The Greatest Road Hotels in America
The Starlight Motor Inn | Lizzy Rollins
CLASSIC MOTOR LODGES ARE IN A COMEBACK ERA, SETTING NEW STANDARDS FOR ROADSIDE HOSPITALITY. THESE ARE OUR 27 FAVORITES ACROSS THE US.
Nostalgia for road trips and the mom-and-pop motor hotels of yesteryear runs deep. Neon signage worthy of preservation status. Charming, if barebones, guest offerings (i.e. “Color TV”). The ease and utility of getting in, out, and back-on-the-road.
Over the last two decades, a small but growing number of these “motels” have been revived and reimagined by hospitality pros who see potential in the right kind of unfussy motor inn. The evolution has even sparked road lodging options that defy old tags and expectations, blending the best of campgrounds, B&Bs, cabins, and resorts, into a fresh category of what we’re calling the “Road Hotel.”
What exactly makes a “Road Hotel,” you ask? Well, our road-savvy team of editors boils the criteria down to three areas of distinction. 1) Design aesthetics that nod to retro predecessors (while avoiding kitsch). 2) Locations that register as “roadside,” and/or en-route to iconic destinations, i.e. 80 miles from the Grand Canyon. Note: While there are a few exceptions, most Road Hotels are not inside of major cities. 3) Amenities that suggest a boutique hotel experience, but also salve the grind of road tripping (saunas and yoga, coffee shops, cocktail bars, concerts and community events, general stores, dog friendly digs).
The Road Hotel, in essence, is a remix of bygone travel and modern trends. These 27 are tops in America. And the best news: There are more and more coming down the road.
High Country Motor Lodge
Here’s a spot that lives and breathes its place: the highlands of Northern Arizona, where pine forests and desert landscapes weave together. High Country’s confident retro-modern design, Nordic spa and sauna, and range of cabins and rooms evoke a definite exhale, especially for travelers who’ve hit Grand Canyon or Vermilion Cliffs trails hard. Other Marc & Rose properties include the Laguna Beach House and Hotel Carmel out in California.
Extra Intel: High Country Motor Lodge has a busy calendar of DJs, game nights and happy hours—but pay attention to Wednesday game night and Thursday nights all-vinyl DJ sets.
29 Palms Inn
No two rooms here are alike. Take your pick from colorful adobe homes and cabins for a memorable stay deep in the California desert. Most rooms do not have Wi-Fi, coffeemakers or refrigerators, so your focus will mostly be on unplugging and tapping into the area’s abundance of flora and desert fauna. An effortless task—the 29 Palms Inn is right outside of Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave Trails National Monument.
Cuyama Buckhorn
Pool-front patio rooms open to an outdoor pool table, bocce court and alfresco dining—all lit by the sunset's glow and 360-degree mountain views. Cuyama Buckhorn offers all things picturesque and more. Head to the restaurant for food sourced from local farms and ranches or visit the bar and feel like you're in a Western flick—no duels needed.
Extra Intel: It originally opened in 1952 when New Cuyama was a booming oil town. Back then, the hotel was a hangout and barracks for ARCO employees.
Long Live the Motor Lodge
The new age of roadside motels started out niche, but it's quickly spreading across the country. Now it's bringing smart design, hangout vibes and throwback charm to reenvisioned motor inns.
The Pacific Motel
Any Highway 1 road trip would be wise to include a stop at this original motel, restored to host travelers seeking the charm of beach town respite. A collection of bright rooms and freestanding bungalows—five are dog-friendly—provide off-road relaxation with luxe details like Parachute linens and local Fablerune bath products. Stroll or fish nearby Cayucos Pier, or surf the six-mile stretch of white sand at Cayucos State Beach, known for its high swells.
Skyview Los Alamos
An iconic stop for the road-weary since 1959, these mid-century hillside digs rest on five acres looking over Santa Ynez wine country. Its modern glow-up yields additions like indoor fireplaces and private patios with sweeping country views. Neighboring vintners—like Martian Ranch & Vineyard and Presqu’ile Winery—invite your very own Central Coast wine tour.
Amigo Motor Lodge
An entry point to some of Colorado’s highest country, this classic basecamp—right off Highway 285—is a cozy motor lodge with a sixty-year history, retrofitted airstreams and 16 modern rooms. There’s a lot to enjoy on-property, like a hot tub and sunroom—but just a mile away lies the quaint Southwestern downtown right on the Arkansas River, an oasis for cool dips and water sports.
Stardust Motel
When it comes to exuberant, classic road-hotel design, this one is the real deal. Nestled in an Idaho valley loaded with hiking, biking and fly-fishing, the Stardust adds good-hearted quirk and kitsch to this old mining town’s atmospheric, historic core. (Wallace is one of the townie gems of the Northern Rockies.)
Bluebird Dennisport
Family-run for decades before the Lark Hotels group reinvented it in 2022, this place distills a contemporary seaside vibe, befitting its Cape Cod surroundings: lots of sea captain iconography, nautical pennants, thrifted maritime oils, etc. The reboot thankfully preserved the way-cool indoor greenhouse pool, vintage pink tile in the bathrooms and knotty-pine walls in the property’s cabins.
Freebird Motor Lodge
A garage door rolls up to reveal an indoor-outdoor pool where guests lounge under striped umbrellas or the shade of a cabana. House beach cruisers, offered gratis, can also deliver guests to the ocean’s edge at Cape Cod’s Seagull Beach. Kick it by a lodge fire pit come evening.
TOURISTS
TOURISTS is a 46-room design marvel that perfectly blends natural and urban sensibilities with natural wood as a prominent feature. Among this Berkshires getaway’s amenities are live music, a heated saltwater pool, prime location next to the Hoosic River, outdoor activities like foraging and hikes. Its food and beverage program will have you booking your next trip before you’ve even checked out.
Extra Intel: Make your way to MASS MoCA and the Clark Art Institute for cultural exploration.
The Anchor Inn
Cottages at this 1940s Northern Michigan inn tuck under the shade of cedar trees. Antiques and the glow of a fireplace add character to rooms with the shimmering lake outfront. Kayaks, beach chairs and firewood gratis. But don’t expect a spa or concierge at this rustic, throw-back. That’s all part of the charm.
Otis Harbor Springs
South of the Tunnel of Trees and West of Lake Michigan, a new upscale rustic comfort stay opened earlier this year. Otis is a 31-room boutique hotel that transformed the area's historic Birchwood Inn into a modern space with smart design. Travelers can experience the beauty of Northern Michigan at the aforementioned destinations, but the property itself is flush with amenities like the Birchwood General (goods from local makers) and The Fireplace Lounge ('60s-inspired cocktail den).
The Ozarker Lodge
Tucked deep in Ozark country, the Ozarker Lodge is built for memorable family getaways. On the property, gather 'round for movie nights and live music by a heated pool. Grab coffee or charcuterie from local purveyors at the cafe and restaurant. When you wander away from this 102-room basecamp, the possibilities for outdoor escapades are endless.
Highlander Mountain House
A convivial tavern—The Ruffed Grouse—is at the heart center of this cozy 18-room clapboard farmhouse-turned-hotel; Cherokee art and works by Sally Mann and Josef Albers (who taught at nearby Black Mountain College of lore) steep visitors in the history of this place. Nestled in North Carolina’s Highlands-Cashiers plateau, Highlander Mountain House is surrounded by trout streams and secret waterfalls.
Extra Intel: Just down the road is sister property, the 14-room Outpost Inn.
El Rey Court
The Southwest comes alive at this five-acre campus. All of their adobe rooms have their own unique experience. Guests have free access to the heated outdoor (Swim Club), courtyard spa and hot tub. The property also is home to a mezcal bar and casual food truck. The El Rey Court offers a modern stay packed with amenities and close access to discover hidden Santa Fe gems.
The Blue Swallow Motel
A blue neon swallow lights up the front of this 1939 motel. Pink stucco rooms have attached garages in true motor court style. Lillian Redman, a legendary matriarch of Route 66, took care of the property in the 1950s. Today, it’s Dawn and Rob Federico, who greet guests in the lobby with a cup of hot coffee and local intel.
Camptown
At the foot of the Catskills, just west of the Hudson River, Camptown awaits. The 50-room hotel (26 cabins, 24 rooms) smartly blurs the line between boutique luxury and quaint country rental in the way that only an upstate New York location can. Hikes to Kaaterskill Falls and plunges in Colgate Lake are a must (weather permitting, of course).
Extra Intel: Chef Efrén Hernández's Casa Susanna has been called one of the best Mexican restaurants in the state of New York. Do the blood sausage tamale.
Brentwood Hotel
Steps away from the Saratoga Race Course, 12 rooms exude classic (and equestrian-tinged) Americana, along with bespoke comforts like custom-built pinewood beds with plush dressing, rain showers and Tivoli bluetooth radios. Explore 25 miles of wooded trail at nearby John Boyd Thacher State Park, or ‘take the waters’ at the city’s famed mineral springs, known for their unique mineral properties.
Motolodge
Pendleton is a town with gravitas, home of rodeo’s famed Round-Up and a strong corps of Western makers and craft companies. And yet MotoLodge keeps the yeehaw factor tastefully muted, with high-design plaid accents in the room decor the most overt nod to the town’s frontier style. Out in the dry highlands of Eastern Oregon, the six-person sauna and heated pool might feel especially welcome after a day on the dusty trail.
The Starlight Motor Inn
It’s all seafoam greens and peach tones at this rehabbed 1961 motel with a checkerboard pool deck and crisply outfitted, mid-century modern rooms. At the Starlight Motor Inn, time-travel with a sloe gin fizz inside the wood-paneled den of The Burgundy Lounge where local bands play a modern Charleston sound.
Extra Intel: Originally called The Host of America, the present-day Starlight sat empty for 15 years.
The Wayback
It’s in the heart of Pigeon Forge’s flash (Dollywood! Go-kart tracks! Mini golf!) and just 20 minutes from the tranquility of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And yet it's giving Judy Jetson designs via Palm Springs. This groovy mountain-town oasis welcomes guests with a cocktail while the pool-side Airstream awaits with a second round.
Hotel Lucine
This two-story, beach-front classic originally came to life in the 1960s as Treasure Isle Motel. A color palette in sandy neutrals punctuated with golds, greens and blues, harkens to the past. Balconies overlook the pool in courtyard style, a rooftop bar (with live band evenings) looks out at the Gulf of Mexico.
Austin Motel and Hotel San José
Just south of downtown Austin lies one of the City of the Violet Crown’s many institutions. Originally opened in 1938, the Austin Motel was first opened to appeal to road travelers as automobiles became more mainstream. Its original neon sign still lights up the night sky, but what truly made the Austin Motel a city fixture was hospitality company Bunkhouse's keen eye.
Coupled with places like the modern boutique gem, Hotel San José, South Congress was forever changed. A new vibrancy and energy was unearthed on the legendary strip. Ask any old-school Austinite about the South Congress of their day and you'll get a story or two about how unabashedly seedy it was. Thanks to these hotels, those days are long gone.
El Cosmico
Austin-based hotelier Liz Lambert opened the lodge-and-campground El Cosmico in 2009. The vibe: lo-fi nostalgia and experience-rich details under starry desert skies. Yep, it was a massive hit from the start. And the colorful trailers (classics such as Vagabond and Spartan), gussied-up teepees, safari tents, and BYO-camping setups continue to draw travelers from all corners of the globe. Especially in September for its annual Trans-Pecos Festival of Music and Love. The property as a whole is a fitting compliment to Marfa’s renown as both crossroads ranch town and art-world hub—a boundary-pushing rep that El Cosmico exudes, as well. Speaking of: the EC team broke ground in 2024 on a truly-out-there property expansion using 3D-print technology, in partnership with ICON and Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), an expansion that’s (once again) redefining what is possible in travel.
Amenity of Note: Take a little bit of West Texas back home with El Cosmico Provision Co., the gift shop dreams are made of.
Use code "WILDSAM" for special rate when booking
Parry Lodge
All the smart people in the hospitality industry are looking for a story to tell—and Parry Lodge has a great one. This charming rambler opened in 1931 as a road-trippers’ refuge on the remote Utah/Arizona border. It became a home away from home for Hollywood stars when Kanab served as a filmmaking base for Westerns. Yep, John Wayne slept here. You can too, in updated rooms that nonetheless carry the easy, big-shouldered charm of bygone frontier style. Summertime, catch a movie in the Old Barn Theater.
Anvil Hotel
Understated, Shaker-esque design makes a soothing refuge from the ruggedness of Teton and Yellowstone Country beyond the iconic Western town. The hotel offers a burly lineup of outdoor activities, including ranch daytrips, whitewater rafting, horseback excursions and behind-the-scenes rodeo immersion. Its Italian restaurant, Glorietta Trattoria, holds its own in Jackson’s major-league dining scene.
Outbound Hotels
Bask in the glory of the Sierra Nevada Mountains at Outbound Mammoth, explore the wide-open spaces of Jackson Hole at retro-inspired The Virginian Lodge, or embark on an outdoorsy adventure at the modern Outbound Stowe. Outbound really knows a thing or two about getting you right near the action. Lodging types vary from bunk rooms to chalets, but all are at the doorstep of the outdoors.
Extra Intel: A Yosemite location is on its way soon.
NOTE: In our July issue of Wildsam Magazine, these properties participated in "Compass," a special advertising section focused on tourism: Camptown, Cuyama Buckhorn, El Cosmico, High Country Motor Lodge, Highlander Mountain House, Outbound Hotels, Startlight Motor Inn, and TOURISTS.
