Best motels on Route 66, state by state

The short answer

• Best-rated motels on the old road: The Aztec Motel & Creative Space in Seligman, El Rancho Motel in Williams and the Americana Motor Hotel in Flagstaff, all on Route 66 in Arizona and all at 8.9 or above on Booking.com.
• The landmark stay: La Posada Hotel and Gardens in Winslow, a 1930 railway hotel rather than a motel, and the most expensive place in this list.
• Best score of all: The Relic in Amarillo, a single cottage at 9.5.
• Cheapest: Economy Inn Barstow and Ramblin Rose Motel in Kingman, both in our lowest price tier.

This guide runs west to east. We have not stayed in these motels: we compare Booking.com guest scores (checked 16–17 Oct 2026), the lowest price for two adults for 12–15 Jan 2027, and the location on the map. Both change, so check before you book.

Not covered yet: New Mexico, Kansas and Illinois. The guide has no motels there for now.

Quick comparison

"No price": Booking.com had no rooms for our January dates.

California

The National Park Service puts Route 66 in California at about 345 miles (555 km) and calls the stretch from Needles to Barstow one of the hottest on the whole road.

Needles. Budget Inn scores 7.5 on Booking.com from 108 reviews (checked 17 Oct 2026), with a strong staff score (9.3). It is on the north side of town, about 0.9 miles (1.4 km) in a straight line from the El Garces depot, and about 18 miles (29 km) from Oatman, the start of the mountain stretch into Arizona. No pets.

Barstow. Economy Inn Barstow is on East Main Street, the old Route 66,: 7.0 on Booking.com from 240 reviews (checked 17 Oct 2026), around €49 a night for two in mid-January 2027 when we checked. Google Maps is harsher (3.3 from 225 reviews), and the minimum check-in age is 21. In town, the Route 66 Mother Road Museum is inside the Casa del Desierto, the Harvey House railway depot designed by Mary Colter and built from 1910 to 1913, according to the National Park Service. It is about 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from the motel.

Victorville. Mojave Inn is the better-rated choice, 8.2 on Booking.com from 238 reviews (checked 17 Oct 2026), around €76 a night for two in mid-January 2027. Hotel Avenida Victorville has an all-year outdoor pool and a restaurant, but its 7.2 on Booking.com from 419 reviews sits next to 2.3 on Google Maps from 279 reviews. Both are near I-15 rather than on the old road, about 1.2–1.6 miles (2.0–2.5 km) from the California Route 66 Museum.

Arizona

About 350 miles (563 km) of Route 66 cross Arizona, says the National Park Service. Williams was the last town on the whole road to be bypassed by the interstate, in 1984. For the full drive, see our Route 66 road trip across Arizona.

Kingman. The Arizona Route 66 Museum is in the Historic Powerhouse on Andy Devine Avenue. Explore Kingman lists it as open daily from 8:00 to 17:00, general admission $10, as of October 2026. Arizona Inn is about 0.3 miles (0.5 km) from it, scores 8.2 on Booking.com from 2,174 reviews (checked 16 Oct 2026) and was around €68 a night. Ramblin Rose Motel is on Andy Devine Avenue itself, the old Route 66: 7.5 from 1,012 reviews (checked 16 Oct 2026), around €58 a night. Both take cards only and set a minimum check-in age of 21. See where to stay in Kingman.

Seligman. Its main street is the old road, and it is one of the stops of the Route 66 Fun Run organised by the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona (1–3 May in 2026). The Aztec Motel & Creative Space is the top-rated motel in this list: 9.2 on Booking.com from 626 reviews and 4.9 on Google Maps from 461 reviews (checked 16 Oct 2026), with a lounge, games room and outdoor fireplace. Booking.com showed no January rooms. Deluxe Inn, on the same strip, scores 7.8 from 380 reviews (checked 16 Oct 2026) and was around €79 a night; pets on request.

Williams. The best pick for a Grand Canyon day by train. El Rancho Motel on East Route 66 scores 9.0 on Booking.com from 1,943 reviews (checked 16 Oct 2026), around €95 a night, and is about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from the depot. The Historic Grand Canyon Hotel on West Route 66 is a block from the station, scores 8.9 from 779 reviews with 9.7 for location (checked 16 Oct 2026), and was around €103 a night. See where to stay in Williams and the Grand Canyon Railway.

Flagstaff. The Americana Motor Hotel is a classic motor court on East Route 66 with an all-year pool and pool bar. It scores 8.9 on Booking.com from 2,534 reviews (checked 16 Oct 2026), was around €109 a night, lets pets stay free and sets a minimum check-in age of 21. Downtown is about 2.4 miles (3.8 km) away and Meteor Crater about 35 miles (57 km).

Winslow. La Posada Hotel and Gardens is on East 2nd Street, Route 66 through Winslow. The National Park Service says Mary Colter designed it for the Fred Harvey company, it opened in May 1930, closed by the end of the 1950s and has been restored since 1997. It scores 9.3 on Booking.com from 513 reviews (checked 16 Oct 2026) and was around €216 a night. Standin' on the Corner Park is about 0.1 miles (0.2 km) away.

Texas

Route 66 crosses the Texas Panhandle for about 185 miles (298 km), according to the National Park Service.

Amarillo. Travel Texas describes the Sixth Avenue Route 66 district as a mile-long stretch of restored storefronts and murals, and points to Cadillac Ranch, ten cars buried nose-first west of town. The Relic is a single cottage with a kitchen and private entrance on a street south of downtown, not a motel: 9.5 on Booking.com from 163 reviews (checked 17 Oct 2026), around €102 a night. Cadillac Ranch is about 8 miles (13 km) away.

Vega. Route 66 Desert Rose Motel is on Vega Boulevard, the old road, and scores 8.4 on Booking.com from 201 reviews, with 9.5 for staff (checked 17 Oct 2026). It lists breakfast and was around €77 a night; cards only, minimum age 21. Vega's restored Magnolia service station was partly funded by the National Park Service, and the Midpoint Café in Adrian, which Travel Texas calls the geographic centre of Route 66, is about 14 miles (22 km) west.

Oklahoma

TravelOK says Oklahoma has more than 400 miles (640 km) of Route 66, the longest drivable stretch of any state. More in Route 66 through Oklahoma and Missouri.

Elk City. Flamingo Inn is on West 3rd Street, the old Route 66, about 0.1 miles (0.2 km) from the National Route 66 Museum complex: 7.1 on Booking.com from 216 reviews (checked 17 Oct 2026). Bedford Inn scores 7.9 from 74 reviews, around €66 a night, but its Wi-Fi score is 5.0. Both list children as not allowed.

Stroud. For the Rock Cafe on Main Street: Sooner Motel is about 0.3 miles (0.5 km) away (7.1 from 45 reviews), and Cattle Country Lodge about 0.7 miles (1.2 km) away, with breakfast and a higher score, 8.1 from 79 reviews, around €77 a night (both checked 17 Oct 2026).

Tulsa. Crystal Motel, by I-44 on the southwest side, is a practical stop rather than a historic one: 7.0 from 40 reviews (checked 17 Oct 2026), around €60 a night, about 2.4 miles (3.9 km) from the Route 66 Historical Village.

Missouri

Visit Missouri counts 317 miles (510 km) of Route 66 between Joplin and St. Louis.

Joplin and Carthage. Joplin has the Route 66 Mural Park downtown; Carthage has the 66 Drive-In, one of the few drive-ins still showing films, says Visit Missouri. Plaza Motel is on East 7th Street, the old road: 7.4 on Booking.com from 113 reviews but 3.2 on Google Maps from 229 (checked 17 Oct 2026), around €65 a night, with some smoking rooms. Guest House Motel scores 7.7 from 92 reviews, lists breakfast and was around €63 a night, about 1.9 miles (3.0 km) from the drive-in.

Bourbon. Budget Inn Motel scores 7.7 from 73 reviews (checked 17 Oct 2026), about 11 miles (18 km) in a straight line from Meramec Caverns and from the murals of Cuba, which Visit Missouri calls Route 66 Mural City. Its Wi-Fi score is very low (2.5) and children are not allowed.

Practical tips

• Book ahead in summer. June to August is the busiest time for the road, and Williams and Flagstaff also fill with Grand Canyon visitors. Small motels have few rooms, and The Relic has one. 2026 is also the centennial year: the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona notes the highway was established on 11 November 1926, and events run all year.
• See the neon at night. Arrive before sunset, check in, and walk the strip once the signs come on; Williams and Seligman are compact enough to do on foot. In Missouri, Visit Missouri points to the restored signs of the Route 66 Neon Park in St. Robert and the Munger Moss Motel sign in Lebanon.
• Where the classic motor courts are. In this guide, the densest run is in Arizona, from Kingman through Seligman and Williams to Flagstaff, where many motels sit on the old road itself.
• Check the small print. Several motels here take cards only, set a minimum check-in age of 18 to 21, or do not accept children or pets.

For the region as a whole, see where to stay on Route 66 and where to stay in northern Arizona.