Let me put it this way. If you only pay $70 a night for a hotel room in or near Salinas during the Steinbeck Festival (especially if the hotel is a block away from the Steinbeck Center), you'd better bring your own toilet paper.
The Traveler's Hotel is more of a hostel, with shared restrooms and showers. There are two single-toilet stalls on each floor (one for men, one for women) and two bathrooms, each with a toilet, sink, and tub/shower, so even if the bathrooms are occupied there are toilets available. The bedrooms have sinks and mirrors. At no time during our two-night stay was there ever toilet paper available at any of the four toilets. Luckily we managed to "borrow" a roll from the brewery around the corner.
I got the feeling our room hadn't been used in a while. Our host (a friendly, helpful guy who seemed sort of sheepish when he showed us upstairs) only remembered that the room had no cable to the 30-year old, wall-mounted, 24-inch Zenith when he showed us to our room. We assured him free wi-fi would make us perfectly happy, and it's available if a little spotty. We had made the last-minute reservation only a few hours before through Priceline, but if they're going to list a room as available, it better be ready for guests.
The room held a double bed, a two-drawer dresser, a tiny pair of French-milled soap bars, a single, unwrapped styrofoam cup, an ash tray and a Bible, two bath towels, a hand towel, a washcloth, and a full-size refrigerator/freezer. There was a closet (with four televisions in it) that had some hooks and a shelf. Reminded me strongly of rooms I've stayed in in Tijuana, but with carpet.
The place is fairly clean, but it's strictly no frills. You are paying for a place to sleep and some hot water and electricity, that's it... and you're not paying much compared to other hotels in the area. No art on the walls, no coverings on the light fixtures, 5-gallon bucket with a bag for the trash, elderly but serviceable linens and bed. I might have given this place three stars if they'd gone to a little more effort... toilet paper, for one, and a few inexpensive, homey touches like actual trash cans, maybe a towel rack in the room. They don't seem to care to invest much in the place. It is antique... think a dozen coats of paint on the walls (and hinges), exposed wiring, ancient locks, cigarette burns, windows that don't close, and transom windows in the toilets that look out into an open garbage or laundry chute. Mildly terrifying.
The other problem is the location... it may be a block from the Steinbeck Center, but that doesn't mean the area isn't pretty skeevy after 10 p.m. Sirens, screams, breaking glass, bumping stereos... the hotel itself is quiet but it's not sound-proof, and although Old Town Salinas is undergoing some gentrification, it's still pretty ghetto.
That said, during the day it's lovely, with a dozen restaurants nearby (and at least two of them wonderful, the Monterey Coast Brewery and Fresh Awakenings, where the friendly locals come to have brunch on Sundays), a great Internet cafe and coffee shop, the very nice Maya theater, and an outstanding antique store (there are probably more in the area but this one was so big it was all we could handle).
If you decide to take your chances on this bargain hotel, come prepared with toilet paper. We didn't get lice or bedbugs, the hot water was hot and the fridge worked, and we had a place to crash at the last minute (seriously, this was probably the only hotel in a 100-mile radius that had a room that weekend, and even booking in advance you couldn't get a room in Monterey/Salinas/Santa Cruz for less than $150 on Friday and Saturday night). I would stay here again in a pinch (a major pinch) but my better half says he would not. Up to you. read more