Amigo Motor Lodge

About Amigo Motor Lodge

Kaitlyn Canfield and Philip Sterling were on their first date when they found they shared a dream of running a quirky boutique hotel. They found it in the Amigo Motor Lodge, a 1950s roadside property on Highway 50 in Salida, Colorado, with mid-century bones waiting for the right people. The renovation respected what the Amigo already was: a single-story motor court with rooms opening onto the parking court, the Sawatch Range framed through high-desert sage. Each room was designed individually, and a collection of restored vintage Airstream trailers sits at the back of the property. The Amigo is selected in the MICHELIN Guide, a rare distinction for a roadside motor court. Salida sits on the Arkansas River, with Monarch Mountain twenty miles up the pass.

What Amigo Motor Lodge Is Known For

The MICHELIN Guide selection tells you the design holds up to national scrutiny, but what the Amigo does better than most is close the distance between a roadside motor court and a place you would build a trip around. Philip and Kaitlyn ran the renovation with the specificity of people designing for the guest they would want to be: individually art-directed rooms, a fleet of restored Airstreams, a tepee and sunroom for gathering, and a cold draft of local beer poured the moment you walk in. It is hospitality with a point of view, anchored to Salida rather than borrowed from anywhere else.

Amenities

• Pets Welcome
• Breakfast Included
• WiFi
• Outdoor hot tub
• Sunroom with fireplace
• Vintage Airstream trailers
• Outdoor fire pits
• Tepee common area
• Welcome draft beer at check-in
• Truck and trailer parking

The Room

Standard rooms are redesigned in a minimalist modern-rustic style with a Southwestern accent, each one individual, with custom-selected art, statement walls, Tuft and Needle mattresses, and Malin and Goetz bath products in private en-suite bathrooms. In-room refrigerators, TVs, and renovated tilework round out the standard rooms, and a chair sits outside every door on the ground-floor court. Room types run from a Standard King and a Deluxe King with a velvet couch to a Two Queen for families. At the back of the property, a fleet of named vintage Airstream trailers offers a more rustic stay: PeeWee is the most compact, Merle is a restored 1958, Velma a 1966 Overlander for two, and Diana and Francis add bunk beds for groups. The Airstreams share a dedicated set of clean, private bathrooms a few steps away, while standard rooms have their own bathrooms inside.

The Grounds

One-story motor court on the west end of Salida, with free parking throughout. The outdoor hot tub sits in the center of the property, well-reviewed and well-used after a day on the river or the mountain. A sunroom with a fireplace is open to all guests year-round. The tepee is an anchor of the common area. The property has outdoor fire pits, a communal lounge area, and a general spirit of relaxed sociability among guests who tend to have just come off something good and want to talk about it. Truck and trailer parking is available. The Arkansas River is a short drive; the Sawatch peaks frame the horizon.

The Experience

Guests are greeted with a beer at check-in. Kate, the front desk manager, appears by name in reviews from travelers who stayed months apart and from every direction. Philip and Kaitlyn run a property with the specificity of people who designed it for the guest they would want to be. The morning coffee is excellent. The grab-and-go continental breakfast is available each morning in the lobby. After breakfast, the natural choice is to leave: the Arkansas River for rafting and kayaking, Monarch Mountain for skiing in winter, the Salida Fiber Arts Festival in summer, or simply the ten-minute walk down 1st Street into town for a morning at any of several excellent cafes. When guests come back in the late afternoon, the hot tub is waiting.

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