My husband and I made an impromptu trip to the area this weekend. We took the Super 8 because we saw it while driving down the highway, and it was across the street from a Perkins. You'd think that this chain would have reasonable rates. Guess they were jacked up for the Oktoberfest in the Amanas this weekend.

The room was clean, but depressing. A sign said they were remodeling, and I guess our smoking room with 2 double (not queen) beds had been hit. The carpeting was grass green and new; the drapes were green or blue, depending on who was looking, one wall was textured brown gloss, the others were cream gloss and also textured. The bedspreads were brown paisley, and the kind you whip off and throw in the corner immediately. The beds were the type that you'd better love your bedmate because you're going to roll into them all night long.

The bath was small and had a toilet paper roll with six sheets remaining. (Really?) The vanity was a new chunk of what appeared to be granite and a very nice fixture. They should have saved on that - the tub was ridiculously dingy and grungy and when you took a shower, you had to hold the drain open with your toe!?!?! Housekeeping never noticed this? ICK! The towels were thin and very dingy grayish. Seriously, my dogs have better towels.

TV is an old tube with a good selection of channels if you have the patience to browse them. The nasty crusty grimy guide was wrong. CNN was really Lifetime, according to the listing provided. Annoying.

No outlet cover behind the desk/nightstand. When I pulled the chair out, the cord cover for the flourescent bedside lamps fell off the wall and into a giant jumble of wires behind the desk. Dresser lampshade waterstained. Depressing.

I would seriously fire this designer... Remodeled? I don't think so.

The first floor rooms are English Basements, so there was the grill of a car right outside my window. Loud and rowdy drunks right outside our window, but most of them were happy! Apparently the people above us were training elephants, and every time they used the toilet or brushed their teeth, we knew about it. This may be the noisiest room I ever stayed in.

When we left in the morning, I almost stepped into a round hole right in the middle of the sidewalk. Apparently, someone thought it was a grand idea to put little bushes in holes in the sidewalk that runs from the parking lot into the lobby. It appears that a bush died, so they just pulled it out and did nothing to fill the hole... A lawsuit waiting for some poor traveler who will continue on with a broken ankle.

If you're reading this, you're smart. Find another place. You can't possibly get happy in this poorly lighted run down motel. But the wireless internet worked for me, and there was a cold frig and a microwave. There is what appears to be a free washer and dryer on your way to the first floor rooms.

I would stay here in a pinch - like stranded in a blizzard. It would not even be my fifth choice otherwise. Plan ahead. Happy trails.