Chief Motel

This is an old-style drive-in motel that has had some upgrades. The bed was clean and fairly comfortable. The pillows were above average comfort. The bathroom was fairly clean and had a decent hot water shower except the shower handle came off while operating. Differentiating between very hot water and room temperature was almost impossible with the old style water knob. The shower water temperature alternated between almost scalding hot and room temperature- nothing in between. There were a few flies in the room and the room wreaked of cigarette smoke. There was some cross traffic and conversation right in front of our window as might be expected in this type of drive-in-motel. No privacy, but nobody problematic either. And there were some barbecue fire pits being operated in the parking lot. Nothing unsafe we witnessed, but gave it more the feel of a campsite or construction site. Check-in was friendly. Check-out took several tries, nobody in the makeshift office- I ended up having to just leave my key on their table because nobody was around, even after raising my voice, knocking on the manager's door, etc. For a standard rate of about $67 including tax, this was a poor, instead of average, hotel for two main reasons: 1) For a humble rural community this is slightly expensive at $67- it should be about $50 total for this kind of experience. 2) Smoking rooms ought be designated, mine was not. I'm not against smoking per se, but it should be marked on the door to know what you are getting. If the price were about $50 and smoking rooms were designated, this would be a three star hotel. There was a (very minimal) breakfast, too. Four kinds of cereals in plastic cones with turnstiles and grocery store milk in a plastic jug. Then some Dolly-Madison-type small donuts. That was pretty much it. Better than nothing.... barely. Could this be raised to four stars? It could. That would take some major property remodeling, including fly screening and a serious continental breakfast upgrade. As it is, not worth it.

This motel is on the main road in Keokuk, IA. The rooms are really nice and the staff is really polite and respects your privacy. The rates are reasonably priced. Close to gas station, restaurants, and grocery stores.

Lady at front desk was very polite. Plain basic no frills nothing fancy hotel. If u want a bed and a shower it works. Defeintly not for fancy people. A little road noise. But if your tired enough it won't matter.

This is a fine example of my preferred hotel, a small old “Mom and Pop” place typical roadside motel of the 50’s / 60’s that is inexpensive, but still very clean and kept up, and so is perfect for a one or two nights stay. Amenities are few, that’s OK with me, I want a clean and quiet place to sleep, shower, and be on my way. The room I had for a 1-night stay (#117) was reasonably clean (only some behind-the- bed and floor-corners dirty), and the bathroom was totally clean. The room smell was OK no major musky smell, I left the door open a few minutes and it was odorless. The A/C did not have a musky smell, or any smell at all actually. The room passed my bedbug examination, nothing found. The sheets and pillowcases were newer, clean, no smells. Good door security (deadbolt) and both WiFi and TV were good. My sole complaint is that one of the 2 beds had a mattress cover that was badly stained, even though it seemed to have been washed. The other bed was ok, so I slept there. Shame, this could've been a 5 star rating otherwise.

I gave it a 5 not because it is a super-luxurious motel with a whole bunch of premium features, but rather because it is excellent at what it presents itself as: a modestly-priced, budget motel. It was clean, quiet, comfortable and the front desk person was helpful and friendly. Price was a great value. I ask for nothing else.