One star is one star too many. This is an angry, unhappy place. AVOID.

Life in the desert must bite. It's very hot and there is nothing to do for many miles. Perhaps that's why everyone involved with this motel and the related Chevron station are so rude and unhappy.

This evening, I stopped in to inquire about a room. Rooms at the Ludlow Motel are rented at the Chevron station across the street, so I visited the Chevron. When I got there, two employees were standing in front of the entrance (ie not more than 10' from the nearest pump) SMOKING. I walked inside and asked how much a room would be.

After a brief delay, I decided to rent a room. As I was filling out the paperwork, I requested a 6 am wakeup call. Since the motel does not have phones, they have an unusual "system". Since the rooms do not have phones, random employees do wakeup calls by knocking on the door. I have stayed here twice before and the system worked fine the one time I used it, I guess. But the "system" isn't so much a system as it is something which only a few of their employees are willing to do.

This evening, my request for a wakeup call was a problem. The person handling my transaction wasn't sure how to arrange a wakeup call, so some snotty overweight woman named Priscilla chimed in.

According to Priscilla, the people who work the next shift (beggining at 10 pm) would decide whether or not they wanted to do a wakeup call in the morning. So I wouldn't know until some indeterminate time in the future whether or not a wakeup call would be available. I told Priscilla that I needed to know if I could get a wakeup call before I signed on the dotted line. Priscilla just shrugged it off. Since Priscilla didn't give a damn about fulfilling her duties, I tried to help her help me. I asked, are either of the people smoking in front of the building people who are working the next shift. Priscilla seemed puzzled. Because, if one of them is working next shift, I said, you could speak with them and determine whether or not they are willing to do a wakeup call.

Priscilla became very testy at this point, and asked which way I was going. I pushed back, asking how that impacted whether or not Ludlow Motel could accommodate my request for a wakeup call. She said, I was going to tell you about OTHER motels you could stay at so we don't have to deal with your wakeup call. WOW - an hourly gas station employee driving away customers with snotty comments. I bet the owner of the station likes it when she does that. After some unproductive interaction with the chubby departing manager and the Kenneth the incoming manager, I decided to take my business to Barstow.

As for the accommodations at Ludlow Motel, here's what you can expect: 1) All rooms are smoking rooms. Both times I stayed at Ludlow Motel, the rooms stunk. 2) Substandard air conditioning. Both times I stayed here, the a/c was noisy and not particularly effective. 3) Worn-out linens. Think white mosquito netting. 4) Some employees are rude and unprofessional in the extreme.

Also, watch out for the bored guy in the worn out old Ford pickup truck which says "Ludlow Security and Maintenance" on it. No matter what you're up to, it seems that he'll find a reason to come bother you.

Ludlow is only 45 miles from Barstow, and about 70 miles from Needles. PLAN AHEAD. Buy your gas, food, and lodging in Barstow or Needles and avoid the drama of this little hellhole in the middle of nowhere.