The iconic Wigwam Motel located in the town of Holbrook in Arizona along Historic Route 66 had been on my bucket list of places that I had wanted to stay at for a very long time. So after many attempts and several cancelled trips over the last few years, I was so happy that we finally managed to stay there in September this year when we drove 4244 miles from New York to Los Angeles via Route 66!

The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was originally known as Wigwam Village #6 when it first opened back in 1950 during the heyday of Route 66.  It is one of three remaining wigwam villages still in existence today along with the other two locations in San Bernardino in California and Cave City in Kentucky. It was also the inspiration for the Cozy Cone Motel in the Pixar movie Cars. How can I be sure that it is this one in Holbrook and not one of the other two?   Well the Arizona-like scenery surrounding the town of Radiator Springs gives it away immediately along with Sally explaining to Lightning McQueen that she “drove and drove and finally broke down right here” after leaving California meaning that it could definitely not be the San Bernardino location.

After visiting the beautiful and stunning nearby Petrified Forest National Park (Route 66 used to run through there), we arrived in Holbrook just after 4:00pm in the afternoon whilst the sun was still out and it was so exciting as we drove along Hopi Drive to finally see the wigwams in person after so many years of waiting as well as seeing the “Sleep in a Wigwam” and the “Have you Slept in a Wigwam Lately?” signs.

The single best tip I can give you is if you want to stay at any of the three remaining Wigwam Motels is to book as early as possible – the same advice goes for any of the iconic Route 66 motels as there is limited availability. There are only fifteen teepees at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook so they can book up early especially during busy times. This was the only hotel we wanted to stay in on our road trip that was “non-negotiable” so we made sure that we booked it before we had even booked anything else on the trip – I think we booked it about a year in advance just to make sure! Even though we would be driving past the San Bernardino location a few days later, we decided to stay in Holbrook as it fitted in with our plans much better as we only had a limited amount of time to drive Route 66 on this trip.

We were quickly given our key and our wigwam for the night was “Number 3” which was located between Tow Mater’s Grand Pappy and a Buick Special – there is an old vintage car parked next to each of the wigwams but do not worry as there is also space for your car too so you do not have to carry your bags far at all!

Inside our wigwam was one queen sized bed (you can also book wigwams with two beds in them as well), a table and chair as well as a small desk and a mirror. There is also a small television as well as a heater and air conditioning unit on the wall. There are only a handful of plug sockets though so you might need to unplug a lamp or the television if you need to use one.

There is a small bathroom inside each wigwam which has a toilet, sink as well as a small and compact shower though the shower head is very low due to the sloping walls of the wigwam so you will need to crouch down to be able to wash your hair.

Once the sun had set and before going to bed after a long day of driving and sightseeing, we sat on the bench outside our wigwam with a cold drink just enjoying and taking in where we were like so many others who were also staying at the Wigwam Motel that night were doing. The road was very quiet and you could almost imagine what it was like staying here back in the day as you looked up at the beautiful glowing neon motel sign that lights up after dark – though it does get switched off at 9:00pm so be aware that you will not see it lit up if you arrive later in the evening.

Even though our wigwam was basic and compact in size, it was very clean and the wifi worked great during our night there and we had no issues staying connected. I also loved the big fluffy towels in the bathroom as they were so much nicer as well as larger than at all of the other hotels that we stayed at during our road trip. Whilst the bed was comfortable, it was the smallest bed we slept in during our time away so in hindsight I wish that we had booked one of the wigwams that had two beds so we had a little bit of extra space. The Wigwam Motel is perfect for a fun and unique one night stay whilst driving Route 66 but if you go there expecting luxury accommodation and a lot of facilities, you will be sorely disappointed.

Another thing that neither of us realised until we got to Holbrook is that there is a busy train line located just behind the motel so there will be noisy freight trains passing by at all hours of the day and night. Thankfully as we were both so tired we managed to sleep well that night but if you are a light sleeper, you might find it difficult to rest so make sure to take some ear plugs with you if staying there.

Staying at the Wigwam Motel really was a wish come true for me and I now have some great memories of our night there – where else can you go on a road trip and say that you slept in a wigwam instead of a normal hotel room!

The following morning after taking even more photos of all the wigwams in the bright morning sunshine, we headed off to nearby town of Winslow and continued our epic drive along Route 66. It really was such an amazing road trip and I cannot wait to share more in future blog posts so stay tuned for more updates!

Since this blog post was written back in 2023, some of the information may no longer be accurate or up to date. Be sure to do your own research and check official websites for the latest details before making any of your own travel plans.

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