The Cat's Meow Bunk & Breakfast

I had the misfortune of spending a night in this place with six friends, all of us competing in the dragonboat races at the Gorge the next morning. The hostess was anything but charming and the place was not clean -- mold surrounded the shower stall, the bathroom linoleum was taped down with duct tape, and I would not want to contemplate the population of toxins in the thirty-year-old stained carpets. There were five of us crowded into a dreary, charmless room less than one hundred square feet (three bunkbeds). The total cost for this little piece of heaven was one hundred fifty dollars per night, which had to be deposited into the host's bank account weeks before we arrived. No receipt issued. If you wish to leave the premises (and you certainly will), a twenty-dollar deposit is required on the key. We were unable to avail ourselves of the included and undoubtedly superb breakfast (toast, juice, and coffee) because we had to leave before Daphne serves it. I too have stayed in worse places -- in South India two years ago, but the cost was one dollar per night. If your choice is between this and a park bench, the park bench is much better value and decidedly less depressing.

My first reaction was "you've got to be kidding." One is greeted by an ancient, moss-coated Honda Civic that expired long ago. The owner, Daphne, is wonderfully charming and clearly needs the money she earns by renting out three rooms that redefine the word "spare." But. Well, there is a lot of "but" about this place, which is in a residential neighborhood a mile or so from the tourist core. This is a place where you are provided (threadbare) linens but make and strip your own beds. The tiny towel wouldn't be adequate to dry a mirror, let alone dry oneself. Because there is only one bathroom in this home, people are limited to ten minutes in the bathroom, but only two minutes showers are allowed. You are charged fifty cents a minute if you don't comply. Given the size of the waterheater, the time limit may make sense. But given a fee of twenty-nine dollars a night per person based on double occupancy, the hand-written notes about extra charges that you find throughout public areas start to get on ones nerves. There is a living area with fabulously retro furniture, books, television, and VCR. It's not designed that way -- those items were brought in thirty years ago. But they work, even though the telly and tapes benefit from percussive maintenence. The place is clean, however. And you might feel pretty good helping out this owner by investing in her struggling life. Did I mention how charming the host is? If there is no hostel availability anywhere else and you simply can't afford the cheapest hotels, this isn't the worst place I've stayed. But it's pretty close.