Las Vegas Motels

Motels have been part of the American landscape for over half a century, but they aren’t common in most other parts of the world, at least by that name. If you aren’t familiar with them, motels are motor-hotels that are usually located near major highways, and in most cases they have outdoor entrances so drivers can often park within close proximity to the door to their own room. Motels are almost always cheaper than a place calling itself a hotel in the same area, and this is true in Las Vegas as well.

Where to find Las Vegas motels

Back in the day, the Las Vegas Strip itself was dotted with motels between the major resort hotels, but in the past couple decades that land became so valuable that nearly all of them were bought and plowed under. Many of the newest and biggest hotels in Las Vegas stand on property that was at least partially occupied by motels as recently as the 1990s.

But despair not, because motels can still be found in several other areas of Las Vegas, including on most of the blocks right off the Strip in each direction. The greatest density of motels is probably the slightly seedy part of Las Vegas Boulevard South between the Stratosphere, which marks the northern boundary of the Strip, and Fremont Street, which is what’s known as Downtown Las Vegas. But if you go in any direction from the Strip, particularly east, there will be no shortage of drive-up hotels calling themselves motels.

Where to book a Las Vegas motel

You can book most of the better motels through the same hotel booking engines that you’d use to search Las Vegas hotels. Many of the more run down motels rely only on phone reservations and a lot of drive-up inquiries. If a place doesn’t have computerized booking at this point, chances are you don’t want to stay there if you have a choice.

What to expect

Many of the Las Vegas motels are parts of big national chains like Motel 6 or Super 8, and these motels conform to high standards of cleanliness and service, which are not far below that of most hotels. Other motels are quite run down and would probably have closed long ago if not for the city’s increasing popularity. As mentioned, prices are generally lower than at the big hotels, but the nicer motels can charge quite a bit and still stay full.

Price-wise, you generally get what you pay for. In other words, if two neighboring motels charge radically different prices, it’s because one is much nicer than the other. Since it’s so easy for motorists to go next door, they don’t have much room for pricing games. And motels almost never have casinos, so being able to steer clear of that scene is a selling point for some people.

Why stay at a Las Vegas motel?

The two most common reasons anyone would want to stay at a motel are:

1. You’ve got a car and you want quick access to it while in the city.
2. You didn’t book a hotel in advance and now the few remaining hotel rooms are astronomically expensive.

The second of those reasons seems to be the way these motels stay in business. In particular, many people from the Los Angeles area will make the 5-hour drive to Las Vegas without a hotel booking, only to discover availability is extremely limited at hotels. In this case, a $80 motel room in a convenient location suddenly seems reasonable compared to a $180 hotel room next door.

Some better Las Vegas motels

Motel 6 on Tropicana Avenue – This large and professionally-run motel is a short walk from the Strip and is very popular for those wanting to avoid the big casinos.

Super 8 Motel on Koval Lane – This is also an above-average motel that is located near the Las Vegas Strip.

High Hat Regency Motel – This small motel just north of the Stratosphere isn’t necessarily one of the nicest in town, but the location is good and the name being a clever play on Hyatt Regency gives it novelty points.