Desert Hills Motel

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with this motel. I've stayed here several times in the last ten years, and never had any problems. The rooms are clean, wifi works great. Never saw any cops here for anything. Yes, this is a vintage motel. If you are used to staying at the Ritz Carlton, and expect everythimg to be perfect, and handed to you on a silver platter and sparkling...forget it....this is not for you....go away.

Sparkling like a jewel on historic Route 66 stands the Desert Hills Motel, an old drive-up motel with a cool neon sign, a well manicured lawn and a fresh coat of paint on the walls. We pulled up and turned the old-fashioned key in the well used lock and prepared to step back in time.||||The room was cute, turquoise and pink, with a king-size bed and a retro Magic Chef mini fridge. The air conditioner was off, the day was hot, and as we stepped across the threshold the stench of old cigarettes, shame and mildew not only assaulted the olfactory, but it also punched you in the lungs.||||“Oh my God!” is not something my wife says often. She was exercising self control. The room was moist and clammy. By the grace of the road fairies the a/c unit worked, but even when the temperature dropped to meat locker the odor that emanated from the damp carpet and bedspread of questionable cleanliness was suffocating. I uttered a silent prayer that neither of us would have an asthma attack in our sleep.||||Had we not been exhausted we might have gone to war with the surly desk clerk and gone somewhere else, but we just didn’t have it in us. So, we stripped the comforter off and slept in our clothes. It is a bit disconcerting to lie beneath a crisp sheet and every time your back itches, wonder if it’s lice, bed bugs, or some alien fungus that is seeping up from the mattress. I drifted into an uneasy slumber with my socks on in case I needed to go urinate in the night. I did not want my bare flesh to touch the floor.||||We survived the night although I have developed a cough and am praying that I didn’t contract some rare bacterial infection from the cold air that blasted on me from the window unit. I’m sure I’ll be fine. Really.

Worst experience of my life 🙃 😪 lady was rude and short, gave us looks like we was out of our area and the experience was just not pleasant! For what they charge it isnt worth it, room was outdated, air-conditioning was loud and barely worked, beds are hard as heck and you can feel the springs, not to forget she called at 1005am check out is at 11 asking us do we know what time it is and that check out is at 11 my companion said yes it's 1005 she replied not by my watch it's 1020 they kinda got into small argument! Will never be going back there again worst experience by far!

The woman was very rude. Asking way more than hotel is worth. Stay away unless u like wasting money.

I was driving old rt 66 and wanted to stay at the original motels. probably the most sparse placed I stayed at over 12k miles....no coffee in room/lobby. being as it's a historical place I could accept that tho. there was a diner a couple blocks up the road where I could get coffee....a nice neighborhood across 66 where I could walk.

We had a very pleasant stay, stayed there twice in two different occasions. Room had the old time vibe.

Our TV is not working. The lady was rude. Cox is closed. They shouldn't put people in a room with a non- working cable service. She refused to trade is rooms or troubleshoot the TV.

Total rip off. Hotel is trash. I have no idea why they think this hotel is worth 400 a week. Will not be returning

As a Tulsa native, it's been some time since my last stay at the Desert Inn. This establishment hasn't changed in the last 50 years and is known as a no-tell hotel. Its recent claim to fame is its appearance on the TV series "Tulsa King," starring Sylvester Stallone, where scenes were filmed in the lobby, a room, and the parking lot. The portrayal on television as a dump mirrors its real-life condition. The areas along Route 66, also known as 11th Street, and the regions north are generally not recommended for visits, especially at night. In the '70s, the place was a hit among Will Rogers High School students. Rooms cost $5, and a six-pack of Coors was just $1.75. We'd rent three or four rooms, stock the bathtubs with ice and beer, bring our girlfriends, and party the entire weekend. It was a cash-only business with no ID checks. As long as we paid, anything went. The parking lot would be packed. It was a blast back then, even though the area wasn't safe, and it's even less so today. If you're visiting Tulsa and need a hotel, opt for south Tulsa or downtown to avoid break-ins or unwelcome visitors. Most things have stayed the same except for the price, and no more high school students are there on weekends.

I'm not sure why everyone is complaining about the attitude of the owner or clerk or whatever. I have a litany of complaints about this hotel, but the one thing good I can say about it is the people I interacted with were friendly and eager to help. The price was good, too: Just $66 to stay in a Route 66 hotel. Clever. It all looked nice from the outside... until you look closer. Things started out bad when we walked into the room and it was, literally, 96 degrees in those cramped quarters. We turned the AC on high, went to find a place for a beer (there weren't any suitable -- it's a REALLY dodgy part of town), came back, and it was down to 87 degrees in the room. Ice water will do the trick, I thought, then found out that the ice machine COSTS MONEY. Paid my 25¢ for a bucket of ice, then went back to the room to make some Cup o' Noodles. No coffee maker in the room. Manager tells me there is a microwave for customers to use, so I went there to boil water in the dilapidated 30-year-old appliance. Five minutes later and my cup of water still wasn't boiling. But the room sure was! The sweltering heat was concentrated in the bathroom, where the water pressure was reminiscent of an octogenarian with an enlarged prostate. The room was clean-ish, though it looked not to have been dusted since Clinton was in office. On the whole, it was a terrible experience. Someone willing to spend some money on the place -- other than for cosmetic issues -- might make this hotel a place worth staying in. My advice, skip the Route 66 theme and stay in a nice hotel in a nicer part of town.

Stayed in room 103 on 11/20/2021 and 11/21/2021. Check-in was easy, and I did decline to put my DL and DOB on the registration slip. Room was vintage nostalgia adorable!  Large and well-appointed with desk, dresser, chair/ottoman and two nightstands. The bed was comfortable and the pillows perfect firmness for me. The room had a fridge, but no microwave or coffee.  The closet was huge and the shower hot with great pressure. The bathroom floor was warm - was it heated from below?  If so - wow. They do have ice, but it's $.25 a bucket. The only negatives this stay were the low pressure in the bathroom sink faucet and a local twea%er knocking on the door at 11AM. Each night cost $65. Grade:  B Stay again?  Absolutely

This motel was awful!!!! The room reeked of cigarettes And mothballs and the bed didn't look like it had been cleaned in months. I also saw three massive roaches in the bathroom and what looked like they're feces all on the corners of the walls and bedding which had holes from of course cigarettes.

Great place, very accommodating, we ran in to tire problems. Wonderful place and great people who run the hotel Would recommend and will stay again Thanks

Very nice and clean place! You can check in at anytime at night without any reservations or online booking. Just walk in pay $65 per room with friendly staff and enjoy your quiet night sleep! Bed is very big and comfortable, ac works fine , bathroom stylish and clean. I'm f you travel on Route 66 and want cheap place to sleep this one is really cool!

Not sure about the other rooms but room 101 and 102 Are Route 66 cool. Get 101 if you can. The bed was comfortable and the room was quit. The room was clean and seemed to have all new linens. I know they have refurbished 26 of 51 rooms. The staff was nice. Downside - microwave is next to ice machine and charged me a quarter for the ice. And yes the neon sign was da bomb. Great value.

Filthy sheets and filthy bathroom. The shower drained very slowly. Very disappointed with what has happened here.

This is not the Route 66 motel you are looking for. I found this motel when researching vintage Route 66 motels while planning our vacation; this one came recommended on some blog post re Route 66. I was surprised both at the low price and the availability during the busy summer months. The hotel staff was exceedingly friendly when I booked days before our arrival, and I was thrilled to find a vacancy. The front desk was less hospitable upon check in and I was concerned when I only saw one other car in the parking lot. We went in search of dinner in downtown Tulsa, assuming we'd return to a full parking lot, but only saw one additional car when we returned. I was not convinced of the cleanliness of the rooms so slept on the top of the bed with my own blanket and pillow not wanting to crawl under those sheets and bedspread. My 9 year old daughter was scared to sleep there given the condition of the room and the two random men waking the motel parking lot that night so we slept with the lights on all night. The bathroom had cool Route 66 tile, but otherwise wasn't the cleanest and for some reason was 15 degrees hotter than the rest of the room. Overall adequate for a one night's stay. And, as others have mentioned, the neon sign photographs well at night. We also noted the 25 cents for ice, but my kids liked the vintage ice machine. Also, front desk provided us 4 quarters for free when we tried to break $1 for the ice machine the next morning; so not all bad.

If we're working under the Yelp assertion that 2 stars = "Meh. I've experienced better," then yes, Desert Hills Motel is a two star joint. I hate giving shoddy reviews in general, especially when service or food isn't downright deplorable, but the truth is, I *have* experienced better than what this motel offers. I admit it. I was suckered in by the neon sign on our trip through Tulsa. We were exhausted from a long day of driving, but not so tired that we would settle for any old junky motel with crappy signage. Not on Route 66. So we were lured by the neon at Desert Hills, learned that they charge less than $50 per night and thought we'd chance it. In the end, it wasn't a horrible experience, but you do get what you pay for. In this case, that meant we got a bed and a TV in an air-conditioned room that somehow still felt humid and smelled a bit stale. Now, I'm kind of a freak when it comes to bathrooms--sometimes even nice hotels don't live up to my bathroom standards. One tiny spot of anything (hard water stain, a bit of missing grout) and I get the shivers. This bathroom was not dirty or gross, but it was soooo bare bones. The little towels were awfully scratchy, the lights kind of permanently dim. No bugs, no visible dirt or anything--but not what I'd think of as a standard hotel bathroom. As I said, you get what you pay for. All said and done, we got a good night sleep for a song. Anyone who's ever gone camping or stayed at hostels (neither of which I've really experienced) would probably give a more favorable review, but still, "I've experienced better." The sign was pretty kick ass, though.

Cheap and on historical Route 66 also it was very quiet. I would highly recommend this Motel!

When I 1st heard of this motel, it was through a book called "Route 66 Road Trips" published by Lonely Plant. The address was correct, however someone, somewhere  (meaning author or online or staff) had posted the rest of the information incorrectly. Price: $45.00, but we are charged $65.00 per night. Refrigerator and microwave: well, the microwave is on request otherwise it isn't provided in the rooms. I read somewhere online it was "pet friendly."  I told Sarah, the woman I spoke with on Wednesday afternoon, that I had a pet.  When I asked the price, she quoted the $65.00 rate. I told her what I read about the price being $45.00 and asked if it was "old information" (book is 2nd edition).  She said it was old. Ok, not a problem there. She gave me total for 2 nights.  I asked if it included my pet. She said it didn't but she would give it, keep the total the same anyway. Ok, cool, great. We arrived at the motel. The sign reads "no pets" and a sign inside the walkway has the same.  My fur baby was accepted but I was charged $10.00 per day, so $75.00 now. I told the manager (?) about the phone conversation and he had a written piece of paper in front of him with my info. He said it had the $10.00 charge for him. So, therefore my total is now $150.00. We're tired, at least I am with all of the stressful driving trying to do this Rt 66 drive and it really not being one (that's another story of GPS issues).  The motel is ok. Only 3 cars in the lot, 2 were packing out to leave.  The room is decent. Smelled of smoke though. It's weird that they offer smoking and non-smoking rooms. I thought all of that was over now. Carpeting stained at the front entrance. Refrigerator is really cute. Pale bluish - teal "Magic Chef" brand; about 3.5 ft tall. Furniture old but fits. The bathroom's really cute. Black and white tile with "66" and a cactus design. Clean.  Staff is nice also. Housekeeping came by to ask if we needed anything. So, this is day 1.5 I would consider it. Haven't gone out yet because it's storming out.  I'll update after we leave.  Thanks for reading.

The Route 66 themed room is very cool. My room was clean, shower was hot, bed was comfortable. Parking in in front of my and old school room key. The gentleman that checked me was very nice and informative. If your a fan of Route 66, love classic motels and neon signs this is the place for you. This is not the Hilton this is a older motel on Route 66 that is a mom and pop operation. If you want fancy go somewhere else.

The only reason I'm giving this place two stars is because it hails from the old Route 66 era and it was cheap. We paid $40 to stay here. Unfortunately the room we stayed in was disgusting. It reeked of cigarette smoke and we found bugs.

The website said starting at $35 a night, but once there they demand $60. Room was dirty. Condoms on the floor, one light/lamp, lip stick and other stains all over the walls. The mini fridge barely worked. The trash can was a large old paint tub. The old Arab family that owns the places was extremely rude and refused a refund. We obviously did not stay and very upset that we are out $60

I use the motel for photo shoots. It's mystique is cool but let's face it, if you pay more than $25.00 a night at Desert Hills you are getting ripped off. The rooms stink, the bathrooms have cigarette burns in the tub and the beds are worn. There are plenty of other places to choose.

I was seduced by (1) the late hour and (2) the fact that this motel looked good externally and had been in movies. Mistake. Cockroaches in the room (have pics). No electrical outlet in the bathroom. The showerhead shot out water approximately 2" and only at a trickle. There was a live lightbulb socket in the bathroom with no bulb. Worst of all, the bathroom reeked of urine. Luckily, I travel with disinfectant wipes, but it took me quite a while to wipe dried urine off the toilet, floor, tub and adjacent wall. In addition, the bathroom floor and vanity were emanating heat so much in the 108 degree heat ('cause the room's air conditioner had been turned off) that standing in there, I felt like I was standing in front of a radiant heater --- literally. I subsequently learned that the bathroom apparently features a heated floor, which is not always a plus. The Motel is surrounded by buy here/pay here used car lots, which should give you a clue about its location. Given that there are national chain motels nearby, I urge you to skip the Desert Hills Motel.