I am not a very fussy traveler. I'm not against going low budget and I certainly do not expect perfection when I stay at a hotel with a relatively cheap rate. However, I simply cannot give the Super 8 Longmont/Del Camino my recommendation.

Trouble started right away upon check-in. I had reserved a room with a King-sized bed via Super 8's website. I was told by the very nice and apologetic but slow lady at the desk that a King was not available. I had no problem taking a Queen instead. However, once I got into the room...well, if that was a Queen-sized bed, I'm the King of Siam. It was more like a slightly over-sized double and not all that comfortable for either myself of my sweetie (not to mention that the mattress was not very firm).

Trouble continued as I looked over the room upon first entering it. It was worn which is to be expected for a budget-minded hotel that has had a high amount of guest traffic. What got my attention right away was the rings on both of the night stands. These were not leftover impressions of wet drinks left on them from long ago but were sticky -- remnants of the previous guests' soda pop cans that were not cleaned by the staff.

The condition of the room was pretty bad. Aside from the worn, beaten furniture and stained bedspread, there was a lot of dust around especially in the drawers which I did not dare use. This was not good for my sweetie as she is quite susceptible to allergy attacks when there is blowing debris in the room.

To her benefit, the inefficient air conditioner did not do much constant blowing. No matter what temperature I set it at, it would not remain on for longer than a couple of minutes before shutting off. It sort of did its job but we could never get it to really cool off or air out the stuffy room.

The condition of the bathroom was also pretty bad. Saying that it had not been given a new coat of paint in the last couple of years would be the overstatement of the decade. The innards of the toilet were very old and it would leak enough out of the tank every 30 minutes or so that it would very loudly fill itself up again. In addition, it was definitely a "jiggle the handle" model after flushing.

Worst of all were the thin walls. Anybody doing anything in the adjoining rooms or the one upstairs could be heard, often in the most painful and unwanted detail. Adding to the in-room noise was a very inefficient mini-fridge that made a racket every time it tried to make its innards cool (which was about every 15 to 20 minutes).

On the good side, the outside area was relatively quiet considering it is right next to I-25 and some industrial buildings, the area seemed safe, and the towels were nice and soft. Amazingly enough, this motel has the best television reception I have experienced anywhere in the greater Denver/Fort Collins area even at places that cost twice as much.

Still, a good TV picture and a few other minor perks do not even come close to making up for what a motel room most importantly needs to provide -- a clean space to stay in and a good night's sleep. Considering their recent push to do much more television advertising to bring in more guests, if I were a big-wig at Super 8, I would definitely want to inspect this location and consider very carefully if this motel is what I would want to have representing my brand. Yes, most people know not to expect the world from Super 8 but this is just too much to ask them to accept.

My recommendation -- pay the extra money and stay somewhere else in Longmont whether along I-25 or in the city itself. The money saved by staying at this motel is NOT worth it.