Motel 6 Maingate- is it clean? Safe?

[rosiep]

Someone has asked my opinion of the Motel 6 for an inexpensive get away to Disneyland. I've never stayed there- with all consideration that this is an economy motel- all they really want to know is is it clean and safe. I checked one review online and it showed a needle on the floor! Is that the norm or a fluke

 

[Niltiac]

We stayed there once. It was clean enough.

As for safety... generally I consider the whole neighborhood to be pretty safe, but we had a creepy incident at check in. We arrived in the middle of the night because we drive from Vegas after work. We got to our room and it looked like it had been recently occupied. It was apparent that the room had been cleaned (the bed was made and toiletries looked fresh), but there were food wrappers strewn about, makeup smeared on a pillow, and several pieces of clothing thrown around. It looked like someone had snuck into the room after it had been cleaned and spent time there. Maybe since we checked in so late they thought the room would be empty all night, so they broke in and then left suddenly without all their clothes when they realized someone was coming? I can't really explain it. But the staff was very nice, and they seemed legitimately creeped out by the whole situation too, so it probably doesn't happen all the time. They moved us to a new room and the next morning I walked past the old room and saw what looked like a maintenance person and a security guard inspecting the the area. We didn't have any other problems, but I definitely made sure the door was locked at night, and didn't leave any valuables in the room.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I am a solo female traveller and I have stayed here twice. I have used ART bus to and from the park, the latest I came back was almost midnight and I have had no issues.

I have always found the rooms clean and I feel safe staying here on my own. The rooms are huge, easily fits 2 king beds. There is WiFi and a large screen tv on the wall.

Theere is a small table and bench style chair unit and a suitcase holder. Other than that the room has lots of space for luggage.

The lobby has coffee available before 10am and vending machines and a microwave for guest use.

There is a small independent shop in the lobby, sells cheap Disney merchandise and random things.

You can buy the ART tickets at reception and the buss pulls up in the carpark right beside the lobby

They have a locked left luggage room and a pool which I have never used but was always full of families.

Parking is free

Elevators are only in the main block, the blocks at the back just have stairs. If they want to be in the main block just put it in the request notes.

Anaheim Garden Walk is around the block, I have walked there and back multiple times.

I have always found the staff pleasant.

The only reason I switched to Dessert Inn and Suites this year was because I wanted to be on Harbour Boulevard.

 

[StormyCA]

BFF and I have stayed there frequently as a 'first night' before checking in onsite and for short 'budget' trips. We've always found it clean, safe, and quiet. Free parking is a big plus in the DL area.

There is no coffee maker (coffee available in the lobby) and a mini fridge costs $7-9/night extra. There is no door between the toilet/shower area and the sink/dressing area. There is a door between the sink/dressing area and the room. Not a big deal, but it means that when you're getting ready in the morning (or for bed at night) the sink/dressing area must be vacated if someone is showering or needs the loo (unless you're very good friends). We found it a bit inconvenient, but not a deal breaker.

We use Uber for to-ing and fro-ing. $5.15 each way and we've never waited more than 6 minutes nor run into a surge charge.

 

[Niltiac]

I forgot to mention that we walked to and from the park, and we felt safe doing so even late at night. When you stay right on Harbor and you walk to and from the parks there are tons of other guests walking with you, but that's not the case when you're walking as far as Motel 6. For the last bit of the walk back we were alone but still felt safe. The walk is not as bad as I thought it would be, but it still seems like most people staying there opt for ART. Other than our checkin incident we never had any problems there, and I feel they handled the situation well, so I wouldn't rule out staying there again. If we do stay there again I will most certainly lock any possessions I care about in the car while we're at the parks, since I never found out exactly how someone got into the room.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I forgot to mention that we walked to and from the park, and we felt safe doing so even late at night. When you stay right on Harbor and you walk to and from the parks there are tons of other guests walking with you, but that's not the case when you're walking as far as Motel 6. For the last bit of the walk back we were alone but still felt safe. The walk is not as bad as I thought it would be, but it still seems like most people staying there opt for ART.

I saw lots of people walking back to Motel 6 when I was on the ART bus. For me I just liked the fact of getting a bus at the end of a long day at the park, I guess my feet just gave up at a certain point

 

[Niltiac]

I saw lots of people walking back to Motel 6 when I was on the ART bus. For me I just liked the fact of getting a bus at the end of a long day at the park, I guess my feet just gave up at a certain point

We might have been walking alone because we closed down the parks and it was like 12:30am. Either way, walking or taking ART, it's a pretty safe commute.

 

[tlovesdis]

We've stayed there about 6 times in the last few years and have never felt unsafe and our room has always been clean! The rooms are huge, which is nice when you have 4 people! And the ART works out great, stops right at the hotel.

 

[bcla]

We stayed there once. It was clean enough.

As for safety... generally I consider the whole neighborhood to be pretty safe, but we had a creepy incident at check in. We arrived in the middle of the night because we drive from Vegas after work. We got to our room and it looked like it had been recently occupied. It was apparent that the room had been cleaned (the bed was made and toiletries looked fresh), but there were food wrappers strewn about, makeup smeared on a pillow, and several pieces of clothing thrown around. It looked like someone had snuck into the room after it had been cleaned and spent time there. Maybe since we checked in so late they thought the room would be empty all night, so they broke in and then left suddenly without all their clothes when they realized someone was coming? I can't really explain it. But the staff was very nice, and they seemed legitimately creeped out by the whole situation too, so it probably doesn't happen all the time. They moved us to a new room and the next morning I walked past the old room and saw what looked like a maintenance person and a security guard inspecting the the area. We didn't have any other problems, but I definitely made sure the door was locked at night, and didn't leave any valuables in the room.

If anything it sounds like an issue with the locking system. The way that many of these card key systems work is that once a new set of card keys is programmed, the previous set is locked out once one key from the newly programmed set is used for the first time. However, the previous keys won't be locked out until that happens. It could have been the previous occupants who decided to come back after it had been cleaned. Some of them are programmed through a card encoder connected to the reservation system, but I've seen many that are programmed by using a keypad to punch in the room number, number of nights, and the number of card keys, followed by swiping the keys to program them.

Of course master keys like the ones that housekeeping/management have always work and don't lock out the old keys, and often these lock systems are programmed to disable keys (even if nobody enters the room) after a certain date/time. Your typical door lock is battery powered and doesn't communicate with the programming system. The key programmer knows everything it needs to program new keys corresponding to the door locks. However the time that it's going to "time out" may not be that precise.

 

[Niltiac]

If anything it sounds like an issue with the locking system. The way that many of these card key systems work is that once a new set of card keys is programmed, the previous set is locked out once one key from the newly programmed set is used for the first time. However, the previous keys won't be locked out until that happens. It could have been the previous occupants who decided to come back after it had been cleaned. Some of them are programmed through a card encoder connected to the reservation system, but I've seen many that are programmed by using a keypad to punch in the room number, number of nights, and the number of card keys, followed by swiping the keys to program them.

Of course master keys like the ones that housekeeping/management have always work and don't lock out the old keys, and often these lock systems are programmed to disable keys (even if nobody enters the room) after a certain date/time. Your typical door lock is battery powered and doesn't communicate with the programming system. The key programmer knows everything it needs to program new keys corresponding to the door locks. However the time that it's going to "time out" may not be that precise.

That's interesting. I've never thought about someone being able to come back to a room after checkout if the new occupants hadn't arrived yet. I assumed the cards would be deactivated. It's still weird that they left their clothes behind though.

 

[bcla]

That's interesting. I've never thought about someone being able to come back to a room after checkout if the new occupants hadn't arrived yet. I assumed the cards would be deactivated. It's still weird that they left their clothes behind though.

It's pretty much impossible to deactivate a key with most of the simpler systems, although there might be more advanced ones out there today. The key itself doesn't change, but how the lock responds to it does. The card encoders associate each room number with the lock used for each room, although I don't know the technical details. Most locks are battery powered (usually 4 AAs) and not connected through any wired or wireless network. They're supposed to run months on battery power, so what they do is very limited by design because it's a pain to replace them. Any kind of wireless communication would severely reduce battery life. I think they do usually have a clock that keeps time, but it's really only going to run the clock, read cards, and open the lock. Most of these systems are designed such that the lock doesn't have to be continuously reprogrammed.

This thread explains it better than I can:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travelbuzz/496181-hotel-key-card-systems-explained.html

Occasionally I've asked for additional card keys (i.e. I had one but I wanted another my wife) and they programmed two new ones and told me that the old one wouldn't work any more.

If they're really freaked out about a guest who is kicked out and they worry about them returning to the room, they could just encode new keys and then go to the room to use them. I think it's unlikely that anyone broke into your room. More likely the previous guest came back for whatever reason.

 

[chickapin parterre]

....as for clean on the inside, Motel 6 is ahead of the lodging game with no carpet, no furniture and no heavy bed materials, so always bring along extra blankets, a throw rug for the bathroom sink. The outside of the building is in need of cleaning on the stucco exterior and the concrete walk ways hold all the spill stains.