or National City would be better locations. Still, this was not a terrible place if you really must be within a couple of blocks of the border.

The only thing that made this stay Okay was the fact that we only paid $50, tax included.

This was because the night time manager suggested that we stop at Denny's to get a coupon from their FREE travel directory. This was great advise because it saved us about 20 bucks. Be aware that this is a Sunday thru Thursday deal.

The room was small, but clean. The blanket had a big tear in it, but it was summer and not needed.

Now the bad news. You you are staying in a room that faces the train tracks, be aware the the San Diego Trolley operates until 10:00 PM. Bells whistles and all. We were in room 411 on the top floor and when a neighboring guest turned on the shower, the sound of water through pipes drowned out the TV volume. When the shower wasn't on, we could clearly hear the conversations from the guest next door.

Stay further north is my advice.

If you plan to make a reservation call during the evening. Not only will you recieve far friendlier service, but a much better rate. The daytime front desk manager is rude and lazy. She will refuse to help with early check-in, late check-out, local info, or anything else for that matter. The rooms are clean and comfortable.

If your goal is to experience the Mexican culture and to stay as close to the border as possible, then this is the place for you. There are a lot of the basic fast food restaurants around, but the real draw is the distance to Tijuana. It is a short walk across the border and into Tijuanan loca and that makes the place worth the stay. The rates are certainly reasonable. Beyond that, what more can one say - it's a TraveLodge. It's clean enough and the staff is friendly enough. Nothing outstanding about it but the location. No horrible drawbacks, either.