La Jolla Motel in Islamorada, Florida

A big part of travel for me is the adventure of taking a risk on something and being rewarded in a surprising way you couldn't plan on or expect. The roads you take, the places you eat, the people you meet and the places you sleep are all opportunities for reward. So why take the safe route by driving only on the highway, eating in chain restaurants, talking to "safe" looking people and staying in name brand lodgings?

For the next couple of days I'm staying at the La Jolla motel in Islamorada (Florida Keys) so I can take a break from camping and go diving this weekend in Key Largo about 20 minutes north of here.

The La Jolla is a locally owned and operated motel on US1 in Islamorada in the Florida Keys. It was originally built in the 1940s and looks like it received some upgrades in the 1960s. Today it is a beautiful example of what a well maintained older motel from the golden era of American road travel.

When I arrived yesterday to check it out and explained I was a single traveller looking for a simple, inexpensive accommodation for a couple of days, the manager suggested "Room #1". He said it was a little odd and that before he'd reserve it for me I should check it out first. So keys in hand, I took a look.

As you can see, Room #1 looks like one of those odd spaces turned into a motel room after the building was built. Perhaps a gratis room for a night manager or something, but now they rent it out. It was small, cozy, eccentric and unusual. Exactly what I like. And to my surprise it had a kitchen and fridge so I could stop using the camp stove and coolers for a few days and be civilized. They even have wireless internet in the lobby (which happened to be right next to Room #1).

The La Jolla motel has a pool surrounded by palm trees in the front courtyard area, an amazing amount of greenery, bright beautiful colors inside and out of all the lodgings, and the back of the property opens to the Gulf of Mexico. On that side they have a 6 or eight boat dock and a boat ramp so this motel is popular with the fishing crowd that tow their boats down and dock them a couple hundred feet from their rooms. Two hammocks, a large group table under a tiki roof and an outdoor grill make this a great place for groups or families to enjoy. Other rooms are much more spacious: one is a two bedroom suite with a wall of glass that lets you enjoy the sunset from your air conditioned living room area.

I wish all, or at least more, classic motels were operated this well. Most of what I run into elsewhere is an older property with low budget fixtures and slap-dash repair work to keep things running. They're still fun for me, but I don't think I'd go back to them. I will come back to this one and I'll recommend it to others.