This hotel is a great place to lodge if you need to stay for a week or more. The rates get reduced from the daily rate of $67 if you do so, and extra days beyond a week get the reduced rate. We paid about $45 a night each night - the reduced rate - and for that price we got just what we wanted.

Our "wish list" for our time at Extended Stay America was not much: something clean and modern. A kitchenette, including plates, bowls, glasses, utensils with pots, pans and dish rack, a good, firm mattress, a table with two chairs, a desk, a large enough chest of drawers for our clothing, a large enough clothing rack with ironing board and iron, an easy chair with ottoman, a snooze alarm with clock radio, television with cable/satellite service, and tub with shower. We got all that. In addition, we got a fabulous view of Pikes Peak. (The other side of the hotel gets a view of. . . Interstate 25.) All for $45 a night plus the tax. . . such a deal! Quiet rooms where we could not hear our neighbors top, side, or below us to boot. Aaaah. . . time to relax.

The kitchenette comes with an apartment size refrigerator/freezer with ice trays, a built in microwave, two electric stove plates to cook range top style on, a range top light and two speed blower (with no duct venting smoke up to the roof) and a two slice toaster. The aluminum sink is single, not a double sink, and there is no garbage disposal. Extended Stay does not imply permanent housing, so a few changes to the normal household routine is to be expected.

We could smell other guest's food being prepared at the usual mealtimes as we walked down the interior hallway. Just like when we lived in apartments with interior hallways. Nothing remarkable about that. Friendly enough folks by and large ( with a real doofus socially speaking or two though). Some we got to know were military service families with their loved ones returning from or going to Afghanistan. Wonderful people. Kinda like living at a home away from home. We liked that. A place of calm and peace in an ever changing world. . . a welcome respite for our traveling days.

A quibble or two: when we checked in, we were not aware of the bellman carts (you provide the bellman muscle, though) available for guest use upon check in and check out. We put the cart to good use upon check out. When we put away our trash (just like at home) we found that the trash disposal room floor was sticky with some kind of candy like syrup. Didn't want the sticky stuff (we had some formal clothes to wear some of the time) on our shoes or clothes. When we told the maintenance personnel of this situation, they cleaned it up the same day to our satisfaction. By the way, there is no pool or spa at Extended Stay America properties. That was fine by us.

Pointers and tips we found useful: get your washcloths - the small ones you use for your face - early in the day if possible, or at suppertime. They tend to run out of clean ones in the middle of the day. This hotel was quite full most of the time we stayed there, and some nights it was completely booked. Make your reservations as soon as you know of your lodging needs. Also, it appeared to us that Extended Stay America, at least at this location, doesn't jack up their rates (or lowers them) due to demand. Good to know in advance. We found it best to book with the hotel directly via their Internet site to get the best rate. Extended Stay's best rate beat even Hotels.com and Expedia (wide grin).

This Extended Stay America location also accepts dogs (but not cats). The blind are allowed seeing eye dogs in their rooms (so marked by suites so equipped) and the deaf are accommodated as well with suites that notify those in the hallway of the presence of a hearing impaired individual. I didn't see anyone that was obviously deaf or blind, but I did see some folks with their dogs. Again, a touch reminiscent of home. Just what Extended Stay America is trying to provide, after all.