10 Motel Chains That Were Once Considered Fancy
From vibrating beds to themed rooms, the quirky and bold claims of mid-century motels once promised a luxurious escape for the adventurous traveler, turning roadside inns into playgrounds of innovation and nostalgia.
- Alyana Aguja
- 4 min read
During the classic American road-tripping era, motels served as more than mere resting points—motels were a hub of offbeat ingenuity and highway luxury. With the incorporation of color TVs and vibrating massaging beds, private garages, and themed bedrooms, these motels provided traveling tourists with an invigorating combination of coziness and novelties. These erstwhile revolutionary assertions now ring nostalgic, an expression of the imaginative ethos that characterized mid-century motels as cultural icons on the American terrain.
1. The Thunderbird Motel – “Color TV in Every Room!”
Image from Tripadvisor
In the 1960s, a color TV in a motel room was a luxury. Portland, Oregon’s Thunderbird Motel proudly proclaimed this feature on its neon sign. Now, it sounds commonplace, but then, it was equivalent to announcing “cinema-quality experience without ever leaving your bed.”
2. The Sands Motel – “Magic Fingers Massage Beds!”
Image from Tripadvisor
A feature of numerous motels in the ’60s and ’70s, Magic Fingers was a vibrating bed system you paid for by inserting coins. For a quarter, you had 15 minutes of mechanical rest. The Sands Motel in Albuquerque went so far as to feature it in their advertisements—luxury via vibration!
3. The Madonna Inn – “Themed Fantasy Rooms!”
Image from Madonna Inn
It opened in 1958 in San Luis Obispo, California, and the Madonna Inn became renowned for its outrageously themed rooms such as “Caveman,” “Love Nest,” and “Old Mill.” Guests could actually sleep in a stone room or under pink glitter ceilings. It was high kitsch at a high price—and people adored it.
4. The Wigwam Motel – “Sleep in a Real Teepee!”
Image from www.wigwammotel.com
This legendary Route 66 chain offered visitors the novelty of resting within giant concrete “wigwams,” which were actually designed after Plains Indian teepees. The mixture of novelty and comfort was an enormous attraction in the 1940s and ’50s. Wigwam Villages were advertised as “modern lodging with a Native American flair.”
5. The Blue Swallow Motel – “Garages for Every Room!”
Image from Wikipedia
In Tucumcari, New Mexico, this Route 66 original promoted “private garages with every room”—an unheard-of luxury today. The garages provided visitors with additional privacy and security, particularly attractive to road-trippers with cherished vehicles. The garages even boasted hand-painted murals within, a personal touch of charm.
6. The Holiday Inn – “Free Ice for All Guests!”
Image from Agoda.com
Prior to Holiday Inns becoming the norm, this was an innovative offer in the 1950s. Unlimited free ice from a special machine was a novelty of modern hospitality. It provided guests with the luxury of cold beverages and cold storage without calling the front desk—a true innovation then.
7. The Lincoln Motor Court – “Hot Water 24 Hours a Day!”
Image from Roadtrippers
When the Lincoln Motor Court in Pennsylvania opened its doors in 1940, it boasted proudly of “hot water all day and night.” This was when most roadside cabins still had limited utilities. Round-the-clock hot water meant that you could shower like a king, whenever.
8. The Imperial 400 Motels – “Wall-to-Wall Carpeting!”
Image from Washington State Department of Archaeology
During the 1960s, carpeting was not a given at budget motels. Imperial 400 boasted of putting plush wall-to-wall carpet in every room, which typically only high-end hotels enjoyed. It shouted “home away from home” during an era when most roadside accommodations featured cold tile or linoleum.
9. The Astro Motel – “Push-Button Climate Control!”
Image from The Astro Motel
Found in cities such as San Antonio, the Astro Motel welcomed the Jet Age style with “space-age” conveniences. The top among them: personal push-button heating and cooling systems. Visitors could dial in the temperature with a button—something futuristic for the 1960s.
10. The Satellite Motel – “Heated Pool with Underwater Lights!”
Image from Tripadvisor
In Florida, the Satellite Motel was in the news with its glowing, heated swimming pool. Underwater lighting produced a shining nighttime oasis, an unusual spectacle at the time for motels. Families flocked there, amazed at the prospect of a night swim in a shining turquoise fantasy.