Every year, my family has its family reunion in Long Fork, Kentucky, and every year, we stay at the Daniel Boone Motor Inn in Pikeville, Kentucky. There are a few larger hotels in the area, but the Daniel Boone Motel is one of the only owner-operated hotels and the one we usually stay at during our annual trip.
Pikeville is a small town in southeastern Kentucky with around 6,500 residents. Ask anyone in the area for a hotel recommendation, and the odds are good that they will point you in the direction of the Daniel Boone Motor Inn, though I’m not sure why. I’m equally not sure why we continue to stay there when there are so many other options, but it has to be because they treat everyone like family.
Three years ago when we ventured to Pikeville for a funeral, the Daniel Boone Motor Inn owners gave us a discounted rate for the hotel room because of a death in the family. And since our family uses rents a block of 10-15 rooms every year during September, they also give us discounted prices for the reunion. That’s something you won’t find in a lot of big chain motels.
The Daniel Boone Motor Inn lacks a lot of amenities. Though it was over 90 degrees during our visit there in September, the pool was already closed. You also won’t find room service, laundry service, or fancy suites but you will find a comfortable room and good service.
The Motel allows pets, which is a big plus for us since we have three small dogs we don’t like to leave at home, and they don’t charge extra for the pets. Coffee is available twenty-four hours a day from the front desk, and though they don’t publicize it, we were able to get free bags of ice for our coolers.
The rooms at the Daniel Boone Motor Inn in Pikeville are nothing fancy. There’s the usual hotel amenities; beds, dresser, television, etc. and a very small bathroom. I’m close to six feet, and I had to walk inside the room, and nearly climb in the shower to close the bathroom door.
One main complaint I had with the Motel was that the floors were filthy. After walking around the room barefoot for a few hours, I discovered that the bottoms of my feet were almost black, and the same thing happened with other family members. My other major complaint is the discrepancy between rooms. Each room should come equipped with a microwave and small dorm sized refrigerator. Of the fifteen rooms our family rented, 7 were missing either the refrigerator or microwave. Someone said the hotel was undergoing a small remodeling, which may explain why some rooms in the back of the Motel had bathrooms twice the size of ours.
Like I said, we’ve stayed at the Daniel Boone Motor Inn in Pikeville countless times, and it seems like something changes every year. Many construction workers and local miners live in the Motel, and last year there were a lot more people living in the Motel than this year. It was always interesting to talk with the workers, and hear about their lives and how they work, but we barely saw any workers this year.
The Daniel Boone Motor Inn in Pikeville does have a small playground to keep the kids occupied, and the teenagers in our group were happy to spend their weekend walking around the Motel. They also offer free high speed wireless internet, a new addition since last year. The workers are quite friendly, quick to give directions and happy to explain things. The maids were understanding when we explained about the dogs in the room, and brought by extra towels and pillows for us.
There are other hotels in the Pikeville area, but the only choice for us is the Daniel Boone Motor Inn. If you plan on coming to the area, or just passing through, make sure to stay at the Daniel Boone Motor Inn, and do your part to support the local economy.
