Econo Lodge Inn and Suites Novato, Novato

Where do I begin?? There is little space where the carpet is not stained. One of the chairs is ripped from top to bottom. One of the lampshades is broken almost in half. The clock was unplugged, tucked inside the little cabinet that they try to pass as a bedside table. The window in the bathroom is stuck open and the screen is broken and hanging halfway outside the window. At 5 am the tv magically turned on to a channel of nothing but white noise, with the volume turned all the way up. This may sound like an exhageration, but I assure you it is not. The only consolation I have is that we booked this room for free with vouchers. Do not pay for a room here. The Econo Lodge in Navato is by far the worst Motel I have ever stayed in.

I stayed at Skylark in Novato, CA a total of three times while in the Bay Area on business. The accommodations and service were a notch above Super8/Motel 6, but not by much. When I called to make reservations for two different stays, the manager's wife answered, but she didn't speak English, so I had to call back several times (it is anyone's guess why that is acceptable from a customer service standpoint). The room rate was reasonable and the rooms were clean but not spotless. The old saying holds true that "you get what you pay for". Skylark is remotely located and doesn't offer any sort of breakfast, not even bagels or juice. They might be the only hotel/motel in all of Marin County that doesn't, and I missed that on days I had an early business meeting and didn't have time to go out (I ate at the Roadhouse restaurant, but "truck stop" came to mind). Skylark's internet service was lousy with a capital "L" because the signal constantly dropped off. Also, on my first and second stays, the office opened at 7 a.m. so I could call the office to ask a question, make a copy or send a fax before leaving for a meeting. Not anymore. On my 3rd stay there was a new resident manager who changed office and phone hours to open at 8 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. The lack of service and attention to detail at Skylark will leave you with the impression it is a stop-over and they don't care if you stay, leave or ever come back. If you are a self sufficient business traveler who wants a low room rate and does not expect or require perks or reliable internet service, Skylark would be adequate.

INTERNET SERVICE: The wireless internet service ranged from weak to non-existent with "no signal" or 1 bar. We were in town on business but could not send or receive email to colleagues or do online banking at will. The resident manager's remedy was to occasionally unplug the modem, and repeated complaints got us a reply of "We do not guarantee internet service." Also, since the phone system did not work (explained below), we could not use a dialup connection as a backup. PHONE SERVICE: We could not make outgoing calls for most of our stay (sometimes we tried 5 or 6 times just to get dial tone). The resident manager said their provider was running tests offsite. After days of this, it did not improve, so we had to make most of our outgoing calls from cell phones (this was too costly). SERVICE: The resident manager was in and out a lot and left someone (presumably his wife) to sit at the front desk and answer calls. Unfortunately, she did not speak English, and there was no backup assistance. AMENITIES: A coffee maker and refrigerator were provided, as well as a microwave. They are the only hotel/motel in all of Marin County that we know of that did not provide coffee, bagels, juice, fruit, cereal, sweet rolls, muffins, or anything else for breakfast. A Jack in the Box and Burger King are a mile away on either side, and a market was about two miles away. There was a restaurant attached to the motel, but it was quite expensive for the type of food served. CLEANLINESS: We must say, the room was pretty clean, and the housekeepers spoke English (a real plus). When asked for a clean bedspread and blanket after after checking in, they were gladly provided. They also did a thorough job on the daily service. BATHROOM: Both the bathtub and sink had unappealing patches from repairs; however, we liked having a small window in the bathroom and a good, strong spray in the shower. That said, the water in the sink had to be run for a good few minutes to get hot water. NOISE: The motel is on the frontage road of busy Highway 101 running from SF to the Napa Valley. The cars on the freeway did not produce a fraction of the noise as guests' motorcycles. We thought there should have been a rule against allowing motorcycles in the carports since the rooms are in a U-shape with the parking lot in between on each side. The motorcycle noise was annoying. BOTTOM LINE: So-so. The room rate is not bad, but since internet service was not guaranteed, we would have been better off staying elsewhere and spending more money to get the service we needed as business travelers. The resident manager was very nice, but did not seem to have either the experience or the authority to fix problems. We would not recommend Skylark Motel in Novato to business travelers, but the bare bones service and amenities would be adequate for family travelers just passing through.