Akron: The Lighthouse Inn

... aka "The Crestwood" to every long-time resident of Akron, Colorado. Even if the name-change lasts (as it likely will until the current owners decide to sell it), I would bet solid money that fifty years from now, you'll still hear some people in Akron calling it the Crestwood. Not everyone, but some people. This is the third owner since Grandma moved to Pocatello, and decided that she didn't want to show favoritism by staying at one particular friend's house over another. Ergo, hotel. Also, a wee bit more privacy. Grandma's gone, but we keep coming.

The first owner was an older gentleman with an apparently senile dog who would wander semi-randomly through the parking lot. He knew Grandma from when she lived in Akron, and we were VIPs since we were with her. The next one that I remember was a woman probably slightly younger than my mom. She had the hotel for several years, but under duress. Apparently her no-good brother had promised to help her run it and promptly disappeared once she owned it. Now it seems to be a family running it. The guy at the desk said he was helping his mother-in-law with it. I caught a brief glimpse of a puppy behind the desk, and one young kitty came out to greet us. Very cute and friendly, and also an efficient fly-trap.

The last owner did the best she could, but was pretty much on her own. So far, the new people seem to be doing a bit more upkeep. The doors all have fresh coats of paint; the plumbing works; the linens are all new; and there's a genuine wireless network. Oh, there are even itty-bitty soaps and shampoos in the bathroom ... which I can't use without a full ingredient list, but oh well. The new towels and shower curtain are actually a bit of a let-down. The last owner had clearly found her shower curtains on extreme clearance somewhere, as they were the most boisterous patterns in the gaudiest colors imaginable. Her towels weren't quite as interesting, but even blue stripes were nice after a week in hotel after hotel with white, white, white...

For a small-town hotel with all of maybe 16 rooms (some of which are likely occupied by the owners), it's quite nice. It could do with new mattresses and modern combined heater/AC units. I'm not as particular about mattresses as my mom, and I slept just fine, but just sitting on them, you can tell they've pretty much had it. As for the air-conditioner and heater, they are currently separate, noisy units. I have a sneaking suspicion that they'd save enough in power/gas bills by replacing them to make up the cost in a year or two. Pure speculation on my part, but I can tell you that when I replaced a forty or fifty year old furnace in my house, it cut my heating bill in half. These are likely that old.

Anyway, the latest thunderstorm seems to be breaking over my head, so I should probably log off. At least I'm not out in it this time. ^/^