Vintage Motels in the Northeast

Miami Motel

Canandaigua, NY

A 1952 Miami-inspired frame where rooms have been restored one by one over a decade, each with its own color scheme, furniture, and layout. Drive-up parking at the door and a cult following earned over time.

Snowdon Chalet

Londonderry, VT

A 1962 Alpine chalet with 1960s retro character preserved across a restoration that somehow also achieved extraordinary cleanliness. A snack basket waiting in the room and breakfast delivered to the door.

Bar Harbor Villager Motel

Bar Harbor, ME

Family-owned and in a prime downtown location, with a seasonal pool and the kind of genuine hospitality that earns specific, personal praise. The simplest things here are done well.

Casselman Motel

Grantsville, MD

A simple, family-owned single-level motel tucked just behind the historic 1842 Casselman Inn, its from-scratch bakery, and its country restaurant in Grantsville. Park-at-your-door rooms, a grassy creekside picnic area, and a discounted breakfast next door make it a comfortable, heritage-rich stop right off I-68.

Colonial Motel

North East, PA

Family owned and freshly updated a short walk from Freeport Beach, in the heart of Pennsylvania's Lake Erie wine country. A single level with doors that open to the outside, a picnic area, and grills for a quiet lake-town stay.

East Shore Lodging

Hawley, PA

Unusually large rooms in a converted row of shops, with an on-site boat tour and a lakeside walking trail starting across the street. A format that works and owners who built it from what was already here.

Periwinkle Inn

Cape May, NJ

A family-run oceanfront basecamp on Cape May's Beach Avenue, where a landscaped pool courtyard with a fire pit, grills, and lawn games sits a few steps from the sand and the promenade. Housekeeping is a point of pride and the staff learn your name, the kind of tidy, warmly run beach inn families return to year after year.

Pines Motel on Lake Erie

Ripley, NY

1950 knotty pine bones and the Rock & Roll Suite in the 1822 farmhouse with a record player and vinyl collection. Restored by people who relocated specifically to bring it back.