Travel Spotlight: The Clown Motel

Today’s review is a re-post from last July when we were moving from Austin to Oregon. All the recent mental strain over our future housing has made me wish for simpler times…. booking a night at a quaint motel in the middle of nowhere…. adjacent to a cemetary…. filled with clowns…. Enjoy:

I think my favorite response when i posted to Facebook that we’d be staying at a place called The Clown Motel was by a friend who said:

        “Dear god, why?”

or maybe my other friend who said:

       “Seriously. I am crossing my fingers regarding ever seeing or hearing from you again. What works against clowns? I don’t even know – but get some of that before you go.”

I love it.
Yes, clowns are creepy. I’m not a huge fan of clowns. And a motel that resides along side a graveyard is even creepier when it is also filled with clown decor. That being said, The Clown Motel in Tonopah, NV was by far the coolest place i’ve stayed in a long time.

To start out, the rates at TCM are fantastic. Under $35 for my whole family: me, the husband, and the Pocket dog INCLUDING tax.  On top of the affordability, TCM has Free wireless, decent channel selection, a table and chairs for snacking or working, a microwave and a mini fridge. They have hot coffee in the morning and most notably: the largest collection of porcelain clowns in the world in their office. I loved that our dog was welcome with no extra fees. She loved the comfy carpeting and fenced in cemetery to disrespect with joyous running after days cramped in a car. She didn’t love the 2nd floor concept, but figured out she wouldn’t fall to her death if she stayed close to us.

I fully enjoyed our stay at The Clown Motel. The bed was comfy and we got a great night’s sleep after a delicious meal heated up in our microwave while sitting in our camp chairs on the porch enjoying one of the first sunsets i’d seen in years. Tonopah itself is gorgeous: surrounded by lovely mountains and preceded by miles and miles of untampered desert (not a good thing when you’re making the trek with your gas dial on E). I’m not sure what else there is “to do” there, but we really enjoyed looking at all the old and history seeming markers on the tombstones. If you’re planning on stopping between Vegas and Reno, make your stop in Tonopah and stay in the Clown Motel.

Make a reservation though, this joint is pretty popular and fills up fast!

Have you stayed at the Clown Motel? Any other interesting local joints that you’ve booked a night in, against what might be your better judgement?