OCTOBER 2018 TB_WEB

LIFESTYLES
1969 SEACREST MOTEL RATES
By: Samantha Williams
Resortgirl.com
SHOULD MOTELS MAKE
A COMEBACK? Fore Sure!
During a recent stay in Florida, I came upon an exhibit
called “Historic Hotels and Motels” at the Winter Park
Historical Museum. The museum was on a street
my feet used to walk many times - as it was in my
hometown.
As a native Floridian, born in Miami and growing
up in Orlando Florida, my youthful days were spent
amongst the palm trees, lakes and shores. And many
times, I stayed in the famous hotels and motels that
were showcased in this exhibit.
The Oxford Dictionary defines a motel
as “a roadside hotel designed primarily
for motorists, typically having the rooms
arranged in a low building entering directly
from outside.”
We don’t see too many motels in these
modern days. We are greeted upon arrival
at a hotel by the valet, and are deprived of
the privilege of pulling directly up to our
room. At a motel, unloading your bags was
easy, and if you forgot something in the car,
you didn’t need to walk very far to retrieve it.
As the exhibit stated, many individuals - not
corporations - ran these motels and even
hotels – and they were entrepreneurs. Each
year, folks packed in the car and drove near
and far to pull up to that motel door. They
knew the owners, they knew many of the other families
staying, they loved this little slice of paradise.
These motels also featured the unit air conditioner. The
exhibit had a typical room with the conditioner, Matisse
bedspread and funky sun mirror. Personally, I loved the
humming sound of the unit air conditioner. We now pay
money for apps that replicate that same peaceful sound,
but the app does not have the cool air attached.
WILLIAM HILTON IN, HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S. C.
The Breeze October 2018 23