PIONEERTOWN MOTEL
YUCCA VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
What would make someone want to drive into the desert – no, the middle of nowhere – and stay in an almost-ghost town that looks like the place Westworld props go to die? That’d be Pioneertown Motel, a low-frills, 20-room desert inn surrounded by flat top mesas, cacti and little else. Just 40 minutes’ drive from Palm Springs, and even closer to the stark and supernatural Joshua Tree National Park, Pioneertown was founded in 1946 by a group of Hollywood actors – Roy Rogers and Gene Autry among them – who hated travelling far from home to film their Westerns. Facades and buildings designed to replicate the Wild West served as both a film set and a place for the actors to stay during production (expectedly, all-nighters ensued). These days, the area attracts hipster thirty-somethings seeking an escape from LA.
Under new ownership, the motel was recently renovated and offers only the bare necessities – coffee, a little wi-fi and a hot shower. Rooms are decorated with Aztec blankets, cowhide rugs and photographs of Joshua Tree (they’re almost as pretty as the real thing). Rooms are named after the stars who once slept there – a subtle nod to the cinematic history of the place. A short walk away you’ll find Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, a bar that both teams with the theme and sets itself apart from other drink and dine joints in the region. Drawing big-name musicians – Paul Mccartney, Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and the Arctic Monkeys – to its stage, a visit to the ramshackle spot goes hand-in-hand with a stay at the motel.