Roadside motels make a retro-chic comeback

Motels — those roadside inns that are such a big part of Americana — are making a comeback.

RLH Corp., formerly known as Red Lion Hotels, will unveil its first Signature hotel in San Francisco next month.

The property has been revitalized from a dated motel into a boutique hotel with 34 rooms, including two suites. It has been decorated with mid-century modern furniture, what RLHC describes as “cheap chic.”

More hotel companies and independent owners are gravitating toward the basic motel model with exterior corridors and rooms that guests can drive up to. But they are introducing a modern twist, with whimsical décor and better food and beverage options.

Motels “are really the icons of family travel and friendly road trips back in that time,” says Amanda Marcello, senior vicepresident of brand strategy for RLHC. “They were fun and they were easy and people had a great experience there. You could park your car right in front and walk into the door.”

Miami, New Orleans, Austin, Napa Valley and New York are among the many destinations that hotel companies have targeted for this retro hotel model. The chic motels are a hit with two all-important demographics — nostalgic baby boomers and millennials, those travellers in their 20s and 30s who are looking for non-cookie-cutter experiences when they travel.

“We really love the look and feel of those types of properties,” Marcello said. “It became very apparent these assets could be turned into something new, something different.”

A former 1953 motel on Biscayne Boulevard 15 minutes north of downtown Miami has been converted into the Vagabond Hotel.

The sign still carries the Vagabond Motel brand, though it is marketed as a boutique hotel. The 44 guest rooms have 1950s inspired custom-made furniture and stencilled geometric wall art.

Most of the rooms open onto a courtyard with palm trees, a swimming pool, a cocktail bar and a restaurant.

In New Orleans, the Drifter is inspired by the Beat Generation and postwar America, said Jayson Seidman, co-founder of Drifter Hotels, which was launched in 2016.

The property is a re-imagined roadside motel with 20 rooms in New Orleans’s Mid-City neighbourhood. Rooms feature Oaxacan tiles.

There is a courtyard with an outdoor pool that has a bar serving frozen cocktails, Japanese beers and sake, and local wines. The pool hosts yoga, immersive art shows and live music. There is an onproperty café serving local baked goods and complimentary bicycles.

There are also daily rotating pop-ups and food trucks that offer various cuisines.

And, of course, the hotel has a restored neon motel sign.