Evening star., 1951-09-09
lMoteI Luxury Developed Eor!y yin Southwest
By ChorIes Honee
Assoeioted Press Stoff Writer

ASSoetdted PreSs Sfoff writer
NEW YORK.-"The room is
clean and the beds are comfort
able. We'll stay here tonight"
That remark I've heard ump-
teen times from my wife in thou
sands of miles of automobile
travel over North America.
The stopping place might be a
motel, tourist court, a cabin, a
tourist home or whatever. but so
long as they answered the two
prime requisites from a woman's
standpoint, they got the business.
The reason I am writing on this
subject is because an Associated
Press member says he has heard
considerable talk recently about
some of the luxury United States
motels which have cropped up in
recent years" and suggests a story.
He put the finger on me, mas
much as I have been staying at
motels or similar accommodations
since a motor trip to Mexico in
1887 and have knocked on many
strange doors on our last three
automobile vacations totaling
$1,000 miles.
Primitive and Luxurious.
My personal experiences in
Overnight stops range from the
primitive to accommodations as
luxurious as the presidential suite
at the Waldorf.
My introduction, as noted, was
in 1887. There wasn't much of
anything at that time in the East
except cabins and the like, but
when we got into the Southwest
and into Mexico, we ran into the
luxury of the tourist court where
you parked your car by the side
of your room. paid in advance. had
no bellboy or elevator complica-
tions and could leave handily at
whatever hour you chose in the
morning.
In those days the average ac-
commodation was 50 a night for
two. 1t has gone up considerably
since. would say that today's
average for two is So or 81, al
though the range may be from $4
to $40 or more.
don't recall a radio in any
place in 1887. Virtually every
motel unit has one today. Or
dinarily they are of the coin-in-
the-slot variety, although appar-
emily more and more the luxury
units provide free radio. In Banff,
Alberta, I ran into a requirement
that free radio must be in any
room renting for a certain
amount a day.
Now It's Televisi0n.
The newer units in this country
now have television. Here again
the set usually is a coin device,
but I have been in some courts
where television is free. The pro-
prietor said it was good for busi-
ness.
Naturally, today's luxury units
also are air-cooled. In fact, vir-
tually every modern improvement
for the enjoyment of living gets
quickly into the motel or tourist
court incidentally, motor court,
motor hotel, motor inn, motel and
tourist court are all the same so
far as accommodations are con-
cerneO. This, year some motels
began throwing in free news
papers.
In 1887 you were permitted to
stay in your room until nightfall.
Today you must get out by 10 or
IL am. and usually not later than
noon. Proprietors explain that
this is because of the help situa-
-tion; girls make up the rooms on
a schedule and they want to get
home for their lunch in good time.
There is logic to shooing the
guest away in the morning be-
cause most overnight customers
are going some place anyway and
ordinarily make an early break.
Tough on Week -Ender.
There has grown up. however, in
recent years the weekend tourist
who is going nowhere except to
the nearby country for a bit of
freedom in the open air and SUM-
shine. That means it is rather
tough when you are tossed out at
10 am. But I never have known
the landlord who wouldn't let me
sit out on the lawn as long as
I wanted to, so long as I let the
icleaner-upper in to make the beds
and sweep the floor.
When we travel, we roll along
as late as we please and then seek
accommodations. The more formal
traveller takes no such pot luck.
He usually arranges his travelling
day so that he reaches a certain
motor court at a comparatively