San Carlos Inn

STAY AWAY!
This is the nastiest, dingiest, dirtiest motel I’ve ever stayed at. And I’m ok with an occasional stay at a basic motel at a reasonable price, but I expect a basic level of cleanliness and privacy. Given this motel is right next to fairly nice San Carlos downtown, it’s surprising it survives there, given how bad it is.
Pros: None.
Cons:
— Entrance is in a dirty alley — immediate reaction you’ll have is… this is really crappy.
— «Office» has glass (yes, glass) between you and the person checking you in, like at a cheap gas station. I’ve never had experience of checking in even at the cheapest Motel 6 with glass between me and the «welcome person»
— Condition: Our room was really, really dirty. There was sticky stuff on our nightstand, I have no idea what and no desire to find out.
— Smell: They have a combination of smoking and non-​smoking rooms. Smoke from the smoking rooms seeps into «non-​smoking».
— Noise: Walls are paper-​thin. You can hear the person next door snore, not to mention talk loudly, flush toilet, shower, as if they are right there with you in your room. Our neighbors came back at 3am and stayed up for an hour, we could pretty audibly hear their conversation through the walls.
— More noise: Heater is really loud, not only when it’s on in your room, but also in rooms next door. Some articles in our room actually shook, when the heater went on in the unit next to us. Same with the fridge — it’s loud. Noise from the road can be heard too, and cars drive fast on El Camino all night long.
— I’m not even going to talk about «décor». Given that it’s a motel, I didn’t have high expectations, and it’s a good thing I didn’t. Although some walls have indeed been recently repainted, furniture is old and dingy, there is very little space overall, lamps are old and don’t light the room well (which is probably a positive).
— Price: Given the terrible setting, this place is not even that cheap. We paid $ 110 to stay there on a Saturday night — worse value for the price I’ve ever experienced.

I booked this hotel because it was quite a bit cheaper than other hotels in the area. I didn’t have high expectations, but it was better than I expected. The person who checked me in seemed a bit rude. You need to sign and initial their sign-​in form several times agreeing not to smoke, have pets etc etc. It’s an old motel that has been fixed up. My room was small but clean and fairly recently remodeled. It had a small fridge and microwave. But, like most older places, noise goes right through the walls. This part of El Camino doesn’t look that great, but it’s a very safe area and the nearby towns of San Carlos and Belmont are very nice. When I checked out in the morning, the person on duty was very nice and friendly.

I called on the phone and was quoted $ 70 for the room, two people one bed. When i got there i was told $ 99. I said when I called this morning I was told 70. The women said do you have pets I said no, then she said I got a call asking about pets. It wasn’t me. Then she said it’s my last available room that’s why it’s $ 99…WTF? The room was clean there was a shortage on towels there should have been 6 there were 4. Also no extra roll of toilet paper, the one that was there was half a roll. Regarding check out I was told because I checked in early it was 10 am. On the door that’s the time that was posted
Not sure if I would go back or recommend this place

I judged the neighborhood by the looks of the motel when I arrived. I really thought it was ghetto, I figured you get what you get for the price you pay. But actually downtown San Carlos is just a block away and its super adorable. The motel is the kinky ghetto part. All cheap motels are equivalent quality to this. It wasn’t partially clean but the ac worked. It had small fridge and microwave on the plus side. Bathroom floor had hair all over it! Ew. It was super small room. There’s a very small parking lot and customer service is really really really rude. I’m not impressed. But I had no choice but to keep this room.

Traveling to the peninsula can be quite pricy and overwhelming. That’s how I first felt when I visited the area for an interview at Stanford.
But thanks to San Carlos Inn, I was able to relax and be at a place A LOT cheaper than any other place in the Palo Alto area. I stayed here for a couple of days with my family and it was great. It’s right on El Camino Real, which is the major road connecting some of the major cities down the peninsula. This San Carlos area in Redwood City is a short driving distance to Palo Alto, Stanford Univ, and Mountain View. San Carlos Inn is run by a really nice family, and they were really flexible in terms of our extensions and cancellations (we changed on them a couple of times, and they were REALLY understanding). The rooms are smaller but very clean (the showers and bathrooms are kept very clean). It’s also in walking distance to the ‘downtown’ San Carlos area, which has a lot of cool restaurants and cafes.
Definitely would come here again!

It was very basic, no frills, clean, quiet, the cheapest we found due to a conference in the SF area, and it was about 11 miles to the SF airport (our destination the following morning). The TV had plenty of channels, and the staff was friendly. Check in/​out was quick

NEVER STAYING HERE TO SAVE MY LIFE! NOT RECOMENED!!! The WORST place I have ever stayed at. My best friend and I stayed here only one night to visit family in the area, and no other places were available. We asked for two beds and the child (no more than 17 years old) was so rude to me and told me that he didn’t «want to give me that room», which I think he meant to say was booked. Then after arguing about the price, I gave him my ID to book the room and he looks at it (mind you I am 22, born in 1990. My ID says «Age 21 in 2011») and tells me that I’m not 2 yet. I told him to read the stupid date. I ask for extra pillows and blankets and he refuses to give them to me!!! The room is so filthy and smelly (someone had a good time!) that we are afraid to even step foot in. Coke headed Mexican workers «living» there stared and my and my friend all night, not to mention, the «rich kids» of San Carlos driving by the motel and staring like scum bags they are. I don’t recommend this place AT ALL!!! Go down the street and go to the Best Western or right behind this rat hole place is the most nicest couple running the Travel Inn, and renovating it to be very nice rooms!!! But that’s a different review!

The most disgusting hotel I’ve ever been at!!! First off we booked a queen size bed. When we got there the lady working behind the desk was very rude and told us they only had a 2 full size bed room available. She also said if we used the other bed we will be charged extra! There were shady characters staying there who appeared to live there. A huge stain (blood?) on the carpet and multiple stains on the sheets. They start calling you 45 minutes before check out time which is just rude. WILL NEVER GO BACK!!!