As part of our travel plan to have a Route 66 experience, we spent one night at the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri. The motel opened in 1934 and is named one of the best-preserved authentic Route 66 motels.
After the drive-in movie, (the first feature Harry Potter started at 9:15 p.m.) we got back into our unit around 11:30 p.m. and were ready for the night. We woke up at 2:30 a.m. when we heard and saw thru the window a group of five young men drinking and talking loudly outside our cabin. They looked like they were visiting the monthly residents in the nearby cabins. One young man leaned against the T-bird and another put his beer down on the car. You must know by now from reading my blog that my husband loves the T-bird. Leaning against the T-bird and putting drinks down on the painted area would be a "crime against humanity"! Then we saw another young man urinated near the T-bird and the group laughed when he pretended as if he was going to spray the car (thankfully he did not). My husband and I watched helplessly with our cell phones ready to call for help should these people started to do some damage to our vehicle. It was a tense and rather frightening moment for me. Keep in mind that the lobby or front desk was actually a living room of the motel owner or a ground-keeper. So we were pretty much on our own should something serious happened. In a regular hotel, we could at least alert the night clerk of the situation without direct involvement. Thank God these people decided that they had enough drinks, got on their motorcycles and pick-up trucks and left at around 3:45 a.m. 
I was so exhausted from those terrifying moments, yet unable to sleep, we decided to check out of the unit at around 7:30 a.m. the next morning. From this experience, I would highly recommend that you should obtain a cabin with attached garage (especially if your vehicle is a convertible Thunderbird) or participate in a motor tour with an association (as a group) if you wish to have a traditional Route 66 overnight accomodation without possible unpleasant incident. Also, don't forget to bring a hair dryer and your own shampoo. 
This is it - what you see is what you get - very primitive - photo above and below showed all the space (Unit #7) of the cabin. As you open the door, a twin bed to your right, a whobbling and sticky (trust me because I could feel and hear the sound created by the condition of the surface) small table right next to the bed (no king size, queen size or two double beds here), a decent size of closet (we did not use the closet as we were not sure when the last time it was cleaned). The chair with the blue cushion looked worn out and the carpet looked like it has not been cleaned in years. The bathroom was efficient and the water pressure was good, except a strong spray when the water was turned on. We did not even check whether the tiny television was working or what channels were available. That was it, no in-room telephone or wireless internet connection. Even with the unpleasant incident and an almost sleepless night at the Wagon Wheel Motel, we thought it was a pretty good traditional Route 66 experience. 
As part of our travel plan to have a Route 66 experience, we spent one night at the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri. The motel opened in 1934 and is named one of the best-preserved authentic Route 66 motels.
After the drive-in movie, (the first feature Harry Potter started at 9:15 p.m.) we got back into our unit around 11:30 p.m. and were ready for the night. We woke up at 2:30 a.m. when we heard and saw thru the window a group of five young men drinking and talking loudly outside our cabin. They looked like they were visiting the monthly residents in the nearby cabins. One young man leaned against the T-bird and another put his beer down on the car. You must know by now from reading my blog that my husband loves the T-bird. Leaning against the T-bird and putting drinks down on the painted area would be a "crime against humanity"! Then we saw another young man urinated near the T-bird and the group laughed when he pretended as if he was going to spray the car (thankfully he did not). My husband and I watched helplessly with our cell phones ready to call for help should these people started to do some damage to our vehicle. It was a tense and rather frightening moment for me. Keep in mind that the lobby or front desk was actually a living room of the motel owner or a ground-keeper. So we were pretty much on our own should something serious happened. In a regular hotel, we could at least alert the night clerk of the situation without direct involvement. Thank God these people decided that they had enough drinks, got on their motorcycles and pick-up trucks and left at around 3:45 a.m. 
I was so exhausted from those terrifying moments, yet unable to sleep, we decided to check out of the unit at around 7:30 a.m. the next morning. From this experience, I would highly recommend that you should obtain a cabin with attached garage (especially if your vehicle is a convertible Thunderbird) or participate in a motor tour with an association (as a group) if you wish to have a traditional Route 66 overnight accomodation without possible unpleasant incident. Also, don't forget to bring a hair dryer and your own shampoo. 
This is it - what you see is what you get - very primitive - photo above and below showed all the space (Unit #7) of the cabin. As you open the door, a twin bed to your right, a whobbling and sticky (trust me because I could feel and hear the sound created by the condition of the surface) small table right next to the bed (no king size, queen size or two double beds here), a decent size of closet (we did not use the closet as we were not sure when the last time it was cleaned). The chair with the blue cushion looked worn out and the carpet looked like it has not been cleaned in years. The bathroom was efficient and the water pressure was good, except a strong spray when the water was turned on. We did not even check whether the tiny television was working or what channels were available. That was it, no in-room telephone or wireless internet connection. Even with the unpleasant incident and an almost sleepless night at the Wagon Wheel Motel, we thought it was a pretty good traditional Route 66 experience. 
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