The Sturgis Motel

DO NOT STAY HERE This was my first time ever at the Sturgis Rally - it’s been a long time life goal to attend on my very own Harley Davidson. I am a early thirty year old who wanted to attend and keep costs low. I was able to find lodging via Rhonda who owns the Sturgis hotel. She was renting out camping space at her home in Sturgis. Upon arriving at Sturgis Aug 1 Rhonda advised the yard was being prepped and as she owned the Sturgis Motel she would allow my two friends and I to get (2) rooms at her hotel for $40 USD a night ( the same as camping in her yard would be ). Until the yard was ready on the (3rd) where we would then be able to set up our tents. Once we arrived at the hotel we were greeted by her colleague who said she had no knowledge of the arrangement with the owner. We then contacted Rhonda over the phone and discussed the pricing ( she wanted to charge us $180 for two nights ) each. After calling her she agreed to lower my room to $90 total for both nights as promised. However my two friends had to pay a higher rate for theirs. My guests and I proceeded to motorcycle for the entirety of the 1st and then arrived back in Sturgis late and went to sleep my room was room 108. Upon waking up on the 2nd I noticed that I was itchy and reacting to bug bites. I immediately began packing my clothing into bags and took the sheets off the bed / looked under the mattress for signs of bed bugs. After searching for no more than 2 minutes I found one and took a rushed photo as I was panicking and wanted to ensure my clothing / gear did not get infested. Upon going to the front desk I was greeted by the owner ( Rhonda ) who advised “most clients don’t even know what bed bugs look like, it could have been something else. I just sprayed for them two days ago”. Well Rhonda, I am a senior level manager at a company and travel approximately 50-75 nights a year in a variety of rural communities across the prairie provinces in Canada. Throughout my years of travel I have had the opportunity of encountering bed bugs once prior. And I can advise this is in fact EXACTLY what caused the swelling/ itchiness & discomfort. I have went ahead and provided photos for your review. After realizing what had caused the bites and advising the owner of my displeasure all I was greeted with was an option to change rooms. As I am not significantly wealthy and could not find alternative room arrangements within my budget I agreed to this option. She did not even bother refunding the cost for the first nights stay or provide me with bags / funds for having my clothes laundered & taken care of. After staying an additional night in the property in my now changed room ( original room 108 across from ice machine and coffee area) to now room 212 on the second floor. My itchiness & physical discomfort only became worse and I made the tough decision of riding back to Saskatoon Saskatchewan (1,044 kms) on Aug 3rd. Thus cutting my first time Sturgis experience 4 days

Couldn't of asked for more, we stayed a couple weeks after the bike rally so we weren't sure what to expect, check in was quick and helpful, the room was spacious, perfectly clean and bed was comfy. Our room had a mini fridge and microwave, full size shower and decent TV. Only complain would be the loudness of the air-conditioning. Free ice and coffee daily, vending machine and coin-op laundry on site was a huge plus for travelers.