Garden Motel
1690 Broadway Avenue
Redwood City, CA
# 650-366-4724
The Garden Motel has been running regular ads on Craig’s List in the Bay Area lately, advertising a special nightly rate of $40 or a weekly stay at only $220. Having some business down in the Redwood City area, I decided to stop in for a night and check the place out.
Unlike many cheap motels, you can actually call ahead and reserve a room, and they actually encourage you to do so. It’s a real little place in a not-too-busy area of Redwood City, mostly surrounded by small businesses and a shopping plaza with some big box retail stores. Pop into the tiny lobby, flash your ID to the nice lady, pay your money (apparently sales tax is worked into the price as that’s a flat rate) and you get your key and are set for the night.
The building seems to be pretty old, probably built back in the 1950s or 60s and not much renovated since then. The rooms are clean and totally functional, but very small and kind of cramped. The walls are none too thick either, meaning hope and pray you don’t get noisy neighbors. Fortunately each room includes a box fan, which can be used to generate white noise and drown out any unwanted aural intrusions (and also maintain some of your privacy).
In addition to the fan each room sports a 19″ TV, microwave, small fridge, queen sized bed, and a private bathroom with shower and sink. The room I had was very clean, and the bed was comfortable (the linen was also spotlessly clean). The TV didn’t get very many cable channels – some extremely basic package that mostly featured HBO and ESPN, and aside from broadcast channels that was about it. There was also no remote and it took forever to flip from one channel to the other. So if you are a big TV watcher, this might not be your spot. I’m not, so it was no skin off my back. The fridge was a really tiny little cube, one of those dormitory fridges where the little freezer can’t even fit a carton of ice cream. But it’s functional to keep drinks and leftovers cold. The microwave was of a good size and worked fine. They also had a very fast and very reliable WiFi connection, available free. One downside – no phones in the rooms (payphones outside).
The bathroom was very cramped and pretty oldschool, with a low-flow toilet that you have to be real careful not to overflow and a shower that can be finicky as to getting the hot water running. But, it covered all the basics. It’s not Hilton luxury or anything, but it got the job done. They supply the rooms with plenty of clean towels and a couple of little tiny bars of soap, but make sure to bring your own shampoo.
It’s not too far of a walk into downtown Redwood City, where there are a lot of higher-end restaurants as well as middle-of-the-road eateries such as Quiznos. There’s also a Grocery Outlet discount grocery store a short walk in one direction, a Longs and a Big Lots in another, and a Safeway grocery within a very short drive. Also plenty of cheap little restaurants like Jack In The Box scattered in the midst of this area, and there’s a 7-11 right next door. I didn’t see laundry on site, but there’s a laundromat just down the street.
For $40 a night in the Bay Area, you usually can’t even get a room in a crackhead hotel. If you do, you almost damn sure don’t get your own bathroom, clean environments, clean linen, maid service, friendly proprietors, a microwave, a fridge and a fast WiFi connection. Oh, and parking as well. So, in spite of the limitations of small rooms, thin walls and old plumbing, the Garden Motel is actually pretty amazing. If you just need a basic room and can deal with those minor inconveniences, this is probably the best deal going in the whole of the Bay.
