Art & Inspiration Route 66 motels; or where to stay when touring Route 66

Please tell us about lodging along The Mother Road, including all details you can remember. My ramblings below should form a pretty complete template for the sort of information that is requested. Of course anything you wish to add will only make this better.

Having this information and people's personal recollections together in one place will be very helpful when folks tour Route 66, as Driveway builder and his family recently did. I for one have travelled a goodly portion of 66. Most on here that live in the US and Canada probably have travelled at least some of it. And many from other countries come here specifically to travel some or all of it. When Clarence gets home from paint jail Sherry and I plan to do the whole shootin' match from ChiTown to Santa Monica in Clarence, taking as much time as necessary to do/see it all in one fell swoop.

I don't have photos of any of these three lodgings but if you have them please post up pix of your hot rod in front of the places you've stayed.

I personally have stayed in three of the old motels/hotels on Route 66. In Missouri the Munger Moss in Lebanon and Boots Court in Carthage. In NM the La Fonda in Santa Fe.

Munger Moss used to have carports between rooms but has filled them all in to make more sleeping rooms. They have updated most of their rooms to modern standards and they have added more buildings over the years to have more rooms. They do, however, have some original rooms and if you get reservations ahead of time you can probably get one of those. The proprietor showed us a couple of those and they were extremely cool. Their sign is a famous Route 66 landmark (Google "restored Munger Moss sign"). I don't remember if Munger Moss has a swimming pool. The Google Earth view doesn't show anything that might be a pool. Price is about the same or less than most new motels.

Boots Court still has their carports between rooms. Boots Court is as original to 1939 when it was built as they can get/keep it. The original hardwood floors and original bathroom/shower ceramic tiles are still in place. Every room has an antique AM radio but no televisions. Their furniture is antique, although probably not the original furnishings. Boots has no pool. Their only concessions to modernity are A/C and Wi-Fi. Price is less than the average new motel.

La Fonda is a VERY old hotel in downtown Santa Fe. It is very upscale in an old west sort of way. It's been 10 - 12 years since we stayed there so my memory is a bit fuzzy. I do, however, remember that the furniture was antique and our bathroom, including tub, shower, sink, and ceramic tiles was exquisite and most likely original to the building. This is where the well healed would have stayed back in the day. Shoot, it's where the well heeled stay today. It's very well kept and a really cool place to spend a night or two. I have no way of knowing if its been restored or kept original all these years. It's a spendy place to stay but your memories might be priceless.

 

We stayed at the el Rancho in Gallup NM this spring. Cool old two story hotel where the movie stars stayed while filming Westerns back in the day.

 

If you are in the Auto Club be sure to also ask them.

Charlie Stephens

 

stayed in La Mesa in Santa Rosa a couple years ago, not bad. The Skyliner in Stroud, OK was kind of a dive, neat sign, but the stay was ok, for being a Rt 66 dive. King's Rest in Santa Fe is pretty cool, they still have the carports between rooms. but make sure your car is under 5' tall! they're not very big.

This is a great idea! I was wondering how I was going to find out about other old motor courts. I think we need to start a list of all of the old ones, not just on 66. But that could be a whole different thread.

 

Stayed in El Rancho twice and it is great but not traditional motel style,more grandeur and good bar and food.
Further east stayed at the Wagon Wheel in Cuba and it is now fully restored(wasn't when we were there in 2009)
https://www.wagonwheel66cuba.com/
Also just a short walk away is the great BBQ called Missouri Hick BBQ
https://missourihick.com/
Will check my old files for others. I have checked out quite a few and photos but not stayed.

 

If you've read finn's post above you'll note that El Rancho is in Gallup, NM.

Cuba is a town in Missouri.

 

I know that the El Rancho is in Gallup NM. I have stayed there twice.I thought you were just asking for info on ANY places on Route 66 that are interesting to stay at or at least check out.

 

Yes; you're correct.

I posted what I did so that others reading the post would know the locations of the places you mentioned.

For everyone who responds to this thread: please include pertinent information, including the town/state of the court/motel/hotel in your post. I happen to live in Missouri and know where Cuba is, but it's likely that someone from New York (or insert any eastern or northern state or foreign country here) would have to do some searching to find where Cuba is. If the recommendation was for a court in Arizona or California and it was not a large well known town I would not know where it was unless the state was included in the description.

 

The Wigwam in Holbrook AZ and the Route 66 motel in Barstow CA both have a bunch of Hamb friendly cars parked around the place.

And both are vintage motels. No pools or breakfasts.

 

Santa Fe wasn't on 66 after 1937 but here I hope we'll talk about all of the alignments. Sometimes I-40 has some plusses. We stayed in the La Fanda last week on our way home from Amarillo. It is classy. The room was $215, $30 for parking and then some other stuff. It was worth it. We had breakfast there and it was good. There are bars and coffee places. There is a good place to watch the sunset on the 5th floor. There are lots os shops and eating places within easy walking distance. Some very good real New Mexican food which is not the same as Mexican food in other places. While checking out the near by shops I was able to pass on the $6,500 boots and a $2,000 Cowboy hat.
On the way we stayed at the El Vado in Albuquerque. We had booked a room in The Monterey but when we got there it didn't look like the pictures and was in fairly rough shape. There was no sign, no one in the office, the pool was empty, and there were no other customers. We called and a lady from the near by El Vado came over. The same company owns both places and the Monterey is scheduled for renovation. We got a reduced rate at El Vado which was $135. Regular was about $170 I think. It is very clean and nice. Parking is a bit strange since the court and parking covers have become enlarged rooms and a Pool/ Common area. There is a Bar/Taproom and several eating places in some of the front former rooms. The people were great and friendly, especially Nicole who is part of the management. It is walking distance to Old Town. There is a growler in each room that you can have filled with beer and take it back to your room or have it on the patio. I will stay here again or maybe in the refreshed Monterey.
Link: https://elvadoabq.com
Should we talk about places to eat?
Santa Fe- The Blue Corn Cafe
Gallop- Earls, a 66 Tradition
Genaro's- Very good New Mexican foods, lot of locals
Amarillo- The Big Texan- hokey and big but fun and good food.
Tucumcari- Del's- The best chicken fried steak I've had in a while- Good salad bar.
Of course we all have different tastes and standards.
We also stayed and ate at some of the chain places.

 

I like the motor courts that still have a real key for the door....

 

The Wagon Wheel in Cuba Missouri is another neat stop, stayed there twice.
Missouri Hick BBQ next door, outstanding.
An important part of our trip last year was to only stay at the “traditional” 66 motels and eat at the small cafes and family restaurants along the way to enrich our adventure, well worth it. Best advice I can suggest is live in the moment and make memories.

 

If you want to support other car people, the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari has a few HAMB friendly cars around the place.

 

I’ll second Six Ball’s recommendation on Earl’s In Gallup for breakfast. We were in a hurry to get on the road and, although it was quite full, service was fast, and breakfast was great.

 

I will second both the El Rancho in Gallup NM and the Blue Swallow in Tucumcari NM. I have stayed in both and enjoyed the stay. The El Rancho has a lot of pictures of stars from the westerns that were filmed around Gallup back when they were popular. It also has great food! The Blue Swallow is the old motor court style motel. When we stayed, the quilts were hand made and the room looked pretty authentic for when motor courts were popular. Also- beautiful neon.

 

As of 3 days ago Boots Court in Carthage, Missouri still uses a "real" key. I don't remember what the other two in my original post used.

 

I am starting to plan a 2021 trip on the Mother Road this thread is gonna be great

 

From top to bottom
Mid Point Cafe, Adrian Tx. Dels in Tucumcari N.M. John&Aggies Cafe, Holbrook AZ.
Rods Steak House, Williams, AZ. The Snow Cap Drive In, Seligman, AZ. Ludlow Cafe, Ludlow,CA.
Stopped at each of them.

 

On the road trip across USA in the Hudson in 2018 we stayed at the Monterey and we were a bit disappointed.
Stopped off at the Blue Swallow but just for pictures and with a "late Hudson" but really a Nash with different clothes on.

 

The Ludlow Cafe is in Ludlow. The Bagdad Cafe (also a neat stop) is in Newberry Springs.

 

Great idea for a thread. My wife and I plan to make the trip in the next year or two.

 

We stayed here right outside of Williams AZ
Simple clean cabins & RV Park also. There’s a couple of rooms available in the train car also. Once we got to Barstow we stayed at the Rt66 Motel before heading to the pier in Santa Monica in the morning.

 

The Rail Haven in Springfield Mo. is a nice place to stay. Still has some of the "old days" feel to it but has modern updates and creature comforts.

 

Anyone got any updates/additions to this thread?

 

It was announced last week that the Boots Motel in Carthage, MO is up for sale due to the virus effects, and also the age of the owners. This is a neat period perfect motor court that has been mostly restored. I hope someone buys this historic motel. index.html

 

There is a series of maps put out by Evergreen Press by Jim Ross and Jerry McClanahan, dedicated to Route 66. Each map is of the state that Route 66 passes thru. They are hand drawn printed maps that tell of where 66 is passable and has notes on each section. Well worth it I think I paid less than $15 for the set.

 

sounds neat, but hard to find at first search. When were they made? Where did you find them?

 

I did a search and came up with this.

https://mcjerry66.com/

Hope this helps.

 

We spent a night in Barstow, CA a few months ago, and found that Main Street (Route 66) was absolutely LOADED with old motor-court style motels. Some refurbished, some pretty much as they were 60 years ago, and everything in between. One of the best Route 66 museums that you'll ever find is located inside the old train station in Barstow, too. The station was a former "Harvey House", and has a ton of stuff to see.
http://route66museum.org/flyer/Auto-Tour4pg.pdf

 

squirrel, if you google, evergreen press Route 66 map, it will pop up. Well worth the money, less than $15.