There is a good reason I withstood this place for 3 nights. I was very sick. I drove from Texas to Colorado to help my college-bound son move to Fort Collins. Shortly after I arrived I came down with the worst cold I’ve ever had in my life. Once I got my son settled, all I wanted to do was to find a room, curl up in bed and watch TV for a few days before tackling the long drive home.

I know now there are other motels and hotels in the area, but at the time this was the only place I spotted. From the outside, the Guesthouse Inn & Suites looks very nice. It’s a large 2-story complex that appears clean and new. It also has parking right outside the room doors, which is what I prefer so I only have to carry my bags a few steps. The front desk and lobby area was very attractive. It seemed like a perfectly suitable place to stay. Plus, there was a McDonald’s right across the street so I knew I wouldn’t starve. They gave me room 153 at the back of the building.

When I got to my room I sat on the bed and turned on the TV. A fly was buzzing around. I didn’t give it much thought. Then I looked up. On the ceiling there must have been 50 to 100 flies. The ceiling was black with them.

The front desk told me flies were “a seasonal thing.” Nobody offered to come to my room to investigate. No other rooms were available. They loaned me a flyswatter. Blame it on the warm weather, blame it on my black mood, but my conundrum was, do I get back in my car and randomly drive around looking for another place, as bad as I felt, or deal with the flies? I decided to deal with the flies. I turned off all the lights in the room, opened the door and began hitting the ceiling with a bath towel. Once airborne, most of the flies flew out the door towards the light outside. I got the rest with the flyswatter.

The next day and the day after that, a couple of flies flew into the room and I got them with the flyswatter. Previous guests must have also dealt with flies. I counted 5 blood spots on the walls and ceiling where somebody else smashed flies.

The carpet was so dark and so filthy dirty, with several large stains, that I couldn’t see many of the dead flies to pick them up and dispose of them. The lampshades were stained and dirty. A large picture on the wall had a hole through it. The window screen was missing so I couldn’t get any fresh air without letting in more flies. So unlike the main lobby, the room itself was awful. I never saw or heard maid carts outside. On the second afternoon I called the office and requested maid service. I had her vacuum but she didn’t do around the edges of the room where most of the “bodies” were. I’m not finicky, but in this room I did not take off my shoes. I would not walk on that floor in my bare feet.

I saw families crammed into neighboring rooms, one with a dog, crib, clothes and other belongings all over the floor. The room looked trashed. A man was cooking something in the parking lot. Another was working on his truck. It looked like they’d lived there awhile. The office told me a man due to arrive had reserved my particular room for several months. So it appears this place also rents rooms by the week or month. No wonder the rooms are so shabby.

The only good thing about this place is the bed was comfortable, the linens at least looked clean and there were lots of cable TV channels. The bathroom was small but OK, and I made good use of the refrigerator and coffee pot in the room. I was so sick, so miserable, this is all I really cared about. I know I could have left. I probably should have left. IF they refused to refund my money, I could have threatened to call the health department; I could have threatened to sneeze in the face of the front desk lady (who was so generous with her flyswatter) and give her my cold! I simply didn’t have the energy to load up my car again and drive around looking for another place. I’ve stayed at all sorts of hotels all over the world, but never before have I experienced anything as nightmarish as this room.

Probably my suspicions should have been raised when I found out the room cost only $55 a night. If you don’t mind flies and filth and want a cheap room, this is your place!