Ocala Motels

The first thing to consider when going on vacation other than where to go, is where to stay.

I wanted to stay in a vintage motel and Ocala is full of them!  Some not in the best locations, so as I was researching the one to pick I would do a google streetview 360 and make sure I didn't see any blurred out prostitutes hanging around, or that the sign said things like "monthly rates, meth allowed as payment". 

Even if we didn't stay in a particular motel, we did do drive-bys while in town to get photos of the awesome signage and mid century architecture.

Here are the places we didn't stay:

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  Holiday Motel

{vintage postcard}
As it was in the 1960s.

As it is today.

Holiday motel has the remnants of a great old sign that has unfortunately been reworked with modern bits.  This motel was a little shady looking and right on a busy highway.

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Star Motel

{vintage postcard}
As it was...

As it is....

This sign is fantastic and I wanted to stay here just for it but no, no boo boo.  It had people sitting around the front of each unit with 'nothing to do' if you know what I mean.


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Flamingo Motel

{vintage postcard}
As it was...

As it is...

{vintage postcard}

{modern times}

I thought the property for this motel was beautiful.  Look at that oak tree!  We didn't stay here because we had read a few reviews that made the place sound like it may have at one time been a brothel.


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The Alamo Motel

{vintage postcard}
"You Will Remember The Alamo"

Yes, you will remember The Alamo...but only in nightmares.  I am actually not sure if this place was even open but it was not somewhere we would have stayed.  The pool had been filled in and is now a rectangle of grass.  It would have made a fun picture to put an inflatable pool toy down and pretend to be in a pool though.

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Silver Springs Motel

{circa 2016}

The Silver Springs motel is located not too far from the Silver Springs State Park.

{circa 2016}


{me circa 2003, check how much the palm has grown)

I stayed here before and the place wasn't too bad then.  It had some neat features and fixtures.

{circa 2016}

Lovely plants and architecture.

Back in 2003, in the same spot as above.

I didn't get a good vibe off of it when we went by in 2016 to take the current photos.

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The Dixie Motel 

Yikes.  Don't even think about staying here.  Neat motel details on the window though.

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The Palms Motel

The motel was nothing to look at...I mean really.  I don't know where the motel to this sign was.  It was just a neat sign on the highway.

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Sun-Days Motel

 This guy is a cutie.  But not the motel.

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Sun Plaza Motel

{circa 2003}
On the trip I took back in 2003 I wasn't aware of this motel until after dropping money down at the Silver Springs Motel and then seeing this place on the way into the Silver Springs Park.  It was clean, vintage, and so freaking adorable.  The sign alone was worth staying there!  I pledged to myself if I ever made it back to Silver Springs I would be staying at The Sun Plaza Motel.

{circa 2016}
In 2016, when I checked into staying here I discovered that they had removed the cute sun man from the sign.  Idiots.  Then I saw they hoity toity-ed up the place removing a lot of the vintage charm along with charging a crap ton to stay there.
I am sure it is a nice place to stay; safe, convenient, and no bedbugs.
But while we were looking for those kind of features in the motel we would choose to stay at, above all it had to have vintage charm.

Next up is where we stayed!