Before I set out on our Road Trip USA Deep South Tour, I had been to the US many times before, but I had never stayed in one of the ultra budget accommodation options mostly seen by interstates and the outskirts of city.  That has changed!

Motel 6 Columbia

USA budget accommodation

When I was researching accommodation for our road trip, the budget motels were so cheap that I wondered just how horrible they might be and what shock I might be in for.  Thankfully, I have been very pleasantly surprised!  the USA budget accommodation options are actually quite good!

I will write more about the budget motel chains we have stayed in as there are many.  This review is going to focus on one motel – the cheapest one we stayed at – to give you an idea of how far your money can go here.  It is also the only motel we stayed in where I didn’t check a million reviews first – It was new and none existed. It is very well located, only a couple of miles from the centre of town.  I’m glad I took the chance.

Here is what $36.95 bought us at the Motel 6 in Columbia.  It is quite adequate, but it is also not the best room we have stayed at.  Our average cost was $66 a night for the four of us, so it is also a fair bit cheaper than our average cost.

Motel 6 Columbia

Like I said above, the reason why we hadn’t read any reviews on this motel is that it is brand new.  So new in fact, that there wasn’t a proper sign yet!  It has obviously taken the place of an older motel.

The “new” sign

My first impressions were ok.  The receptionist was nice and we were soon in our room.  It was actually very good considering the price!  The best part was that the heater had been left on and the room was toasty warm when we entered.

Our room!

There was brand new carpets, some new furniture and an old fridge and microwave.  I was impressed that the room even had a fridge and microwave at this price, so I was not troubled at all by the fact that they were old.  We were also happy to find chairs and a table which is not something we have that often.

Our room!

The bathroom was old and in need of an update but quite adequate. My only real complaint would be the smokey smell in the room.  We had booked a non smoking room, and this did not smell so bad that I think it has been smoked in recently, but it has definitely been a smoking room at some point.

Vanity and bathroom

Bathroom

The room is also a decent size.  Plenty of room for our luggage and Z’s cot.  All in all, we were very happy!

We went out and got some dinner.  We did feel a bit unsettled when leaving the building as quite a few of the other inhabitants walked past us.  They weren’t the usual people we were used to seeing.  One actually looked how I imagined a “crack ho” to look at for want of another term.  They were polite to us though, so I am not judging!

Outside of Motel 6 Columbia

In the evening, our biggest problem with the room became apparent – it was not well sound proofed.  We could hear the TV and people talking on three sides and people walking around above.  Thankfully, the noise was minimal by about 9pm and pretty much stopped by the time we were going to sleep.  It didn’t effect the kids at all.

Everyone slept well (well I did once I finally fell asleep, damn insomnia) and we had no problems, packing up, checking out and getting going the next day.  We were very happy with our stay here overall.  It is a bargain!

Practical Information
Motel 6 Columbia – check out the latest price here –  in Cayce.  $36.95 a night for a 2 double bed room for 2 adults.  Kids under 18 are free. VERY good value

You may also like to read about what $50 a night bought us in the Dominican Republic!

What’s the best value place you have stayed?

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