We found parts of Denver quite intimidating,especially on buses.The downtown area was OK,but where we were staying in the east of the city was quite unfriendly.
I've stayed in hundreds of rank rotten Motel 6s throughout the USA and never had an unpleasant experience, OK the bedsheets looked a bit tatty and my motel neighbours were of the lower orders but I never felt scared or uneasy once.
I did arrive one night to check in at a pre booked Motel to find that place was full of Hell's Angels, so I tactfully decamped to a Super 8 up the road. Better to lose $40 than be buried in a roadside shallow grave off I-40.
IMHO Motel 6 is rather like Aldi and Lidl - great value but often despised by snobs. Super 8 are also good, a bit more expensive and a bit more luxurious. Independent family run "mom & pop" motels can be good but standards vary. Far more expensive accommodation options are available of course, both chains and independents, and they obviously serve a market, but on a road trip all you really need is a clean safe place to spend the night. Staying in small towns and on the outskirts of big cities will save money compared to city centres, as will staying outside national parks but close enough to run in for the day. But these are lifestyle decisions and personal opinions with no universal rights and wrongs. The same goes for the options of renting an RV or a simple campervan instead of renting a car and using motels, or spending the entire holiday in one place instead of doing a road trip.
I didn't go myself but my sister once visited Washington, she said it was O.K. around the main tourist sites, but when you get just a short distance from the White House it is where the gangs hangout in the poor areas, she said she didn't feel safe and couldn't get away fast enough.
When we went to Miami we were picked up at the airport but our driver took the wrong exit from the motorway and we ended up in the poor Cuban area, which was very rough and shootings are a regular occurrence.
I didn't go myself but my sister once visited Washington, she said it was O.K. around the main tourist sites, but when you get just a short distance from the White House it is where the gangs hangout in the poor areas, she said she didn't feel safe and couldn't get away fast enough.
When we went to Miami we were picked up at the airport but our driver took the wrong exit from the motorway and we ended up in the poor Cuban area, which was very rough and shootings are a regular occurrence.
That's Washington D.C., Washington itself is a different place (just for future reference).
I have to admit, the 48 hours I spent around Washington D.C. were lovely, especially Georgetown, and I didn't see any gangs at all. Your sister might be a bit highly strung! (Unless it was the 70s or something?)
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Errr, you do realise it was a drama?
I did arrive one night to check in at a pre booked Motel to find that place was full of Hell's Angels, so I tactfully decamped to a Super 8 up the road. Better to lose $40 than be buried in a roadside shallow grave off I-40.
When we went to Miami we were picked up at the airport but our driver took the wrong exit from the motorway and we ended up in the poor Cuban area, which was very rough and shootings are a regular occurrence.
That's Washington D.C., Washington itself is a different place (just for future reference).
I have to admit, the 48 hours I spent around Washington D.C. were lovely, especially Georgetown, and I didn't see any gangs at all. Your sister might be a bit highly strung! (Unless it was the 70s or something?)