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From campground to cottage: the places we stayed at
From camping tent, to log cabin, simple motels and casino hotels, holiday homes, to a castle in the desert.
These were our overnight stays:
Hilton Pomona, Pomona, California – 5/5
An excellent choice for the first night after arriving in Los Angeles. Quiet and well-kept neighborhood, about an hour’s drive from the airport.
A buffet restaurant next door and a supermarket a short (albeit driving) distance away make this hotel extra practical.
Harmony Motel, Twentynine Palms, California – 3/5
Charming motel with a lovely 60s and 70s look. Perfectly located as a base for Joshua Tree National Park. Simple but neat.
Vibe, however, could have been better. Manager did not exactly excel in friendliness (hence the 3/5).
Aquarius Hotel, Laughlin, Nevada – 5/5
Spacious room, good value for money and everything you expect from a casino hotel.
No surprises, just solid.
Rancho Motel, Williams, Arizona – 5/5
One of the pleasant surprises of the trip. Modern, immaculate and within walking distance of downtown Williams.
Ideal for exploring downtown on foot.
Tusayan Campground (Grand Canyon), Arizona – 6/5
An absolute winner for camping enthusiasts.
Gigantic camping sites, lots of privacy and a beautiful location near the Grand Canyon.
You won’t find a better camping.
Cameron Trading Post, Cameron, Utah – 5/5
Beautiful comfortable motel room in an attractive complex on Navajo territory.
The authentic in-house restaurant completes the experience. A stay with character.
Sleep Inn Page, Page, Utah – 4/5
Decent standard hotel with free breakfast. Somewhat dark impersonal rooms, but otherwise little to complain about.
Complimentary breakfast with pancakes, sausages, scrambled eggs, cereals, yogurt and coffee.
Willow Creek Cabin, Bluff, Utah – 6/5
Modern, spacious and very well-kept cottage. The mention ‘kitchen’ turned out to be a bit optimistic, because there were no real cooking facilities inside, but it was possible to grill outside.
There is a microwave, but it is not a real kitchen for European tourists. Other than that, nothing is really missing there. The owners have an eye for the smallest detail and had even provided a dessert.
Atomic Blue Motor Inn in Monticello, Utah – 3/5
A typical motel from a bygone era along the main road. Especially popular with bikers.
Compact, simple, inexpensive, but with an excellent bed.
As soon as night falls, the traffic on the busy road in front of it decreases and it even becomes surprisingly quiet.
Moab Rustic Inn, Moab, Utah – 6/5
That’s how a motel should be. Spacious rooms, well maintained, swimming pool.
Again, so-called kitchen, but only with microwave. Also very popular with bikers.
I had compassion for the desk manager. Americans can be tough about their rebates. And the customer in front of us would and had to get his discount.
Cathedral Valley Inn, Caineville, Utah – 5/5
Standard motel on paper and perhaps a bit lonely location between the Bentonite Hills, but the very friendly owners (who handled the problem with the interface of the TV for us) take this place to the next level.
Free breakfast, a chat with the manager and a quiet location complete the picture.
Log Cabin, Wonderland RV Park (Torrey), Utah – 5/5
Comfy log cabin on a well-maintained RV park.
The sanitary facilities are among the cleanest we saw during the entire trip. There is also a laundromat. Where, by the way, I had a nice chat with an American lady .
Willis Creek Log Cabin, Kodachrome Basin, Utah – 6/5
Again top notch!
Simple but nice cabin in the middle of nature. Comfortable (futon, fridge, air conditioning), quiet and near the laundromat.
A place where you would like to stay longer.
Ruby’s Inn, Bryce Canyon, Utah – 4/5
Large complex with standard motel rooms. Everything is there, but itlacks the charm of some smaller-scale accommodations.
Ruby’s Inn is all around you here in Bryce City. It looks like Ruby’s Inn is Bryce City! You can’t ignore it.
The indoor restaurant is conveniently close by, but is a real food factory. I would dare to call quality mediocre.
Log Cabin, Panaca, Nevada – 5/5
Spacious and comfortable log cabin. Actually a palace of a log cabin.
Again a ‘kitchen’ without a cooking stove, something we encountered more often during the trip.
Perfect in terms of lodging, breakfast. Highly recommended if you are passing through to Great Basin.
Copper Queen (Casino) Motel, Ely, Nevada – 4/5
Simple but neat room in their building opposite the casino.
Quiet location and a good base to explore Ely.
Ranch Castle, Austin, Nevada – 6/5
Without a doubt the most bizarre and memorable overnight stay of the trip.
A peculiar castle in the middle of the desert, with super friendly owners.
The huge master bedroom, the shared complimentary (free) breakfast and the interesting conversations with the hosts made this stay unforgettable.
J’s Resort (voorheen Sands Regency), Reno, Nevada – 5/5
Beautiful renovated rooms at excellent value for money.
A very pleasant surprise for a casino hotel. Good location too. Quiet, yet close to downtown Reno.
1950-ies cottage in Colusa, California – 6/5
Cozy guesthouse between almond and citrus trees. Quietly located in the garden of the owners.
A lovely piece of rural California.
The Farmhouse, Fort Bragg, California – 5/5
Older but attractive house between the redwoods. The deer from the area share the garden with you. Perfect for those looking for peace and quiet.
Keep in mind that the mountains often hold the clouds. As a result, it regularly remains gray here and the sun hardly shows itself.
5/5 because there was cooking facilities.
Travelodge Wyndham Mill Valley, Sausalito, California – 3/5
The only lesser point of the trip.
A small room, a bed that was too small and a mattress that was in urgent need of replacement.
On the other hand, only half of what you normally pay for an accommodation here around San Francisco.
More quality than expected, but also less contact somewhere
What was particularly striking during this trip was how high the general level of the often democratically priced accommodations was.
Even simple motels were usually clean, well-maintained, and comfortable.
On the other hand, I found it remarkable about some Airbnbs that we hardly or never saw the owners, even when they were staying a few meters from us.
Everything went through messages, codes and instructions, if there was any communication at all.
Efficient and practical, certainly, but I did miss some of the human warmth that you used to associate with chambres d’hôtes.
I can hardly imagine letting people stay in my garden without at least saying hello to them.
Our personal toppers? Tusayan Campground, Willow Creek in Bluff, Moab Rustic Inn, the cottage in Colusa and the mysterious Ranch Castle.
Emma
And as on every trip, our lodgings often went hand in hand with food. These were our favorite food stops along the way. Read our next story.