Historic is one thing, neglected is another. My husband nailed it when he said it is like "putting lipstick on a pig." The whimsical murals can't disguise how tired and in need of some serious maintenance this place is. Dirty floors, some lights not working, no light at all in dark shower.

Historic is one thing, neglected is another. My husband nailed it when he said it is like "putting lipstick on a pig." The whimsical murals can't disguise how tired and in need of some serious maintenance this place is. Dirty floors, some lights not working, no light at all in dark shower.

Terrible experience! I do not recommend this hotel. The bathroom was very outdated. The shower didn’t drain at all and the water got all over the bathroom and carried into the actual room. On top of that, the service was terrible. I booked two rooms. One for me and one for a friend. I cancelled the one for a friend 3 days in advance of the trip and received a cancellation confirmation, however the hotel still charged me for both room. When I called to dispute the charge the person I spoke to on the phone was very rude and refused to honor the cancellation and issue me a refund for the second room. I strongly recommend that you look elsewhere for a place to stay.

Terrible experience! I do not recommend this hotel. The bathroom was very outdated. The shower didn’t drain at all and the water got all over the bathroom and carried into the actual room. On top of that, the service was terrible. I booked two rooms. One for me and one for a friend. I cancelled the one for a friend 3 days in advance of the trip and received a cancellation confirmation, however the hotel still charged me for both room. When I called to dispute the charge the person I spoke to on the phone was very rude and refused to honor the cancellation and issue me a refund for the second room. I strongly recommend that you look elsewhere for a place to stay.

This hotel was awful!!! The front office was dingy, dark and dirty. After listening to the owner try to impress us with facts and how many languages he spoke, we finally got to our room. The gap around the door was wide enough to allow small creatures (mice and such) to enter. The door lock was flimsy enough to easily kick open (we slept with a chair and luggage against the inside of the door). This was our fifth time driving Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica. All Hotels/Motels along the route were five star (Wagon Wheel, Campbell House, Blue Smallow, El Rancho, La Posada) with the exception of the El Trovatore!! We tried to stay true to the route, but if driving the Mother Road, do yourself a favor and stay somewhere else!!!

This hotel was awful!!! The front office was dingy, dark and dirty. After listening to the owner try to impress us with facts and how many languages he spoke, we finally got to our room. The gap around the door was wide enough to allow small creatures (mice and such) to enter. The door lock was flimsy enough to easily kick open (we slept with a chair and luggage against the inside of the door). This was our fifth time driving Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica. All Hotels/Motels along the route were five star (Wagon Wheel, Campbell House, Blue Smallow, El Rancho, La Posada) with the exception of the El Trovatore!! We tried to stay true to the route, but if driving the Mother Road, do yourself a favor and stay somewhere else!!!

Be warned that if you book this motel with the “Pay at Property” option that Expedia gives you, you might not have a reservation when you get there. Your room will have been given away to someone else who chose the “Pay Now” option. Anyway, that’s what we think happened to our reservation. We are not sure that’s what happened, but it sure looks that way; like the owner doesn’t want to honor the “Pay at Property” option or else he doesn’t understand it. When we arrived on Aug 13, 2024, we were told we had no reservation even though we had a confirmation email from Expedia showing that the room had been booked on July 23rd. I showed the owner the email and he wouldn’t even look at it; kept insisting that we did not make a reservation. Then he told us that it was because our card had been declined. That is ridiculous! There is no reason for our card to have been declined and we wouldn’t have gotten a confirmation email if our card had been declined. Also, I had used it that same week to book all our other hotels for this trip and had no problem checking into those hotels. I used the “Pay at Property” option for all of them, I might add. This is a very cute motel. We stayed there two years ago and wanted to stay there again this year. We were disappointed. Thank goodness it was only 5 PM when we arrived so we had time to find another hotel. I don’t think we will ever try staying at El Trovatore again. We are too upset.

Be warned that if you book this motel with the “Pay at Property” option that Expedia gives you, you might not have a reservation when you get there. Your room will have been given away to someone else who chose the “Pay Now” option. Anyway, that’s what we think happened to our reservation. We are not sure that’s what happened, but it sure looks that way; like the owner doesn’t want to honor the “Pay at Property” option or else he doesn’t understand it. When we arrived on Aug 13, 2024, we were told we had no reservation even though we had a confirmation email from Expedia showing that the room had been booked on July 23rd. I showed the owner the email and he wouldn’t even look at it; kept insisting that we did not make a reservation. Then he told us that it was because our card had been declined. That is ridiculous! There is no reason for our card to have been declined and we wouldn’t have gotten a confirmation email if our card had been declined. Also, I had used it that same week to book all our other hotels for this trip and had no problem checking into those hotels. I used the “Pay at Property” option for all of them, I might add. This is a very cute motel. We stayed there two years ago and wanted to stay there again this year. We were disappointed. Thank goodness it was only 5 PM when we arrived so we had time to find another hotel. I don’t think we will ever try staying at El Trovatore again. We are too upset.