Why Motels are a No Go

A conversation I had today with my 12-year-old about our spring break accommodations:


Me: I booked our condo today.


Him: Is it a motel?


Me: No, it's a condo.


Him: Why can't we stay at a motel?


Me: A condo is nicer.


Him: Why? What's the difference?


Me: A motel is what you see sometimes when we drive down the highway. The doors are on the outside. As opposed to a hotel which has a bigger lobby, the rooms are nicer and you enter from the inside.


Him:  But we aren't staying in hotel. You said we're staying in a condo. Don't we enter from the outside in a condo?


Me: (Long Pause.) Yes. Ok, look... motels are cheap and dirty. You're dad tried to get me to stay in one in San Fransisco. It had cigarette butts in the ash-tray and candy wrappers on the floor. And the sheets looked unclean and there were bars on the windows. I cried until we finally left. (pause)
Plus the people on CSI always die in motels. We're not staying in a motel.


Him: Oh, that makes more sense.