Safari Inn Motel

I’ve stayed at the Safari Inn on 5 – 6 separate occasions. I have also stayed at many of the budget motels (chain and local) in Chico. Maybe this place is 3 star out of 5, but from the reviews here you’d think you were stepping into a horror movie. The rooms have always been clean. The air conditioning has always been good. I’ve never had any weird smells or anything that grossed me out. But a patched wall is not going to upset me. This is a GREAT place to bring dogs, as it is quiet and there is a small field in back. The beds are firm, but this is a plus for me. This is a way better experience that motel 6, which is loud and thin-​walled and crowded. Tip: In most the rooms the wi-​fi has worked fine, last time it was spotty (room 39) so check your wifi when you get to your room if that is important for you. There are a few restaurants that are walking distance, it’s 5 minutes to downtown. That being said, it does seem there has always been small issues. This last time, the wi-​fi was spotty and the TV picture was okay but not great. The time before, the AC controls were wacky (but it did work). The AC and fridges are not on/​plugged in when you get to the room, which can put you in a bad mood to write a nasty review. Unilocal: so many mediocre places getting 4 – 5 stars, and decent places like this getting dumped on. Mob mentality at its finest. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. This is my favorite place to stay in Chico (under $ 100/​night).

I was visiting Chico 4-​30-​2016 for a friends Birthday and needed a place to shower and sleep. The outside looked nice enough so I checked in to room #38. There was a very strong cleaning smell when I checked in but I figured it must have just been cleaned and it would be better by the time I returned later that evening. When I returned the cleaning smell had subsided but a disgusting odor of mold, mildew was so intense that It gave me a headache and made it difficult to breath. I decided quickly I would rather sleep in my car then be exposed to the possible health hazard that was causing that stench. Back at the office the woman did not seem surprised but quickly said no refunds and pointed to her sign stating that. I feel that the health dept. should check this hotel for whatever was causing this odor and I would suggest to all that you should stay elsewhere. I will be filing a complaint with the Better Business Burea.

Poor excuse for a motel. Runaway as fast as you can. A/​c was loud an OLD. The place was empty but they mistakenly gave us a room that was occupied. Cheapst beds with large broken springs. They need to sell the business.

Wife booked this place based on location and price. I wish I had paid more at the Best Western. Here’s what went right and wrong
Right: The gentleman at the desk was helpful and concerned with our concerns. They had free soap and shampoo.
Wrong: TV reception both audio and video was almost unwatchable (ok we turned off the sound and lived with the degraded picture). Also, they needed to bring in an extension cord (interrupting my work) to get a nightstand light to work (which wasn’t even plugged in to begin with). Also, the WiFi was intermittent, further slowing workflow. The following morning it never worked. Also, the toilet was in need of repairs including: missing pads on seat so it was uneven, the bolt was loose. Also, the coffee maker was no where near an outlet so couldn’t be plugged in. Finally the bathroom window wasn’t open-​able, and looked like it had just been repaired sloppily.
Shall we talk about the buzzing heater?

Really nice staff and a very nice room however most uncomfortable bed ever ! We couldn’t sleep all night and woke up with really bad back eche.

There were holes in the wall of our room, the bed was very uncomfortable and the blankets were paper thin. Worst of all… I returned home with bed bug bites. Yikes!

The rudest customer service I have ever experienced. This lady talked to me like I was a piece of garbage.

This is by far the worst place I’ve ever stayed at. I’ve been to a lot of hotels and hostels and while I’m all about saving money and finding the cheapest option, stay away from here! I’m honestly surprised that this place hasn’t been shut down due to health code violations yet. There were disgusting looking stains on both of the bed sheets (I won’t say more than that), what looked like dried blood all over a lamp shade and the wall behind it, the shower was caked in layers of grime and soap scum. Our room was also infested with bugs. They flew around and luckily we had some booze so we eventually made a game out of trying to kill them all. There were probably close to 50 of those little bugs in our room. Not exaggerating. The management was incompetent and unhelpful. Seriously save yourself from disease and disgust and cough up a little extra money to stay somewhere else.

ZERO STARS.
Pretty sure I found a bed bug. Gross. I know it’s a cheap place to stay, but that is gross!!! I asked what they do considering what I found. I even took pictures if it and showed them. The guys I told tried to tell me well you slept here, maybe of you would have showed me last night…
They lost my business.

Fresh urine on the toilet seat when we walked in. More caked on, along the rim of the bowl and running down the front. Plenty of fresh and dried on pee droplets on the floor. You could smell it as soon as you walked thru the door. If housekeeping «cleans» like this wouldn’t one expect all the rooms to be like this? Layers of dust and coffee rings on the nightstands and other surfaces. Cloudy white spray on the bathroom door. The beds had threadbare, yellowed, and dirty looking sheets. Microwave was crusted with old food. Yes, I told the proprietor, Raj… He was nice about it — apologetic. Seemed surprised — really?

What a wonderful experience! The carpet stains in the lobby told us when we arrived that we were in Paradise. Our room was a palatial chamber of secrets and cocaine. The cracked window gave me an air of mystery and awe. The cigarette burns in the sheets of our non-​smoking room told me that this was the place to be. The lamp that didn’t work helped me sleep better, as did the air-​conditioner unit that only came on once every 10 minutes to remind me how lucky I am to be in such an adventure. The sweet aroma of cleaning products layered on the ground did not move 1 inch, except to stick to our feet. In the end, you get what you pay for, and what a safari!

We stayed here for 3 weeks while looking for a place to live. If you need cheap, long-​term then this is the place. $ 40/​night if you book a week at a time. If you’re staying less than a week, make your reservation through their website to save $ 5 — $ 10 per night depending on who’s working the desk.
The place is family owned/​managed. The man is very cordial & accommodating as he can be with what he has to work with. The Mrs. is not so much & her rates seem to be on a sliding scale that are $ 5 or $ 10 higher than her husband’s.
Those are the Pro’s of this place.
We had leaks in each of the 2 rooms in which we stayed. They never even showed up to fix the 2^nd leak. By that time, we were so over that place it just didn’t matter.
The appliances were ok. We actually had a sink & stove for real cooking. The beds were not comfortable at all. The bedding was questionably clean.
If you have a pet, there is a $ 50 fee to keep them with you for a week yet only $ 20 for a 5 day booking. Again, it depends on who is working the front desk.
The cleaning staff speaks some English but don’t waste your time, just call the desk.
The people who frequented the Safari are interesting. Don’t bring your kids to this place. I saw multiple syringes on the property & nobody cared when I reported them. Openly smoking weed in public areas is also the thing to do.
During our stay, they dropped Showtime & some cable channels.
Overall, it’s cheap & has already made us appreciate our lives so much more.
Don’t stay here unless you absolutely must.

The price was right and everything else was HORRIBLE!
The room smelled!!! Stale funk. PEE U! There were two queen size beds in the room and BOTH were so uncomfortable and not stable.
One of the reason’s we stayed here was the fact the there was a microwave and a refrigerator. Both were unplugged and we just about fell over them as we walked into the room. The microwave worked but the refrigerator did not. I had bought drinks to keep in there so this was an issue for us. We went to the office and they told us if we stayed another night they would fix it. REALLY?! The coffee pot had no plug near it, so we had to take it into the bathroom to make coffee.
The ac unit was 6 inches from the bed. All the air was blowing on the side of the bed.
This place looks like they have tried to upgrade cosmetically –the bathroom was nice. It would have been nicer if the window opened in the bathroom.
The beds being shot was just all bad.

Wow, I can’t believe I never wrote a Unilocal review for this place.
Stayed here on a weekend to tour Chico State. My friend and I found this motel online and thought, «we just need a place to crash for the night, what’s the big deal?» We pulled in and checked in at the front. The owner is some foreign guy who is super rude and short with you. A complete a-​hole. We went inside the room and found dead bugs everywhere, dust, and mold. The sheets had a yellowish tint, and one of the beds had definite piss stains on it. Pillows were not clean. We made a reservation for a non-​smoking room, but our room most definitely had been smoked in who knows how often! There were dead spiders in the bathroom. A shopping cart in the parking lot. I mean, I could keep going, but what’s the point? I feel bad for all the family members who are staying here this weekend for graduation.

My, oh my where to start. I live in Chico (and had never even heard of this hotel let alone gone into a room). This place by all appearances is decent however… First of all, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT rent room 209. Its large (that’s the ONLY benefit) and strangely shaped, doesn’t have a kitchenette but instead a mini fridge placed at the foot of the bed. THE FOOT OF THE BED. What the? Its like a ‘catch all’ for all of the junk that they couldn’t fit in the other rooms. The bar is missing from the closet so forget hanging up any clothes, then in another cabinet we found a floor lamp broken and in pieces that had been shoved in there with the door closed (see pic). The bathroom curtain had mold growing on it (DISGUSTING) and the tissue holder inserted in the wall was literally HANGING OUT of the wall (again, see pic). There was only one shampoo pack and like 10 lotions. REALLY? Who needs 10 lotion packs? There is a frosted window in the bathroom with paper or plastic hanging/​flying around on the outside of it which scared the sh*t out of me, did they not finish the construction outside and left the window wrapping attached? It literally looked like a ghost floating by– NOT KIDDING. I had a minor cardiac when I witnessed the «flying» thing outside– it looked like ‘apparition’.
The remote control to the tv didn’t work and the clock was 7 hours off. Did I set it to the proper time? HELL NO. I wasn’t about to touch that thing. One of the windows was missing a curtain, yup, no window covering whatsoever. CLASSY.
To top it off, dealing with the troll in the office was an absolute waste of time. We decided to go in to inform management about the missing bar in the closet and the broken lamp in the closet. He shook his head like, «Yeah, so what». Upon walking into the dated and BEYOND DISGUSTING smelling office– it literally barfed in my mouth standing in there for 2 seconds– imagine a concoction of dirty socks, dirty underwear, rotten food, dirty ass and mold. MY GOD, I’VE NEVER SMELLED ANYTHING SO VILE. I had to immediately walk out for fear of adding to the smell by puking on their carpet.
I understand that some of the other rooms have bee updated are quite cute however room 209 is one of the most screwy rooms and not worth more then $ 10 a night.
My friend who was visiting from out of town chose this hotel because its dog friendly yet when we went in office to complain about the room, the rude old stank claimed he didn’t know there was a dog in the room and there would be a additional $ 20 charge per night. Luckily, my friend had his check in receipt and showed him HE WAS WRONG, the dog HAD been on the check in list and it WAS made aware at the moment of check in. PROOF– ON THE RECEIPT. Flippin stank nickel hustler– nice try, but no cigar for your clueless ass although, a cigar would improve the fetid odor in your check in area. Last warning: DO NOT RENT 209 and make sure to wear a hazmat mask when checking in.

This place is adorable! The entrance is super cute, it makes me feel special :)
Then when I went to check in the person at the front desk was so nice and chatty
The room was also cute! Very pleasant and cute :)

Maybe, it’s all of those crabby people who put the owner in a bad mood. He has always been kind and generous with me. The rooms here are clean, many are recently rennovated and the rates are a bargain by Chico standards. It may have some quirks but it’s still a pleasure to support this local business rather than a large chain.
Definitely worth a stay if you’re on a budget and while you’re at it, use the money which you’ve saved on lodgings for a great meal at Farm Star Pizza which is a short walk away.

Accepts pets!!!
Man at front desk was pleasant.
Cheapest rate in town that I could find — Less than $ 50 per night!
Only real negative is that the mattress was uncomfortable.
Room didn’t smell like smoke at all & was nice & clean. Had a microwave & mini fridge.

new owners have run this into the ground. $ 50 on a Sunday night in Chico. AC barely cut it and it wasn’t even hot out. TV didn’t work. Sheets probably 10 years old and kinda grungy. Had a view of their garbage yard. Gotta wonder how owners don’t have enough pride to even clean their yard…
They appear to be aspiring to become another Chico welfare motel. As if the town needs another.

This place is horrible. Our first room had mouse droppings everywhere including in the bed, a disgusting stained carpet, and the bathroom flooded after one use. The manager begrudgingly «allowed» us to switch rooms, where we found scraggly long hair on our pillow cases and a candy wrapper next to the bed. The manager refused to send us new pillows and made us drive back to the lobby just to pick up new (equally dirty) cases. Besides that The entire room was clearly never cleaned, everything was moldy and falling apart and damp. He flat out refused to refund our money when we offered just to leave, since we were obviously such an undue burden to him by expecting liveable and disease-​free conditions. I know it’s Supposed to be a sleezy motel, but even though the price is low, you get a LOT less than you paid for. STAY AWAY!