We basically planned our trip this way: We made a list of places (or people) to see, and then we plotted a course between them, removing places as we looked at available time. On the road, we added or subtracted opportunistically as time and the prevailing situation on the ground allowed.
Case in point: We showed up in Vegas, B said she'd never seen the Grand Canyon, so we took a helicopter tour there. Or, we arrived in Lake Powell, and discovered it would be overcast the next day at noon (minus one trip to Antelope Canyon). This is a useful way to do things, and with the internet on your side (iPhone, 3g card, etc. were alway sat my fingertips), I basically scheduled hotels at run time as we went to a new place.
I think this was easily our worst lodging experience of the trip.
(i) I think we were both ready to believe the place had bed bugs (I didn't tell B, but I actually saw bugs on the wall!)
(ii) The carpet was straight out of the early 80s (maybe the late 70s?)
(iii) The room smelled -- couldn't quite say what it was, but it wasn't pleasant.
(iv) No elevator; you had to cart your bag up the stairs.
(v) Lastly, the bathroom and sink had dispensers for shampoo, conditioner, and soap.
I think a charitable name for this place would be "The Lake Powell Motel", and a more practical one would be "the former Lake Powell Correctional Facility". I mean, there are worst places to end up than here, but most of them don't call themselves "Resorts" either.
Why did Tripadvisor love it? My belief is that just like Yelp is biased by a healthy hipster demographic (watch for your favorite coffee shop not being "real" enough), Tripadvisor is largely staffed by nitpicky old people. And that's who filled the hotel, and the lines at the reception desk when we tried to check in.
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