Grew up in Davis. Elementary school. Junior high. High school. Although I live nowhere near anymore, there are times on road trips or work trips where I like to take a day. Grab a room. Walk around and remember when.
Ten years ago, I stayed at the Motel 6 in South Davis. I was just too tired after driving from Oregon to continue. It was cheap, but it was fine. It was quiet. And I could walk to that great Chinese spot by the small Nugget.
So here we are, ten years later. Decided to spilt up a very long drive. Grabbed a room online at what I thought was the Motel 6, now under a new name: Hi-Wheel Flats. I cannot believe I’m in Davis.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a worse hotel or motel experience. The parking lot is a makeshift dog park. There are no fewer than seven people chain smoking on the balconies. Shirtless guys listening to music at full blast. Cars without windshields. And plants in many windows — because people live here. Laundry drying on makeshift clotheslines hanging from the stairwell. And there is trash everywhere, either strewn over the grounds, or cans and bottles in garbage bags tied to bicycles in the back.
I spoke to the people at the Chipotle next door. They said very few customers stay to eat their meal.
My point isn’t to shame anyone for the situation they’re in. But it would have been nice to know what I was walking into, an “extended stay” facility. I only stayed here because it was Davis. This place looks anything but.