On a 2010 family vacation to Yellowstone Park, my husband and daughter and I took the road less traveled, cruising past the Super 8s and Travel Lodges to the edges of little towns, where we found attractive, efficient and inexpensive lodging. Old-fashioned motels are alive and well in America. Poke around in any small town, and you're likely to find one. These are some of our favorites.

Friday, July 1, 2016

Coming soon ...

Posts from our walk across England on the Coast to Coast route. We're staying in pubs and B&Bs along the way. We're bound to have some photos and stories.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Orchids in December

A Garden Cottage in Port Townsend, WA is a charming place, a vacation rental in a town where we've spent a good deal of time. Since the closure of the Point Hudson hotel (which we adored), we've stayed at some of the downtown hotels one or two floors up from street level (we like these) and several traditional motels which were not particularly clean or inviting. A Garden Cottage has full southern exposure, a kitchenette, two bathroom sinks, big shower, fluffy bath towels, comfortable seating, a fireplace and proximity to the PT golf course and walking trails. I took this path, right around the corner from the cottage, and walked all the way to North Beach without encountering a car. Foot paths and quiet streets are a luxury most of us don't enjoy often enough.

The sun room is ... well, sunny, with orchids and other well-behaved tropical plants. Big, comfy wicker chairs, a footstool and a place to set your coffee cup, plus a small table with butter-yellow chairs.


 

A sweet nook in the sun room, from which you can watch passing walkers and cyclists -- and plan your day.


.


Very reasonably priced, this cottage for one or two (one queen-size bed) has many thoughtful touches meant to make a guest feel at home. 

My husband, who is recovering from surgery, appreciated the fact that we could park on the circular drive right in front of the cottage. For those accustomed to hauling suitcases down the long, carpeted hallways of hotels, it's a convenience to pull right up to the front door. Home!








Fluffy big bath towels, your choice from a basket of bar soaps, high-quality facial tissue (aka Kleenex), a robe hook, extra quilts for the bed, a full-length mirror, coffee, tea, a microwave and small fridge.



The approach to North Beach, which is a 3-minute drive or a 20 minute walk from A Garden Cottage.



Thursday, January 19, 2012

Motel Memories

So, while waiting out a winter storm, lots of people had something to say about their experiences in little motels. I'm hoping this link to Facebook will hold up over time. Such fun to hear about (and go looking for pics of) these places.
The Lariat in Walla Walla
Ross Lake Resort
N. Cascades Hwy
And Julie's memory of the bubble wrap in her parents' car deserves a mention. Thanks for the memories!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Walla Walla, Washington

Walla Walla has to be one of Washington's most beautiful places. Rolling wheat fields, Blue Mountains to the east, a quaint Main Street, tree-lined streets with hundred-year-old houses, three colleges – Whitman College, Walla Walla University and Walla Walla Community College – and more wineries than you can shake a stick at.

The Colonial Motel is east of town on busy E. Isaacs Avenue with services nearby. Its owners live on site, they're friendly and helpful, and the rooms are squeaky clean with lots of nice touches. For example, cotton blankets and white bedspreads like your grandmother's guest room (no standard-issue hotel bedspreads here); GLASS drinking glasses; a porch light; our room had a seating area in the bathroom for drying hair or applying makeup and a tiny kitchenette. The kitchenette fortunately stocked flatware so I had a spoon with which to eat my peanut butter chocolate ice cream. Comfortable, clean and cozy. $85.00 per night.




The Whitman Mission site is just west of town. Gorgeous views and a stillness that belies the horror of the Whitman Massacre, which took place here in 1847.




Sunday, July 11, 2010

West Yellowstone, Montana

We stayed one night in W. Yellowstone in a standard, two-story hotel with particle board furniture and institutional bedspreads. Arriving in town at 5 o'clock that day we were afraid if we didn't hop right on it, we may not have a place to stay. We didn't even use the breakfast tickets the next morning. We were eager to be gone, but not before finding an alternate, BETTER place to stay the next night.

We found it, in the Whispering Pines Motel on the edge of town (406) 646-1172. Initially, I wasn't sure about the cabins. They looked dark, and they'd clearly been there a while. That was before I looked inside! Heavy, pine furniture, paneled walls and ceilings, solid doors that meant business. No kitchenette here – not even a living room, in fact – but three separate bedrooms, spotless bathroom with shower, a porch for sitting, and except for the occasional truck on the highway, no noise but the ... you guessed it, whispering pines.

The young woman who checked us in was spending the summer in town with her horse. Thursday through Sunday, you'll find her barrel racing at the rodeo. 


This place is a real find. Skip over the traditional hotel and stay here instead. $70.00 a night for three of us.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Gardiner, Montana


Gardiner, Montana is at the north entrance (and according to the Chamber of Commerce, the original entrance) to Yellowstone National Park. The Yellowstone River runs right through town, and the scenery is gorgeous.

We found the Hillcrest Motel, and I went a little nuts taking pictures. This place is picture-postcard perfect. When I mentioned to the owner how much I liked the sign, she said it really needed updating. No, no! I wanted to say. The sign gives the motel a good deal of its charm, but there's more: We had a cute little cabin overlooking the busy main street and the glorious brown and green hills. There was a grassy patch out front of the office with picnic tables where an East Indian family from Wisconsin gathered while cooking a curry dinner in their cabin up the road. The resident dog, named Rusty, patiently endured the attentions of the little kids, who chased him around trying to get him to pose for a picture.

Our cabin had three beds, a clean bathroom with shower, a little kitchenette (no dishes or cooking implements), a TV, a table for eating/working, and a bench on the porch. A set of stairs led down to the street below. We tried to secure the cabin for a 2nd night, but our failure to plan ahead worked against us, and so we moved on the next day, entering the Park through the famous arch. The cost of the cabin, for three of us, was $100.00.







Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Davenport, Washington

The Black Bear Motel is in Davenport, Washington, the Lincoln County seat and home to a historic courthouse.

Our room ("Farmers") had two bedrooms – each with a television – a full bath with tub, and a kitchenette with a western exposure.

I could picture my mother using this kitchen in 1950 and whipping up a pineapple upside-down cake with her Hamilton Beach mixer. (And, for the modern day woman, the motel is walking distance from one of Davenport's two latte stands.)

The kitchenette contained no cookware, silverware, not so much as a mug, so if you were to settle in here for a few days, you'd need to plan ahead – though there was a microwave and coffee maker.


The room was clean and comfortable. The rate, for three of us, was $70.00.

We had a terrific dinner and margarita at the Camino Real restaurant on the other end of town, then sat on the bench outside our room and watched the sun set over the courthouse. Next morning, we were well-positioned to drive the 90 minutes to Silverwood Theme Park, north of Coeur d'Alene.