# The decline of the motel **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** vacation-travel\ **Created:** [May 16, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642 "2024-05-16T17:14:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/81 "2024-07-02T14:48:02Z")
I just got back from a cross country trip. I stayed in Tucumcari both ways. Outbound at the Motel Safari, returning at the Roadrunner Lodge. Both are old, old school park out front motels. (Picture of the Safari is vintage; there now is a outdoor fire pit sitting area in what is the empty grass area of the lower right in the image) [![](https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/02d9c2b3-4b7b-48ac-ad9e-86e75a25dddf/64b0c428-905d-4a0a-8066-13aff696b84a.jpeg/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25) ](https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/02d9c2b3-4b7b-48ac-ad9e-86e75a25dddf/64b0c428-905d-4a0a-8066-13aff696b84a.jpeg/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25) Roadrunner Lodge: [![](https://cf.bstatic.com/xdata/images/hotel/max1024x768/145608532.jpg?k=f86ce1dcb6f43f46098bb00b9315c93df39756e9dd4f23131d17742f56ba4c89&o=&hp=1) ](https://cf.bstatic.com/xdata/images/hotel/max1024x768/145608532.jpg?k=f86ce1dcb6f43f46098bb00b9315c93df39756e9dd4f23131d17742f56ba4c89&o=&hp=1) This was my room: [![](https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/16/bd/e4/72/roadrunner-lodge-motel.jpg?w=700&h=-1&s=1) ](https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/16/bd/e4/72/roadrunner-lodge-motel.jpg?w=700&h=-1&s=1) It came with a radio that played vintage music and ads, and included some vintage magazines and a Battleship board game. Both are meticulously restored and maintained. I also stayed on a previous trip in the Blue Swallow. The lobbies of all three are decorated in vintage motifs. Tucumcari does cater to the Route 66 tourist crowd, so there definitely is a market. There are other vintage motels in Tucumcari, but I can’t tell how good they are. Outside of restored vintage motels, I often stay in Motel 6 / Super 8 and only had one bad experience, and it was with cockroaches, not drug dealers. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/82 "2024-07-02T17:53:33Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Well, a month and a half later, I summoned up the motivation to get them scanned and uploaded. That’s impressive. Thanks for sharing your collection. I may have stayed in a few of them, but I’m only certain about two. I’ve stayed at the Lake Powel Resort & Marina, which I believe is the descendant of the Wahweap Marina. Taking a shower in the bathtub, I had to watch my head. I’m 5’6". Also stayed at Lake Quinault Lodge at least once. I don’t remember if my parents are going there or one of the other nearby lodges. They normally go to Kalaloch, but it’s sold out. The beach erosion is eating the cabins and they aren’t allowed to build more. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/83 "2024-07-02T19:29:53Z")
“We wish you to feel at home while here. _All_ equipment was carefully checked upon your arrival. Your license number is on record here. Use hot water sparingly. We reserve the right to eject without notice any objectionable person. Do not throw waste material of any kind in the toilet bowl. Thank you. Call again. The Management. P.S. We consider our guests the Finest People in the World.” ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/84 "2024-07-03T01:51:31Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > “Where $45 bought a four-hour stay and $40 allegedly bought a bag of crack cocaine” is a great selling point. how much is that in Star-Alliance-Points? ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/85 "2024-07-03T02:14:19Z")
We’re sorry, Star Alliance points can only be used to book flights to any one of our worldwide destinations\* \*as long as the flight occurs between 2:17 and 3:37 am on a Tuesday during a full moon and includes a 15 hour layover in Regina, Saskatchewan. (I don’t know anything about Star Alliance points actually!). $40 is about 30% of an _average_ ticket price to see the Montreal Canadiens, if that helps. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/86 "2024-07-03T06:39:25Z")
Just for fun, I thought I should post this image which is from the same short block of motels that I mentioned in my previous comment. [![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S2KKU9_9uXA/UIDPcHFNMfI/AAAAAAAABDs/4_3BAn6qgL0/s1600/Deano%27s+sign+II.jpg) ](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S2KKU9_9uXA/UIDPcHFNMfI/AAAAAAAABDs/4_3BAn6qgL0/s1600/Deano%27s+sign+II.jpg) You just **know** that the “Cable TV” sign originally read COLOR TV, with each letter in. a different color of the spectrum. But who needed color TV with all this glorious neon, and the Half Moon running that delightful pocket bar two doors down? Plus that Italian resstaurant acriss the street. We went there on our last night before leaving L.A. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/87 "2024-07-03T06:59:21Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > We’re sorry, Star Alliance points can only be used to book flights to any one of our worldwide destinations\* > > \*as long as the flight occurs between 2:17 and 3:37 am on a Tuesday during a full moon and includes a 15 hour layover in Regina, Saskatchewan. > > (I don’t know anything about Star Alliance points actually!). You’re not that far off. Star Alliance points on Air Canada carry so many conditions, that they’re pretty useless. And now that Air Canada has chosen not to serve Canadians in smaller centres, to those of us who live in such places, they’re about as useless as mammarary glands on a male bovine. To bring the thread back to the topic, I was pleasantly surprised by the Continental Motel in White River, Ontario. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it was very clean, with a nice bar and restaurant that had great food. I’d also recommend the Beaver, in Wawa, Ontario. No bar/restaurant, but clean and comfortable, with plenty of eating options available nearby. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/88 "2024-07-03T16:04:36Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > You just **know** that the “Cable TV” sign originally read COLOR TV, with each letter in. a different color of the spectrum. I’ve seen a few vintage motels that have replaced their “color TV” sign with “free Wi-Fi”. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/89 "2024-07-06T04:27:54Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > I’ve stayed at the Lake Powel Resort & Marina, which I believe is the descendant of the Wahweap Marina. Taking a shower in the bathtub, I had to watch my head. I’m 5’6". At 5’8" myself, I am very frequently surprised at how low the showerheads often are in health clubs, community pools, and so on. I have to duck my head to use them. Who designs these things? It’s not like I’m really tall. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/90 "2024-07-06T04:38:07Z")
I grew up just a few miles from that place. ---
**Author:** ![john\_b\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@john\_b\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/john_b_2)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/91 "2024-07-06T05:45:24Z")
It appears that motels are going the way of shoe repair stores, five and dimes, hand laundries and other businesses and professions (or trades, if you must, such as typewriters repair services and the like). A friend of mine, well informed in these matters, claims that the next “big thing” going out is money. He means paper money, as well as nickels, dimes and quarters. I think this is premature, if only because there are too many,–how to phrase this politely?-- uneducated people, dunderheads, those with impairments, such as not so much a lack of mathematical skills as arithmetical ones; adding, subtracting, multiplying, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/92 "2024-07-06T07:31:08Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I’m a huge fan of travel ephemera, especially postcards. On my last trip my collecting “theme” was hotel/motel cards. I picked up a couple dozen, I’ll post a slideshow here after I get them scanned. Have you seen the James Lileks site? Among a plethora of all kinds of ephemera and other odds and ends, one area of the site is devoted to Roadside America, with a series each on motels and roadside restaurants. Both are quite long, and consist almost entirely of postcards plus James’ commentary. [https://lileks.com/motels/index.html](https://lileks.com/motels/index.html) [https://lileks.com/rest/index.html](https://lileks.com/rest/index.html) Then there’s a whole separate section on the Gobbler Motel and Supper Club, also well worth a look. [https://lileks.com/institute/motel/intro.html](https://lileks.com/institute/motel/intro.html) Be warned, though, don’t start in on this website on a morning when you need to go places and get things done, for this thing is the truest of all rabbit holes. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2024, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/93 "2024-07-06T07:44:29Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > > [@blondebear](#): > > > > On my last trip my collecting “theme” was hotel/motel cards. I picked up a couple dozen, I’ll post a slideshow here after I get them scanned. > > Well, a month and a half later, I summoned up the motivation to get them scanned and uploaded. [Here’s the google photos album](https://photos.app.goo.gl/oYWmzm7HEoCo8Snq8). Very impressive, thanks for all the work and for posting! Exactly the sort of nostalgia from the 50s and 60s that’s a perfect fit for this thread. James Lileks might be interested in adding this to his very eclectic website (I posted a link near the beginning of this thread to his reminiscences about the Gobbler motel, but he covers lots of other topics). ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/94 "2024-07-11T20:22:14Z")
I always found that stretch of Sepulveda especially ugly. Now it’s charming? Weird. > [@hajario](#): > > I grew up just a few miles from that place. Damn. Where’d you go to high school??? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/95 "2024-07-11T22:15:48Z")
Venice. Class of 82. You? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/96 "2024-07-11T23:17:07Z")
Culver. Class of '69. Friday the 13th in '69! ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/97 "2024-07-11T23:34:13Z")
My step sisters went to Culver (79 and 81). I drove by there every time I went to Tito’s, which was a lot. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/98 "2024-07-11T23:58:01Z")
Heh, we called Tito’s the auxiliary cafeteria. Marian Rubin’s VW Bug ran on Tito’s hot sauce. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/99 "2024-07-12T01:20:04Z")
I passed this place driving up CA-99 through Stockton last weekend. I love the vintage neon sign, but that sign below it – “Adult Movies” (Am I reading that right? Does that mean _free_ adult movies, since it’s lumped in with all the other free stuff?), “Low Daytime Rates”. That seems a little sketchy. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3755/9013275263_fbaf0ddde8_b.jpg "El Rancho Motel, Stockton, CA") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/25229906@N00/9013275263/) (Not my photo, just one I found through Google image search) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642/100 "2024-07-16T04:46:08Z")
Nobody said it was charming, but the retro neon was undeniably evocative of earlier times when neon lighting was more common, before cheaper plastic conquered the realm of outdoor signage just like everything else. I went to University High in West L.A., and lived nearby for about eighteen years. For eleven of those years we lived just below the school at Ohio and Barrington. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-decline-of-the-motel/1001642.md?page=6)