66 Motel — Hotel in Holbrook

Asphalt Muse Revisited:

Like an old dog spinning about before laying down, I’ve been traveling in circles looking for that right “feel” before I do the same. Finding affordable accommodations at a Motel 6 in Holbrook, Arizona, I booked a seven day stay. The motel was located on a sparsely developed section of Route 66 at the east end of town, north of Interstate 40.

Wherever I am at, I’m in the habit of going for a morning drive to check out the local neighborhoods. I often park at different locations and monitor the activity. The first couple of days after I arrived I ventured into downtown Holbrook to checkout the more tourist-minded section of Route 66. Doing so, I would pass by this 1950-ish motor lodge type motel, the kind I’m attracted to, the kind that still uses metallic keys. It is called “66 Motel”.

As I have travelled the last several weeks, I’m always on the lookout for a “modestly” priced weekly or monthly rate in a roadside motel, or a much more modestly priced studio apartment. The few I found didn’t have vacancies. The 66 Motel was the type of place I was looking for. So, while parked across the street, I called to see if they offered weekly rates.

A soft mature voice with what I suppose to be an (East) Indian accent answered the phone. The 66 Motel did have weekly rates. After a few questions, the lady finally quoted me a weekly rate. Within minutes I was in the motel office.

The Indian accented voice belonged to a small svelte lady with an eloquently joyful spirit. Her once raven hair glistened predominantly silver, and I’m sure she stood more than a couple of inches shy of five feet tall. She told me to call her, “Grandma”. Everybody calls her Grandma she said.

While checking in, Grandma told me people come to 66 Motel and end up staying longer than planned. She told me about this man who I reminded her of. He came for a week and ended up staying over six months. Then she told me that while the man was here he had his 66th birthday, and Gramma gave him a party. She was so excited to tell me that the man turned 66 at the 66 Motel on Route 66. I smiled and told Gramma I was about to do the same in a couple of days. She looked down at the birthdate on my driver license she was holding in her hands. Then looking up, she exclaimed there would be a party for me, too. I humbly protested, but Gramma prevailed.

A few days ago I wrote “Asphalt Muse Update” in which I stated, “There’s a place on a hilltop just east of downtown Holbrook between mile markers 288 and 289 that reached out and embraced me...”

Well, this old dog finally feels it okay to lay down for a spell. I do believe I’ll be at the 66 Motel for more than week. But, I think Gramma already knew that when she first laid...

DO NOT STAY HERE- YOU WILL REGRET IT. READ OTHER REVIEWS FROM THE PAST YEAR WHEN CURRENT OWNER-VIVIAN- TOOK OVER. They have bed bugs, habitually. Read reviews people. Also the owner suffers from mental instability - while we were staying there we witnessed her harass some long term tenants and she had shut power off to their room as well as our heat/air because she said she thought it was too hot for heat and too cold for air in the daytime. There is no breakfast amenities. Toilets clog and overflow. Shower too. Front and back of hotel full of garbage and vagrants passing thru. Very unprofessionally run, very run down, and full of bed bugs. In our extended stay (1month during car repairs) we witnessed shameful and immoral behavior from residents and owner. Be very cautious when you park your vehicles here too, as the shadier local residents , crew of vagrants, and passers by (greyhound bus stop next door/lots of homeless roaming at night) have been known to break into cars and take what’s to take. Id highly recommended the KOA across the street, or really just avoiding Holbrook entirely. Overall if I had to review this hotel as anything, I’d say it was absolutely avoidable , and atrociously rundown and in desperate need of a health inspection ,immediate condemnation, new management, and/or a total torch job. We now have some creepy crawly carryons to take down the road …. 🪲 First stop is to the laundry mat to wash and super heat dry bed bugs out of my clothes and bedding because they didn’t even have public washer dryer at this hot. The owner Vivian is the almost the worst thing about the hotel , only thing beating her by a pinch is the bugs. 10/10 do not recommend. Just keep going. Very bad overall "vibe" also, a lot of sketchy and horrible things have happened here and the walls may not speak but the energy here and in every room speakers volumes. It's recommended for anyone who is sensitive to energy and susceptible to harmful vibes , to seriously get the furthest distance between you and here. And if you stayed even for a night, sage your life and pray you shake the grimy shadow that this place makes you take with you. Inherently evil,...

Watch out for room 6 it's super creepy when I was in this room I heard all sorts of noises coming from behind my air conditioner vent. I swear all the rooms are connected threw the vent system. It got super creepy at night that I could almost swear that particular room was infact haunted so if you are looking for a super creepy room and are a ghost hunter or your into the paranormal you have to check out this room. There's all sorts of weird noises that come from behind the air conditioner in the room and there's this weird linger also that I have never encountered in my life a weird smell it smells sweet but bitter at the same time, it sticks with you threw out your stay I almost want to say it's Decomp if you have ever smelled Decomp before it's like that it's supper weird and this place has been around for almost 100yrs so if you are into the super natural then you have to check out this room I swear that's there's something lingering in the vent behind the air conditioner other than that the wifi is great the rooms are super warm but this room is weird only place I have ever stayed that was like this where there where people talking to me threw the walls and making me go crazy making me believe that there was someone behind the air conditioner and who kept telling me that my phone was Thier phone and my game was Thier game and all sorts of things super creepy never stayed any another rooms but this room is definitely haunted to you who like that sort of thing you must check this room out...