The check in clerk proudly pointed out that we were checking into a room with brand new carpeting. In fact the maintenence men were carrying rolls of carpeting to other rooms and fixing them up as we watched. But this 50’s motel needs more than new carpeting to be a nice overnight stay for those driving along I-40 in Tennessee and deciding to spend the night in Cookeville.This interstate stop has lots of restaurants to recommend it. It’s got everything from McDonalds to the Outback Steakhouse including a Fazzoli’s which we patronized. But despite the 50’s bright pink tile in the tub, the place needs a new plumbing job. It boasted two sinks, but only one had hot water that worked. The toilet flushed sporadically. Sometimes you had to help it along by pouring water into it. The motel might have a restaurtant right across from the lobby, El Tapatio, it might be the only motel on our trip to sell postcards in the front lobby, it might boast a pool with a garden surrounding it, but the worst thing was a certain odor that pervaded the room. Part of it might have been new carpet odor, but the other part was obviously a musty, acrid odor that indicated the place had a moisture problem.
