- I think there were bed bugs... I got some bites on my feet and found a dead bug in the comforter. Eww... the mattress was new enough but the box springs/carpet were nasty and stained and probably the source of the bugs.
- They lost one of our reservations; no big deal, but there was no apology whatsoever, only a "you have to come back to check in at 2" (we got there 1.5 hours early and were hoping to check in since my grandma wanted to rest)
- There was a microwave/coffee maker but they did not work. The problem may have been the outlet, but it's not like you can lug a huge microwave over to another outlet.
- Terrible internet connection, cannot stay connected for more than 30 seconds at a time.
- Our room smelled like foot, and we had to air it out by opening the windows, but then we got people loudly walking by.
- No workout room available, you have to go to the other BW in town.
- View of the parking lot, woopee
- Cute little park area outside, close to horse tracks (if that's your thing...)
- Free warm cookies

Overall not a scarring hotel experience, but none of us thought it was a pleasant one, either.

Very nice King size suite with a balcony overlooking the mountains.Shower was alittle hard to adjust water temperature but still a nice room . Right across the race track and back away from the road with a WalMart almost next door so a very convenient location. Parking if you come in late is not easy with no striping and people not knowing how to park.

I'm not a complainer- the TVs here are old, and the internet is very shaky- but these are minor issues. The big issue is management.

A close inspection of reviews will reveal that the management has problems. When it is missing towels, or failing to clean the room, it is not so dire- however I was charged twice for my room, and weeks later it has still not been corrected. The manager is often not in the office, and seems to come and go as she pleases.

The staff has admitted to me several times that the charge is a mistake, but the manager has yet to correct it. When I call, I am often told she is off-site, but no one seems to know if or when she will return. Charging a customer twice and not fixing the problem is akin to theft- so, while the location and the rooms are fine, if a bit dated, the errors and problems with management are serious. Maybe nothing will go wrong... but I don't recommend the risk.

Arrived Dec 30 and was planning to stay for two nights but checked out a day early - not entirely the hotel's fault - mainly because a cold front came through, and it was COLD, and my young daughter begged to go back to Texas. Otherwise, she insisted she was going to stay inside all day - a dreary prospect for me - so we packed up and left early. Overall, it's a decent hotel, and I think that if you choose a week where it isn't packed, if you normally stay in motels when you travel and like them, or if you are a college student, it is fine. All of the college students I saw seemed to be having a good time and happy to be there.

First the plusses:
- Pictures and description on website are accurate, and the grassy courtyard area in middle of the motel buildings is nice. It is a nice layout overall. Also, they do allow dogs, which was my primary motivation for choosing it.
- Surrounding the motel is a large hill/small mountain that looks to be privately owned, but there is nothing there, so you feel like you are away from everything (except that to see it, you have to stand in the parking lot and also look at the back of the motel, which is ugly - it's not like being in a B&B with a view).
- If you have dogs, you can walk them off-leash back in the woods next to the parking lot on the land mentioned above. There are no "no tresspassing signs" right near the motel, and there are some nice paths and plenty of room for dogs to run back in the woods. I doubt this is allowed, but I got the tip from a fellow dog-owner, and it was a lifesaver for me and my dogs. You can enter the path by the dumpster or climb up over the parking lot railing.
- The rooms were large and clean. They seemed pretty standard, though, and no fluffy comfortors or nice decor. They are fine to crash in for a night or two, but you won't want to spend a lot of time indoors hanging out. I can see why the place was full of college kids.

The minuses:
- It was packed, mostly with college kids but also families.
- I never got the internet working (and had no trouble at other places)
- We could hear people walking by our door at night and above us. One of my dogs kept waking me up with a warning bark to let me know about this (and this didn't happen at any of the other hotels where we stayed on our trip).
- The shower was lukewarm - just enough not to freeze.
- The heaters were the old style where you get to guess where you should set the dial and then get up several times during the night to grope around in the dark to adjust.
- It was so crowded that I couldn't get a seat for breakfast.
- It is right across the street from Ruidoso Downs, which is lower on the hill, so as you drive in and out of the driveway, you get a "magnificent" view into the stadium. It sets a different tone than I was wanting. You can't see it from the hotel itself.
- I didn't like the Ruidoso Downs location. Not only is it farther away from the mountain and town, but it's not as pretty terrain. Next time I visit Ruidoso, I'll definitely stay closer to the mountain for the scenery and feel if nothing else.
- The pool is outdoors. Somehow I missed that on the website, and I was looking forward to taking my daughter swimming. It did look heated, but with the low winter temps, we weren't eager to strip into our swimsuits.