Bonnie Springs Motel

Description:

• This is really a hoot: a funky, friendly little place in the middle of nowhere -- except that nowhere is a gorgeous setting. The motel is in two double-story buildings and offers regular rooms, "Western" rooms, "specialty theme" rooms, and kitchen suites.

  Where to begin? Here, the theme is expressed mostly through the use of fabrics, personally decorated by the owner, who did a pretty nice job. The "gay 1890s" room is done in black and pink, with a lace canopy over the bed, an old-fashioned commode, and liberal use of velvet. The American Indian room uses skins and feathers, and has a bearskin-covered burl-wood chair. You get the idea. The "Western" rooms have more burl-wood furniture and electric-log fireplaces that blow heat into the rooms.

  All special theme rooms (also known as fantasy suites) have mirrors over the beds and big whirlpool tubs in the middle of the rooms (not in the bathrooms), and come with bottles of champagne (the empties of which you can see littering the road on your way out). All the rooms are quite large, though long and narrow, and have private balconies or patios, and mountain views. There are also large family suites with fully equipped kitchens, bedrooms, living rooms (with convertible sofas), and dressing areas; these are equipped with two phones and two TVs, and are available for long-term rentals (many of the people who work at Old Nevada actually rent these as apartments). Videotapes and players are available for rental, and there is even a tiny train that takes you around the grounds and on a short tour of the desert.

  The Bonnie Springs Ranch Restaurant has a lot of character and is a perfect family place. It's heavily rustic (stone floors, log beams, raw wooden chairs made from tree branches, lanterns, a roaring fire in winter, and plenty of dead animals adorning the walls). It's a bit touristy, but small-town touristy. The food is basic -- steak, ribs, chicken, burgers, and potato skins; pancakes and eggs for breakfast; it's all greasy but good. There is a cozy bar attached to the restaurant, its walls covered with thousands of dollar bills with messages on them -- a classic neighborhood bar, if it were actually in a neighborhood.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010