I don't know the name of the hotel in Montreal, but it was near the University. The American Bar Association was having a convention and the only places with rooms for people who don't think to check on those things before driving 700 miles were cheap places like this one. No airconditioning in August when it was REALLY hot, no fan, and the window looked out on an airshaft that was about 3ft square (with other windows from other rooms opening on it). NO AIR circulating through the room at all. At least we had a shower in the small bath in the room. We kept taking cold showers all night and laid on the sheets, letting the water evaporate off our bodies to stay cool. Not terribly romantic. We only stayed in town that one night.

In my touring days we used to have to stay in modestly priced hotels. Without question the worst hotel we ever stayed in was the Wembly Hilton just outside of London. No A/C, surly staff, questionable cleaning methods, and a bad part of town.

Wde have been lucky to have never stayed in a real dump, but if you rate value for money then the worst by far we have ever used is Le Bristol in Paris, where the room was $850.00 per night and did not even include breakfast (that was a mere $25 more per person). Now, the Brisotl is ornate, the room was large, the furniture genuine antique, but no matter, the value for the money was JUST NOT THERE.

A place in the back streets of Vannes in Brittany when we were students in 1977.<BR>There was a very full busy restaurant downstairs which is always a good sign if you are eating in France.We reckoned that the accomodation may also be good.<BR>The bed had 3 matresses on it one with a rubber cover, which meant that the sheet just lay over the top. You had to climb up to get in.When we went out that night and were looking at the menu in the restaurant window we saw next to it a small card saying "Join the French Foreign Legion here".I got a bit worried about this and imagined my boyfiend(husband now)being spirited away in the middle of the night.This was not helped when after a very noisy few hours after midnight he went out of the room to go to the toilet and did not come back for quite some time.When he returned he said he couldn't get in to the toilet as there was something heavy he couldn't move stopping the door opening.We reckoned this was a body and like so many other posters left early next morning!

A tie: the first is the Hotel Royal in Paris, just off the Champs Elysee. The beds were lumpy, the walls paper thin, and the front desk clerks were just scary.<BR>The other motel was a Days Inn in Stroudsburg, PA. We got there around 10pm, and got the last room. After being in the room a few minutes, we realized why it had been empty of paying guests. There were dozens of flies on the ceiling, walls, windows. We called the front desk and they just laughed at us. Needless to say, we spent most of the night with rolled up newspapers swatting flies. We were too tired to go anywhere else.

The French Quarter Courtyard Hotel in New Orleans is the pits. I was scared to sleep, we left after one night. The area was dubious and staff the worst that ever worked in a hotel. The picture of the hotel in brochurs etc. look great - it isn't

The Ambassade in Amsterdam........a real dump!

One that comes to mind, probably because of our expectations and the price, was the Waldrof Astori in NY.<BR>This was years ago before we really knew how to travel, we had booked 6 months ahead with request for queen, lower floor. Our tiny room was on the top floor, with twin beds, which you had to crawl over one bed to get in the other bed, the bath was so small you had to sort of back out of. After the first night they moved us to a large suite which kinda made up for the first night, but it really ruined the stay for us.

a smaller hotel in barcelona. dthe first room was very small and crowded. the second room was larger but the cleanliness was questionable. the staff was indifferent. there eas a funny arrangement where a large opening went from the second fllor to the sky with room windows opening on to this. a woman with a vibrator(no descernable companion) keep us awake dfor 2 1/2 hrs moaning and shreiking with joy. finally some card shouted ouot the window for christs sake next time doo not use duracel batteries. we heard several rooms roar with laughter

beside the $4 asian hostals where you bathe by pouring water over your head with a plastic scoop. Id say <BR><BR>Hotel "something or other" in Amsterdam<BR>the lobby had stoned kids staring at the walls, the TV in my room had the screen shattered. and <BR>The waste basket in the shared bathroom was so full of condoms that it seemed too jiggle.

I have to say the worst hotel I ever stayed at was the Hotel Atlantico in Madrid. The hotel itself was nice, but my room was so small it should be listed in the Guiness World Book of Records. Im not using hyperbole when I say that the inside of my Volvo is bigger than that room. It had to have once been a maid's closet. The bathroom was so small that when you sat on the toilet, your legs where in the bedroom.

Got to London with a friend at around 4:30 p.m. in August. No reservation, and no vacancies. The booth at Victoria found a B&B for myself and my friend.<BR><BR>We get there and there are two beds against the walls and touching each other. No space on either side or in the middle. From the foot of the beds to the wall with the door is so small that you can't open the door if the suitcase is on the floor. Not real great on the cleanliness either.<BR><BR>Well, it's only one night and there is nothing else. We go out to dinner. Come back, read in bed. Turn out the light, and it hardly gets any darker. Huge flood lights right outside the window that light up some kind of market.<BR><BR>At 3:00 a.m., we find out that it's the meat market and that is when huge trucks (lorries, for those over there)start arriving, and arriving, and arriving.<BR><BR>We found another room the next day.

Easy Pick. The Main Street Plaza Hotel in Georgetown Guyana. Armed guards at the front gate, halls so dark that I had to use my small flashlight to get around. Breakfast buffet in the morning consisted of scrambled eggs with chopped carrots and weiners. Truck loads of armed security teams roaming the streets, open sewers, dead animals, wrecked and burned cars everywhere! Never so glad to leave one country in my life. When I landed in Trinidad, I wanted to kiss the ground just like the Pope.

Wow - what a great topic. By far the worst hotels I have ever stayed in have been in China - but that is to be expected - right? But one place was really above and beyond. <BR><BR>We were cycling with a large group through southern china. We were brought to our room in the concrete shell of a building. No keys - the doors did not lock. <BR><BR>Outside our window was a pile of trash in which a man was sitting and eating - with good manners though - using chopsticks. <BR><BR>The bathroom was interesting - the toilet had a large hole int he tank and each time we flushed water would gush onto the floor. That was OK though cause the whole room was the shower too. The gas tank sat right on the floor but you had to get the heater going with a match. <BR><BR>The beds were just as creepy. I took the plastic tarp I normally covered my bike with and spread it on the bed. <BR><BR>But.... the people as always were AMAZING. Such a sweet town. That is just where they are right now...... but if it had been in the western world - no way! I would have been outta there so fast............

Worst so far -- the Hart House Hotel in London. The bathroom was tiny -- the shower would be small for a child and there was no fan. The room was small, hot, unair-conditioned and gloomy. And to top it all off we were told that it was on the 3rd floor, which turned out to be at the top of 5 flights of steep and winding stairs. With our luggage in tow, we almost didn't make it -- no lift, of course.

I found the Ritz in London to be below my usual standards because of all the riff-raff they allowed to roam the lobby. I was amazed that these low class tourists were even allowed to enter and then to top it off there were people taking tea that were NOT EVEN dressed properly. It is so sad how what used to be the private domain of the upper classes is being overrun by the great unwashed hordes. Tsk Tsk.

Nigel,<BR><BR>Do tell. I believe I saw you there and your khakis weren't properly creased. Tsk, tsk.

A b&b near Belleayre Mountain in the catskills. The common area looked fine except for all the religous artifacts. The room had a water stained ceiling, holes in the towels and sheets and the light bulbs were all burnt out and it also had more religious pictures on the walls. When we called about the light bulbs, the proprietor came in, stood on our bed with his shoes and changed the lights. If we weren't with our kids, and it wasn't so late, we would have slept in the car. We slept with long johns and socks and didn't shower. It was horrible, but the breakfast was actually good. We never went back to the area after that. It really creeped us out.

Rodos Palace, in Rhodes, Greece is by far the worst place my husband and I have ever stayed at. The service sucked and the people were so rude. They even wanted to charge us for $60 worth of mini-bar stuff that we didn't even touch. Stay away from there.

By far, the Royal National hotel in London.