The New Golden Age of the Motor Lodge

“There’s one thing so nostalgic concerning the street journey,” says Rob Blood, founder and president of Lark Inns. “Roll down the home windows, flip up the music, let your hair blow again.” He cites these fond recollections of childhood household holidays as inspiration for his firm’s new sub-brand, Bluebird by Lark, which launched in June with the purpose of reviving the basic American roadside inn.

Bluebird purchases and renovates previous properties (locations Blood describes as “memory-making spots”) which might be dated or in disrepair. The model’s first opening was the 42-room Spa Metropolis Motor Lodge (doubles from $119) in Saratoga Springs, New York — previously the 1963 Saratoga Downtowner Motel. It was shortly adopted by the 50-key Parker Seaside Lodge (doubles from $199) on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, in-built 1970 because the Windjammer Motor Inn. The latest acquisition is the previous Mountaineer Inn, a 1960 ski chalet in Stowe, Vermont. It reopened in October because the 51-room Tälta Lodge (doubles from $129), providing mountain-inspired design, a sizzling tub, and a gear shed stocked with bikes and fishing provides.

A guest room at a modern motor lodge — A visitor room at Spa Metropolis Motor Lodge, a Bluebird property, in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Learn McKendree/Courtesy of Spa Metropolis Motor Lodge

Blood is only one of many who’re hoping to rescue these treasures of American driving tradition. The outside-focused Skyline Lodge (doubles from $179) in Highlands, North Carolina — conceived within the Nineteen Twenties as a hilltop on line casino and reborn in 1965 as a motel — reopened underneath new possession in July. The 40-room inn off U.S. Route 64 follows the basic mannequin of exterior-entry rooms organized round a communal gathering house; intensive renovations have changed the courtyard swimming pool with a garden outfitted with lounge seating, firepits, and video games.

A courtyard pool at a modern motor lodge — The courtyard pool at Parker Seaside Lodge, a Cape Cod inn from the brand new model Bluebird by Lark.
Learn McKendree/Courtesy of Parker Seaside Lodge

“A motor lodge ought to be clear, cozy, and simple to search out,” says Adriana Farmiga, co-owner, with Alix Umen, of the 16-key Starlite Motel (doubles from $200), in Kerhonkson, New York. In-built 1958, the property, on the Catskills’ Route 209, is one other textbook motor lodge, with exterior room entry, a pool, and an outside lounge space. Farmiga and Umen bought the Starlite and reimagined it with ethereal rooms and a canteen that can highlight native wines and spirits.

The lawn at the Skyline Lodge in North Carolina — The courtyard garden on the Skyline Lodge, in Highlands, North Carolina.
Andrew Cebulka/Courtesy of Skyline Lodge

And vacationers taking to the open street in Texas can head to the city of Salado and the 48-room Shady Villa Resort (doubles from $149), a brand new venture from the Austin-based Bunkhouse Group. First in-built 1861 and expanded within the Fifties, this revamped property (previously the Stagecoach Inn) incorporates a swimming pool lined with native flora and a Texan-inspired restaurant.

Attending to any of those locations requires getting behind the wheel. However for Blood, that's precisely the purpose. "A motor lodge is about how one can have a good time your complete journey," he says. Vacationers, begin your engines.

A model of this story first appeared within the December 2021/January 2022 subject of Journey + Leisure underneath the headline On the Highway Once more.