- Motel Inn - Wikipedia
The Motel Inn (originally known as the Milestone Mo-Tel), located in San Luis Obispo, California, United States, was the first "motel" in the world, and the origin of that word, from "Mo-Tel", which is a play on the word "hotel" by combining the words "motor hotel" [1]
- Today in History—December 12: Checking in at the First Motel
One hundred years ago today, the world’s first motel opened, in San Luis Obispo, California Architect brothers Arthur and Alfred Heineman launched their Milestone Mo-Tel as a pit stop between San Francisco and Los Angeles, about 200 miles in either direction, considered an ambitious but doable travel day in 1925
- The world’s first motel opened 100 years ago, but now only . . . - CNN
The Milestone Mo-Tel was located in San Luis Obispo, California, which CNN Travel named one of the best towns to visit in America last year
- The World’s First Motel Was a Luxury Establishment, Not a Dive
Auto travel was becoming normal But on this day in San Luis Obispo, a town roughly between Los Angeles and San Francisco in California, something totally new was happening
- The Birthplace of the American Road Trip: Visiting the World’s First Motel
Planning Your Visit San Luis Obispo remains wonderfully accessible for modern road-trippers The city offers accommodations ranging from boutique hotels to vacation rentals, excellent farm-to-table dining, and easy access to both beach and wine country
- VISIT SLO CAL CELEBRATES 100 YEARS OF ROAD TRIP CULTURE WITH THE . . .
San Luis Obispo County, California, December 12, 2025 – Visit SLO CAL today commemorates a “milestone” moment in global travel history: the 100th anniversary of The Motel Inn—the world’s very first motel—which opened its doors in San Luis Obispo on December 12, 1925
- The World’s First Motel Opened 100 Years Ago 3 Hours From L. A.
Originally known as the Milestone Mo-Tel, the Motel Inn is located just a few hours from the city, more specifically in San Luis Obispo Opened on December 12, 1925, Architect Arthur Heineman designed it as a modern stop for drivers traveling between L A and San Francisco
- The Worlds First Mo-tel Opens - Celebrate California
Built to resemble a mission, the first – and only — Milestone Mo-tel in San Luis Obispo is a new kind of lodging designed for California’s motorists that’s somewhere between a hotel and the rustic auto camps that blossomed along roadside gas stations a decade earlier
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