Planning to live at a motel

About Me
Vacations with grandma

I love having my grandma living with us, but it does add some complications when we go on holidays. She uses a walker, which can limit the amount of places that we can stay. She loves seeing the ocean, so we try and head to the beach with her every summer. She also tells us stories of the beach holidays she had as a little girl, and it's great to hear about how much fun she had on holidays with her grandparents. This blog is all about going on holidays with grandparents and navigating finding accommodation for people with limited mobility.

Search

Planning to live at a motel

31 August 2016
 Categories: , Blog


If you are planning to move into a motel as your primary lodging you want to plan ahead to make the stay as comfortable as possible. Here are a few tips to help make your stay easy and stress free. 

A mobile phone

If you are leaving a permanent home base it can be a good idea to still be contactable by friends and family. Being able to not only leave a phone number but also continue to check your email and social media. This also means that you have to change motel rooms over your stay you can still be easy to find and stay connected with your support network. 

Soft furnishings from home

A lot of people find it hard to sleep in beds that don't smell like their bed at home. While you can't bring your furniture or bed with you it can be useful to bring some of your soft furnishings including a favourite pillow or pillowcase, or a favourite throw that smells like your bed at home. These items can be easily packed and stored in motel rooms and can help make your motel bed feel a little more familiar. 

An easy-to-transport laundry hamper

Most motels do not have laundry on site. It can be really useful to have a soft and easy to tote laundry hamper so that you can store your dirty washing to get it to and from the laundry room, or a local laundromat. This can help your room to stay neater and can help to make it easier to stay in a relatively small space. (If there is no on site laundry the motel staff can usually give you directions to a local laundromat). 

Ask for a better room

Even if all of the rooms are technically the same at the motel, by booking a long stay you can often bargain with the motel to get a better room. This might a corner room or a room that is a little further away from the road and shared facilities so a bit quieter. Motels love longer term residents as it ensure they don't have vacancies and will often be happier to make your stay a little easier to guarantee that you'll stay. 

Motels can be a great temporary living arrangements if you are only in town for a short time or have limited funds. If you plan ahead they can be a comfortable and enjoyable place to stay.