I had an early meeting in Bismarck and booked this room for one night. I wasn't willing to blow too much money, and this was the cheapest room I could find. I read all the reviews I could find online so I'd be prepared for the worst.
The area doesn't look the greatest, but I had family in that neighborhood when I was growing up, so I felt at ease there. There was a line of three people ahead of me. Two computers and one person behind the desk. Phone ringing every two minutes. The second man in line didn't have a reservation. The man behind him stepped outside to take a phone call, leaving his wife standing at the desk saying "he'll be right back." I could go on and on, but the point is that the woman behind the counter handled everyone with more poise than think i could have mustered in her shoes.
It took me about 45 seconds to walk from the front office to my room. In that space of time, I did get hassled by some construction workers who were obviously staying there long-term. Was I afraid for my life? No. Was I irritated? Mildly, but life goes on. There wasn't a thing the woman at the desk could have done to instill a sense of morality or even some good down-home manners into those boys.
The door to my room opened on the first swipe of the key card (a luxury!) and I steeled myself for the horrors this site had assured me would await. I swung the door open to find...a room. A small, simple, clean hotel room. Small TV on a long wooden desk, small writing table and chair in the corner, small nightstand, small queen bed. No giant radioactive insects on the walls, no bodily waste smeared in the bathroom, no wads of hair in the bed. The sheets were thin and the pillows were flat, yes. The bed was not as comfortable as my own bed. But I paid 50 bucks for the room. I was not expecting the Ritz.
People who travel through North Dakota have to understand something. We're in the middle of an oil boom and we're being flooded with workers from all over. We have zero housing. Apartment prices have skyrocketed. You will not find a hotel for less than 90 bucks a night that isn't packed to the seams with oil or construction workers. Cheaper hotels fill up faster, and if you're lucky enough to get one, don't expect it to have a high-def TV, mini-fridge, hair dryer, or any other frills that travelers take for granted. Can't live without a hair dryer? Bring your own.
Bottom line, you get what you pay for. Don't expect a castle when you pay for a tar paper shack. For what I paid, this was a very good room.
- Motel Six Bismarck
- Bismarck Motel Six
- Bismarck Motel 6
