National Geographic Traveler

Mod Motels

Excerpt by Bonnie Tsui

Next-generation motor lodges offer high style at not-so-high prices
Excerpt by Elaine Glusac

When business regularly brought Miami-based architect Denio Madera to Palm Beach, he gave up staying at his then favorite resort, the upscale Breakers, and rented and apartment. But since Hotel Biba opened last summer, reclaiming West Palm’s old Mount Vernon Motor Lodge with splashy wall colors and modern furniture, the repeat guest is considering canceling his lease. “Biba appeals to my sense of design, and at $80 a night I could almost move in,” he says.

Having turned vintage properties into boutique hotels in the 1990s, smart, contemporary designer now eye once neglected motels, transforming them into stylish but affordable lodgings that stake out a new middle ground between fashion and function.

By eschewing room service, dry cleaning, and other conveniences for which hotels charge amply, motels keep rates reasonable. Like traditional motels, updated models feature characteristic low-rise architecture, private room entrances, and an active pool area. But the boutique motels up the luxe factor by offering 300 thread-count sheets, Aveda toiletries, and, in some cases, trendy lobby bars like Hotel Biba’s, which dishes charcuterie and spins house music. While boutique motels remain a small subset of the 52,000 properties nationwide, their numbers are growing. Many new “moteliers” have spin-off projects in the works – Orbit In for example, plans another Palm Springs property next year. In addition to price and style, nostalgia boosts the appeal of neo-motels. “There’s great Americana to roadside motor lodges,” says Chip Conley, founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, the upstart company whose successful remodeling of San Francisco’s Phoenix launched the boutique-motel trend. “They make people feel comfortable.”

Orbit In Palm Springs, CA

Owner Christy Eugenis took a mid-20th century modern motel back to its heyday, filling nine rooms – dubbed Cha Cha Room, Leopard Lounge, Rat Pack Suite, etc. – with period furniture by designers Noguchi, Bertoia and Eames. Lava lamps at the boomerang-shaped pool bar cleverly conceal data ports. Rates start at $189.