Just a couple of hours from Los Angeles in Joshua Tree, California sits another very cool eclectic Trailer Park Motel, Hicksville Trailer Palace. I totally dig the quirkiness of Hicksville and appreciate how the vibe is a bit out of the ordinary all to provoke a sense of a true get-away like none other. With eight customized trailers each designed with a unique theme, experience a hideaway in “The New World”, “The Integratrailer”, “The Pioneer”, “The Sweet”, “The Lux”, “The Pony”, “The Fifi” or “The Sideshow”.
Built by Morgan Higby Night (LA writer and director) in 2010, it’s an artist retreat as well as a comfortable, fun, energetic and pretty darn cool place for anyone to spend some time relaxing. You can BBQ, enjoy all the music that Joshua Tree has to offer, oodles of games like table tennis, darts, horseshoes or archery. Privacy is of utmost importance so you won’t even find out the actual address of the property until the day before you arrive. Get wild at Hicksville and have a blast!
My friends at Mali Mish just visited a super cool vintage trailer hotel that I had never heard of. I had to investigate. El Cosmico is a one of a kind vintage trailer hotel and campground on 18 acres in Marfa, Texas. Where is Marfa, Texas you ask? Well, it’s a few hundred miles west of Austin. Just love to see these unique hotels popping up all over the world. And for El Cosmico, you can enjoy not only big blue skies and billowing clouds but, a restful stop in the middle of Texas and an experience most could only wish for.
“El Cosmico is part vintage trailer, safari tent and teepee hotel and campground, part creative lab, greenhouse and amphitheatre – a community space that fosters and agitates artistic and intellectual exchange.”
Trailers include: 1956 IMPERIAL MANSION, 1953 VAGABOND , 1951 ROYAL MANSION, 1949 SPARTAN MANSION, 1951 KOZY COACH, 1950 BRANSTRATOR and an 18′ LITTLE PINKY. All trailers come complete with bedding, towels, all kitchen needs, hot water, floor heating, fans, fridge and stove.
Additional amenities:
Bath House: our bath house features showers, tub, toilets, sinks and a few electrical outlets. Camping doesn’t have to be dirty. Hammock Grove: relax. Internet: wireless internet is available in our lobby lounge Kitchen: shared outdoor kitchen onsite with fridge, bar-b-cues and picnic tables for guests.
“El Cosmico offers opportunities for creativity and play. Our evolving program of workshops and retreats ranges from sewing to cooking to art classes to writing workshops and more. Over time, we will add a series of art shacks – a silk screen workshop, a pottery studio, a darkroom, and others – places for both guests and locals to get their hands dirty. In addition to the Trans-Pecos Festival of Music and Love held annually onsite, our program of events and festivals is expanding to include film, music and cultural events.”
Let’s face it ~ we’ve all done the typical hotel stays. Some better than others but, hotels are hotels. Why not opt for a stay in a hip, retro, stylish and super comfy Airstream travel trailer turned hotel? I have searched the world to bring you information on Airstream hotels and I’m so thrilled to have learned about this revitalized concept: Santa Barbara Auto Camp. I contacted Wally Hofmann and he was so gracious to share with me the history below and all of these magnificent photos. I have promised Wally that I will for sure be stopping by on my next trip to California. So, give up the hum-drum hotel stay and book yourself into the coolest lodging in Santa Barbara. You will then experience for yourself what all the hype is about when it comes to the iconic American Airstream travel trailers! Happy Glamping in 2013!
AIRSTREAM HOTEL OPENS IN SANTA BARBARA, CA
SB Auto Camp Grand Opening Celebrates 90-year Anniversary
Great article published by the Santa Barbara Independent!
A unique and luxuriously nostalgic lodging experience awaits travelers to California’s Central Coast. Ninety years of history have been resurrected with the restoration and reopening of the historic Santa Barbara Auto Camp located in the heart of Santa Barbara, just a 15-minute walk from the old Santa Barbara Mission.
For the past month, neighbors have been admiring the re-landscaped park entrance that features four smartly renovated Airstream trailers. The SB Auto Camp is part of an existing RV park that houses 30 other trailers from varying manufacturers. Several dozen local residents live full-time at the park – some have called it home for more than four decades. The Airstreams are now available for nightly rentals online.
The SB Auto Camp is located a short bike ride southeast of Santa Barbara’s bustling Downtown shopping district. Major shopping centers are within a half mile and quaint local shops, services and eateries are next door and across the street on De La Vina.
These vintage Airstreams have been hand-renovated exclusively for the SB Auto Camp by local Architect Matthew Hofmann’s custom renovation firm, HofArc. “Each Airstream has been uniquely designed to connect yesterday with today, without giving up modern comforts,” says Hofmann. “Our spaces also help connect people with their inner souls and outer environment… and one way we did this was to maintain simple lines and remove the clutter.”
A CENTURY OF HISTORY
In 1915, visionary Santa Barbara City Councilman A.W. Dozier embraced the notion that motorists would stop for the night on their tour of the Golden State’s central coast. He believed that motorist would “lay in a supply of groceries, take in our theatres, spend a little money and get an idea of what Santa Barbara really is.” Within four years, the City of Santa Barbara opened a campground for visiting motorist. In 1922, the Santa Barbara Auto Camp was opened at its current location.
Today, as in the past, Central Coast travelers are attracted to a road-less-traveled mindset. By the mid 1920′s, the travel trailer had yet to be invented, so motorists adapted their cars into custom-made “caravans” in search of solitude and adventure.
The same vision prompted Santa Barbara businessman Neil Dipaola to reinvent the wanderlust experience by re-inviting today’s traveler to the SB Auto Camp. “The SB Auto Camp’s mission is to be true to a time when travelers were drawn by the simplicity of life,” says Dipaola. “From the vintage Airstreams, to the decor, to friendly local color, our goal is to honor the authenticity of the past. This quiet cluster of oaks, located within the heart of local shopping and eateries, allows guests to rediscover the magic.”
RESTORING THE PAST
Longtime residents know the rich history of this secret pocket of Santa Barbara, but not many know how thousands of travelers camped in farmer’s fields and along hidden creeks, to spend the night during their trips up and down the Pacific Coast Highway. The blended goal of drawing travelers back into town, while protecting the fragile ecosystem surrounding Santa Barbara, is what created this rural oasis along Mission Creek in 1922, and it still does today.
For millennia, fresh water springs from Cathedral Park have fed Santa Barbara’s Mission Creek. The sleepy creek, seasonally wet or dry, meanders through Mission Canyon, past the historic Santa Barbara Mission, continuing to the SB Auto Camp where it lingers demurely in still ponds along this tree-covered setting.
RESPECTING THE PRESENT
Each Airstream comfortably sleeps four people and has been locally renovated in Santa Barbara with sustainable construction methods and materials. The units feature all new, all-electric appliances, home-style fixtures and creature comforts found in luxury lodging. Each Airstream also comes with its own outdoor barbecue grill and complimentary use of two retro-styled Huffy beach cruisers and riding helmets.
The SB Auto Camp is working in harmony with the existing park residents. “We want to cultivate a truly local experience for our nightly guest, so we’ve welcomed all long-term residents to stay,” says park manager Ryan Miller. Four vacant spaces a the park were filled with four renovated vintage Airstreams. A fifth space will be available in early 2013 with the departure of another resident.
For reservations and information, click here. Special Grand Opening Rates starting at just $118/night midweek – weekends are just $150/night.
For more on Santa Barbara’s auto transformation, see The Way It Was, by Hattie Beresford, published in the Montecito Journal on August 31, 2006.
For photographs and other media inquiries, contact Wally Hofmann, wally@hofarc.com or (805) 618-2461 x 102
Another trip down memory lane ~ this time in Wildwood, New Jersey which is known as the Doo-Wop capital of the US. So, how very appropriate the hip and retro StarLux Boutique Hotel would offer such cool accommodations for their guests ~ instead of booking a traditional hotel room, book a stay in one of two vintage Airstream travel trailers. “Step into the StarLux Boutique Hotel and Meeting Place and be swept away to another era - when Doo Wop ruled and life was simpler”. Enjoy breakfast, the coolest pool in Wildwood and free bike rentals. Next time I’m in Cape May, I’ll take a short trip north on the Garden State Parkway to check out the StarLux!
