53 stops · 7 states

Route 66 motels and historic hotels

Route 66 grew up with railroad hotels and then motor courts, and this page covers both: 22 classic motels and motor courts and 31 historic hotels in 6 states. By state: Illinois 5, Missouri 4, Oklahoma 4, New Mexico 6, Arizona 7, California 5 (historic hotels only).

The motor courts are the neon heart of the road: the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, where the rooms are concrete tipis; the Blue Swallow in Tucumcari; the Munger-Moss in Lebanon, the Wagon Wheel in Cuba and the Boots in Carthage, Missouri; and a run of 1930s and 1940s courts along Central Avenue in Albuquerque. Among the hotels, Gallup has the biggest cluster — the El Rancho, the Harvey Hotel, the Rex, the Grand and the Drake — and Flagstaff keeps the Weatherford and the Hotel Monte Vista. The El Garces in Needles is a former Harvey House by the tracks. Most sit in old downtowns, typically about 0.1 mi from the road.

Practical hint: not every building still rents rooms — some are museums, offices or apartments now — so check before you plan a night, book the famous motels well ahead in summer, and expect small rooms with parking at the door.

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Classic Route 66 motels and motor courts (22)

The neon motor courts people mean when they say "Route 66 motel", in driving order. Elsewhere on the site most are filed under retro roadside stops. Several still rent rooms; others are apartments, offices or shops now, so check before you plan a night.

Lazy A Motel

Springfield, Illinois · on Route 66

A late-1940s Route 66 motel in Springfield with stucco walls and garages tucked between its rooms.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Belvidere Café, Motel, and Gas Station

Litchfield, Illinois · on Route 66

A 1930s Tudor Revival café, motel and gas station, all on one site along Old Route 66 in Litchfield.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Bel Air Motel

St. Louis, Missouri · 2.6 mi from Route 66

A modern-style motel building in the Central West End, now back at work as a chain hotel.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Wagon Wheel Motel, Café and Station

Cuba, Missouri · on Route 66

A Tudor Revival Route 66 motel in Cuba that has rented rooms without a break since 1938.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Munger-Moss Motel

Lebanon, Missouri · on Route 66

A Lebanon motel with roots in a 1930s Route 66 sandwich shop that moved here after World War II.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Rail Haven Motel

Springfield, Missouri · 1.1 mi from Route 66

A 1938 Springfield motor court, grown into an L-shaped complex, where you can still spend the night.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Boots Motel

Carthage, Missouri · on Route 66

A 1939 streamline motor court in Carthage with black glass trim, green neon and a carport for every room.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

West Winds Motel

Erick, Oklahoma · on Route 66

A 1940s Mission Revival motor court in Erick, with a garage beside every room around a U-shaped yard.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Ranchotel

Amarillo, Texas · on Route 66

A 1940 motel on Amarillo's old Route 66 that was a favorite with highway travelers.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Roadrunner Lodge

Tucumcari, New Mexico · 0.1 mi from Route 66

A 1940s motor court and a 1960s motel joined into one restored Route 66 stay on Tucumcari's main drag.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Blue Swallow Motel

Tucumcari, New Mexico · on Route 66

A 1940s Tucumcari motor court with a glowing neon swallow and garages tucked between its rooms.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Luna Lodge

Albuquerque, New Mexico · 0.1 mi from Route 66

A 1949 motor court at Albuquerque's eastern edge, rescued from ruin and turned into affordable apartments.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Tewa Lodge

Albuquerque, New Mexico · on Route 66

A 1946 Pueblo Revival motor court on Central Avenue, one of Albuquerque's best-kept Route 66 era motels.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

De Anza Motor Lodge

Albuquerque, New Mexico · 0.1 mi from Route 66

A 1939 Nob Hill motor lodge, now mostly gone, whose neon sign and Zuni murals live on in a new complex.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Modern Auto Court

Albuquerque, New Mexico · on Route 66

A 1937 tourist court on Central Avenue, now the Nob Hill Motel, and a rare pre-war survivor in New Mexico.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Tower Court

Albuquerque, New Mexico · on Route 66

A 1939 Streamline Moderne motor court on Central Avenue that lost its namesake tower but kept its curves.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

El Vado Auto Court

Albuquerque, New Mexico · on Route 66

A 1937 Pueblo Revival motor court saved by a landmark fight and reopened in 2018 with a pool and taproom.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

El Campo Tourist Courts

Albuquerque, New Mexico · on Route 66

A 1939 motor court at Albuquerque's west end, stepping down its sloping lot, now converted to apartments.

Retro roadside

Redwood Lodge

Gallup, New Mexico · on Route 66

A 1931 Gallup tourist court that survives with little change from the years before World War II.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Wigwam Motel

Holbrook, Arizona · 0.1 mi from Route 66

Fifteen concrete teepees from 1950 in Holbrook, AZ, still rented out to Route 66 travelers by one family.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

66 Motel

Needles, California · on Route 66

A six-room 1940s motel in Needles, with a 66 neon sign relit in 2012 in front of the old Carty's Camp cabins.

Route 66 sitePhoto credit

Roy's Motel and Cafe

Amboy, California · 0.1 mi from Route 66

The 1959 boomerang sign and Googie lobby of Amboy, a Mojave gas stop on Route 66 first opened in 1938.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

Gone but remembered: Coral Court Motel (MO), Cactus Motor Lodge (NM), La Puerta Lodge (NM), La Mesa Motel (NM), Hilltop Lodge (NM), Topanga Ranch Motel (CA) — closed for good or demolished; their pages tell the story.

Historic hotels in Illinois (5)

All of Illinois →

Louis Joliet Hotel

Joliet, Illinois · 0.2 mi from Route 66

An eight-story Neoclassical hotel building that rises over downtown Joliet near the old road.

Classic Route 66 motels and motor courts (22)

Historic hotels in Illinois (5)

Historic hotels in Missouri (4)

Historic hotels in Oklahoma (4)

Historic hotels in New Mexico (6)

Historic hotels in Arizona (7)

More historic hotels in Arizona 1

Historic hotels in California (5)