A Tale of Two Hotels in Livingston, Montana

The parts of these two hotel stays that make the story is that both businesses are Wyndham affiliated, both owned by the same person, and both are on the same street on both sides of the interstate.

Night #1 at the Travelodge.

Caveat Emptor. Let the Buyer beware.

I took a single room at the Travelodge before the Fusion Fights in Bozeman.  An admitted cheapskate, I booked a $94 room on their website because I just wanted a place to sleep after the event.

I barely got that.

The DirectTV had no signal.  "Okay, no biggie," I thought.

The bed was made with a thin cover, a thin fleece blanket and the sheets.  That's it.  "Okay, I'm fine," I thought, "Just turn on the heat."

This heat register roared to life every few minutes, breaking the peace for sleep.  With a thermostat setting, it pumped heat and cool air.  Worse, I couldn't figure out the buttons to make it stop or turn off the fan or run in sleep mode.  After an hour of trying to live with it, I just unplugged the unit, put my dress shirt back on and settled for a cooler sleep.  I was tempted to fetch my sleeping bag from the car.

Slept only four hours.

Getting no hot water from the bathroom sink was a warning.  Good news, the shower had warm water in the morning.  Bad news, would not consistently stay warm and the shower head leaked where it attached to the pipe.

I give this motel stay a D-.  Would give an F but it did provide a shelter from the rain.  If it weren't for the great breakfast in the Northern Pacific Beanery, I would have called this Livingston stay a total disaster.

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Night #2 at the Super 8

The next weekend returned me to Gallatin County for a niece's wedding celebration.  I stayed in the Super 8 by Wyndham, on the other side of the freeway.  Paid $114 plus tax for a night.  Brought a couple extra blankets just in case.

Received just what I expected.

Large Western artwork on the walls.  The bedcover was thicker, with a similar fleece blanket and sheets.  The heat register was a newer model in better condition, which I set at 75.  Slept just under eight hours.

The bathroom sink had hot water, along with the shower.  DirectTV worked.

Super 8 by Wyndham in Livingston gets an A for providing my money's worth.

The Point of All This

For all the young travelers and all the cheapskates in the world, here's my message: you get what you pay for.  If the room is less than $100 plus tax, expect a roof over your head and not much else.  You're only a step above camping.  Bring an extra blanket (you should have one in the car anyway) and accept the water you receive.  Want a working TV and hot water, go ahead and pay a little extra.

If you use an app to book a discount room, again Caveat Emptor, you get what you pay for.