Hotel La Quinta by Wyndham Ruidoso Downs (Ruidoso Downs, USA)

Prices become more ‘imaginative' if there's an event planned locally, such as a motor cycle rally. Generally, though, prices are good and the value is second to none.

Rooms are clean and staff members are exceptionally friendly and efficient. Breakfast is good; certainly better than the average hotel and the area, generally, offers a somewhat cooler alternative to the intense summer heat of other regions. A room to the rear of the hotel is best if you're allergic to traffic noise.

Yes, the place is clean and staff members are exceptional in what they do. But … beds are super comfy as well and the fact that they've got an elevator (*not all places do) means that getting in and out is easy.

They' must have fallen out of love with it! Dirty carpets, mildew smells, broken down furniture that has been cobbled together when, really, it should have been dumped years ago. That's the situation here.

If you were inclined to write home about breakfast it would be to state that the products are stale, items aren't replaced and the last time the fruit juice had the whiff of an orange was some considerable time ago. Breakfast here is not for the faint-hearted!

Unless you are to the rear of the hotel, you'll suffer from traffic noise. Wherever you are, inside the building, though, the noise from other people's completely unsupervised kids makes the traffic a minor issue.