We were in a pinch for hotels in Zion, IL. If you look here on TA, every property has up and down reviews. I really have no idea why. The only consistently reviewed property is the Country Inn, but that costs upwards of $170 per night.

We were going to be in Zion for a funeral. We wouldn't be in until midnight, and we'd be checking out at 8:30AM or so as the visitation was a 9AM. We really only needed a place to stay and $170 is just a bit too expensive for us for 8 hours of use.

So we tried La Villa.

Let me preface this by saying that predominantly I stay in the big chains when I travel. Hawthorne Suites most often then other big chain suites from there on down. I am used to the cookie-cutter cleanliness of properly kept properties.

La Villa is your typical mom and pop roadside motel. I really don't mean to give it only 1 star, because it wasn't the worst in the world. The room was cleanish, it just smelled a little funny. The water worked, the beds were made. Nothing out of the ordinary really.

It just SEEMED and LOOKED like a dive. I didn't know "for sure" whether the sheets and pillowcases were washed since the last occupant, or just the bed made. Though we didn't find any evidence to suggest this is the case, it just "SEEMED" like it MAY be the case.

Again, you don't "know for certain" in the big chains either, but I sure feel better about my chances. It wasn't MY typical motel and it certainly wasn't a big chain.

My mother and father in-law stayed in the same place and my wife said that their room was much, much better than ours.

I hate to give the folks running the place only one star. I mean, to make our room look more professional, it'd need major renovation and I'm sure it isn't high on their list.

This really isn't a bad review of the property. I just can't recommend it to folks, like me, that are used to that "big chain" feel. But if you are used to sleeping in bargain motels, I imagine this wasn't so bad.

The neighborhood was nice. Compared to the other reviews you read for other hotels in Zion, the La Villa is quite nice.

It just isn't "my brand" of nice. To each his own I guess. I guess I'm going to give it two stars, but only because this type of motel isn't my thing. I'm sure there are MUCH worse places that deserve the title "Terrible" that is the one star definition.

Myself, if I'm back in Zion, I'll just go to a major chain in North Chicago that will be only a few miles out of Zion and just commute.