This past weekend I was in Lake George, New York for a really fun Tiki Weekend called ‘Ohana on the Lake‘ and the hubby and I stayed down the street at a vintage motel called the ‘Windsor”. The sign alone was worth the 7 min walk to the event each day.

This recent motel stay inspired me to look into old vintage motel/ hotel ads of the Mid-Century (1950s & 1960s) to share with all of you. So let’s take a peek at what I found shall we?

Vintage Motel / Hotel Advertising

1950s & 1960s

First up! Do you know where the name “MOTEL” came from? It was coined by the owner of the Milestone Mo-Tel (an abbreviation of “motor hotel”) in San Luis Obispo, California.

In 1983 the Motel Inn’s Rose DuBois holds a postcard of the original structure.

Cool huh!? Okay back to the blog post…..

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

1950s Oasis Motel Miami Beach Florida travel vacation brochure. Fantastic Mid Century design of the building! 

Source: eBay

Holiday Inn of Palm Springs. Gosh one of the things I love about 1950s, 1960s advertising is the colours, the fonts and the design. So fun!

Source: Flickr

Match Book advertising for the Las Flores Inn in Santa Maria, California.

Source: Flickr

Mid Century Ad for the Palm Springs Hotel. “Sun, Swim, Fun.”

Source: Tumblr

Look at the colours in this 1960s advertising brochure for the Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. So fun!! I love this hotel and have stayed there many times over my years in Vegas.

(Note: to see the images bigger, click on them to be taken to the original website).

Source: PicClick

The Manger TOWNE and COUNTRY Motor Lodge-1950s. From the Golden Era of the motor lodge, located just 2.5 miles south of Savanah on Route 4. 

(Note: avail for purchase on Etsy at time of posting)

Source: Etsy

Source: Etsy

1950s AVIS Rent A Car vintage advertisement. While not exactly a direct advertisement for the Hilton & Statler Hotels, it still shows off the beauty of one of their hotels ‘The Beverly Hilton’.

Source: Flickr

Lion Motel fold-out travel brochure St. Augustine, Florida 1950s.

Source: Etsy

1960s Hotel Florida advertisement – Terrigal, New South Wales.

Source: Flickr

BEL AIRE MOTEL Norfolk Virginia 1950s fold-out brochure via eBay.

Source: eBay

Another Holiday Inn 1960s Ad. “The Great American Escape”.

1960s booklet/brochure for the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas Nevada.

Further Reading: Vintage Las Vegas Photos, 1940s-1960s

Source: Etsy

1950s Flamingo Motor Hotel brochure – “We Went the Flamingo Way”.

Source: Flickr

For further reading make sure you check out ‘The Rise and Fall of the Great American Motel” by the Smithsonian.

Question Time: Have you ever stayed in a vintage motel or hotel? If so where? Comment below.

FURTHER READING: Vintage Photos 1920s-1960s (Archived blog posts)

Liz