Colorado’s roadside motels get cool again

3 years ago 379

With a spotlight connected their agleam neon signs, rattan plaything chairs, curated succulents and Pendleton blankets, a caller procreation of roadside motels successful Colorado is replacing the bushed remainder spots of yesteryear. This clip around, they’re borrowing a leafage from design-forward boutique hotels.

“Millennial travelers are cost-conscious and precise experience-focused, truthful that’s 1 crushed we’re seeing these boutique motels go popular,” says David Corsun, manager and subordinate prof astatine the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management astatine the University of Denver.

There’s besides the pandemic, with its accent connected societal distancing and not sharing your airspace with others. Suddenly the interior corridors of hotels seemed much unsafe than the exterior introduction of motels popularized with the interstate road system. The pandemic-inspired revival of the Great American Road Trip besides gave motels much mileage. Plus, today’s motel owners find that older travelers bask the nostalgia of their renovated kitchenettes and centrifugal courts. Combined, each of these factors person acceptable into question a full-on revival of the roadside motel.

Arty and hip, the modern-day boutique motel is bidding for a spot connected your Instagram grid and tin connection a low-cost alternate to cookie-cutter hotels.

Here’s 5 amusive ones to cheque retired successful Colorado:

Amigo Motor Lodge — Salida

No firm support is needed for the quippy messages that Amigo Motor Lodge pops up connected its roadside marquee on U.S. 50 successful Salida. Among the top hits?

“Rooms by the Hour / 24 Hour Minimum”
“Come connected and Salida a Little Closer”
“Conveniently Located Between a Bank and Gun Shop”

“We don’t request to advertise that we person a colour TV successful this time and age, truthful we conscionable person amusive with our signs,” says proprietor Philip Sterling, whose title, according to his email signature, is manager/janitor.

The Amigo Motor Lodge has 16 rooms positive 5 bookable Airstreams. With 60-year-old bones, rooms are individually designed with minimalist Southwest decor and they’re outfitted with Malin + Goetz toiletries and Tuft and Needle mattresses. Amigo besides has a blistery tub, sunroom and occurrence pits.

“It’s not conscionable 30-year-old chill radical from Denver who are staying here,” Sterling says. “We person an eclectic premix of guests. For some, there’s immoderate nostalgia involved.”

In the summer, Amigo is simply a basal campy for quintessential Colorado adventures similar rafting, upland biking, and time trips to the state’s astir epic sandbox, the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. The motel is simply a mile from downtown.

Amigo Motor Lodge, from $100, 7350 U.S. 50, Salida, 719-539-6733

Nightingale Motel — Pagosa Springs

Prior to opening the Nightingale Motel successful 2019, Annie Castillo DeMille and her husband, Tony, ran a glamping retreat adjacent Joshua Tree National Park successful California. When they moved to Pagosa Springs, wherever Annie grew up, they wanted to replicate the communal consciousness of glamping, and negociate to bash truthful successful a 4 seasons location. The Pinewood, a run-down motel, happened to beryllium for sale.

“We walked done it and I said ‘I deliberation this is it,’ ” Castillo DeMille says.

Gutted and renovated, the 17-room Nightingale Motel made its debut with outdoor occurrence pits accompanied by a handsome caller on-site barroom called the Neon Mallard (notice the avian theme?). A neon motion attached to a thoroughfare lamp erstwhile again glows outside. Inside the rooms, conifer partition paneling and Eames chairs are subtle nods to a mid-century modern aesthetic.

“My hubby and I are some plan nerds who person a emotion for architecture,” Castillo DeMille says.

Perched connected the San Juan River, the Nightingale feels connected to quality successful a mode that’s reminiscent of glamping, Castillo DeMille says. Across the street, Pagosa Mountain Sports rents retired tubes truthful guests tin bask a interval connected the river. Save country connected your itinerary for a summertime soak successful the adjacent blistery springs, which holds the grounds for the world’s deepest geothermal blistery spring, measured astatine 1,002 feet deep.

The Nightingale Motel, from $130, 157 Pagosa St., Pagosa Springs, 970-507-0121

Mellow Moon Lodge — Del Norte

With an oculus for plan and a inheritance successful fashion, Jessica Lovelace saw imaginable successful the aged El Rancho tract contempt the motel having been abandoned for 2 decades. As grounds that it had been forgotten, writer was sprouting done the floors erstwhile she toured the tract successful 2018. She lovingly brought the 1940s motel backmost to life, named it Mellow Moon Lodge, and opened successful 2019 arsenic a 10-bedroom eco-friendly boutique motel. Another 5 rooms are opening this summer.

Because of the dog-friendly motel’s proximity to Wolf Creek Ski Area, upland biking trails and the Rio Grande River, Lovelace wanted to incorporated a plan that wasn’t excessively precious. The indigo-dyed sheets, hardwood floors, woven chairs and a crisp black-and-white exterior plan person made Mellow Moon a photo-worthy destination.

“We’re getting the Instagram crowds who travel and bash photograph shoots,” Lovelace says. “It’s a blessed accident. It wasn’t our intention.”

Mellow Moon Lodge, from $130, 1160 Grand Ave., Del Norte, 719-207-0747

Spoke and Vine Motel — Palisade

For your adjacent vino state getaway, cheque into Spoke and Vine, a 1950s-era motel that was reinvented successful 2019. You tin rent a cruiser motorcycle from the spot to get you to the adjacent wineries and the husband-and-wife squad who ain and run the motel volition gladly marque recommendations for wherever to spell portion you’re successful town.

“We accidental we’re a boutique motel,” co-owner Jody Corey says. “We ever convey radical who gamble connected a spot that says ‘motel.’ We privation to reset the thought of what a motel is.”

Local wines are served astatine cheque in, and you tin drawback locally roasted java and escaped meal successful the lobby each morning. The minimalist rooms person cheerful pops of color. There are a mates twelve wineries to research successful the Palisade area. To get started, DeBeque Canyon Winery is crossed the thoroughfare and Colorado Vintner’s Collective is simply a mates blocks away.

Spoke and Vine Motel, from $129, 424 W. 8th St., Palisade, 970-464-2211

LOGE Breckenridge

LOGE finds forgotten motels adjacent outdoorsy towns and trails and gives them a caller update. LOGE Breckenridge opened successful 2020 and is conscionable steps from the Colorado Trail. Guests tin entree miles of single-track upland biking, hiking and moving trails. Or, you tin get connected the Blue River Recreation Path and motorcycle into town.

The motel has 38 rooms, positive a 20-bed hostel, barroom and café, outdoor signifier and more. The rooms, inspired by a emotion for the large outdoors, person chill amenities similar hammocks.

Loge Breckenridge, from $116, 165 Tiger Road, Breckenridge, 970-551-2115

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