Wigwam Motel (Rialto / San Bernardino)

Frank A. Redford was a Kentucky-born entrepreneur with an amateur passion for Native American culture (an interest that would today be considered problematically appropriative, but which was a common mid-century roadside-architecture theme) and a businessman's eye for distinctive roadside motels. In 1933 he built his first Wigwam Village in Horse Cave, Kentucky — a small cluster of conical teepee-shaped cottages arranged around a central office. The architecture was striking enough that the property became a regional landmark, and Redford patented the design in 1936 as US Patent D98,617, claiming exclusive rights to the wigwam-shaped tourist cabin.

Between 1933 and 1949 Redford built or licensed six Wigwam Villages across the United States: Horse Cave KY (Village 1, 1933), Cave City KY (Village 2, 1937), New Orleans LA (Village 3, 1940), Orlando FL (Village 4, 1948), Holbrook AZ (Village 6, 1950 — built and operated by Chester E. Lewis under license), and San Bernardino CA (Village 7, 1949 — built by Redford himself). Only three of the six survive: Cave City Kentucky, Holbrook Arizona, and San Bernardino California. The two Route 66 wigwams (Holbrook and San Bernardino) are the most famous and the most actively-maintained working motels of the three surviving properties.

Redford's San Bernardino property opened in 1949 with 19 teepees arranged in a horseshoe around a central courtyard and swimming pool. The concrete-and-stucco construction was unusual for motor courts of the era (most contemporary motels were wood-frame or simple cinder-block) and is the reason the structures have survived three-quarters of a century with relatively modest restoration. The teepees were originally numbered for easy identification by drive-up guests, the central neon "Sleep in a Wigwam" sign was installed at construction, and the property was advertised in regional travel guides as a destination for Route 66 family travelers heading west.

By the 1990s the Wigwam Motel had fallen into significant disrepair. Route 66 had been decommissioned in 1985, Foothill Boulevard traffic had collapsed, multiple owners had cycled through the property without serious capital investment, and the teepees themselves were showing decades of deferred maintenance. The property was perilously close to demolition. In 2003 the Patel family — a Southern California Indian-American hospitality family with extensive motel ownership across the Inland Empire — purchased the property with the explicit intention of restoring it as a historic Route 66 destination rather than redeveloping the lot.

The Patel restoration was substantial and respectful. The 19 teepees received structural concrete repair, fresh white paint, fully renovated interiors (modern bathrooms, air conditioning, comfortable queen beds, contemporary furniture and decor), and updated electrical and plumbing systems. The central swimming pool was refurbished and reopened. The 1949 neon "Sleep in a Wigwam" sign was carefully restored to working order. The lawn between the teepees was replanted and a small fleet of vintage 1950s and 1960s automobiles was acquired and parked permanently on the property as photographic accents — a particularly effective touch that has made the Wigwam one of the most-photographed Route 66 properties in the social-media era.

The Patels have continued to operate the motel through the 2010s and 2020s with consistent quality. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, the same year the family purchased it. Online reviews on standard travel platforms consistently average 4.2 to 4.5 stars across hundreds of guest reports; the rare negative reviews tend to come from travelers who expected resort-style luxury (the property is unambiguously a budget motel with a historic-character premium) rather than legitimate maintenance complaints.

Each of the 19 teepees is freestanding, with a small private parking spot directly in front. The exterior is the original 1949 white concrete with a sweeping conical shape rising to a peak roughly 30 feet above ground level; the interior reveals the conical ceiling shape and produces an unusual room geometry that is part of the charm. Standard teepees contain a queen bed, a small en-suite bathroom with shower, a flat-screen television, a small dresser, and limited additional furniture; the rooms are functional and clean rather than spacious. A handful of larger family teepees can accommodate two queen beds.

Amenities are modest but complete: free Wi-Fi throughout the property, in-room air conditioning and heating (essential given Southern California summer heat), small in-room coffee makers, mini-fridges in larger units, and the central swimming pool which is heated seasonally and is genuinely usable spring through fall. The property does not have an on-site restaurant, breakfast service, gym, or business center. The front-desk office is staffed afternoon and evening hours; overnight check-in is available with advance arrangement.

The experience is closer to a clean, well-maintained budget motel with extraordinary architectural character than to a boutique hotel. Guests choosing the Wigwam are choosing the experience of sleeping in a concrete teepee on Route 66, not the amenities. Repeat guests universally describe the experience as memorable and worthwhile; one-time visitors who expected luxury occasionally find the rooms smaller than they anticipated. Setting expectations correctly produces a genuinely happy stay.

Standard nightly rates run roughly $100 to $130 for the smaller teepees and $130 to $160 for the larger family-size units, with seasonal variation and weekend premiums. The Wigwam runs higher on weekends (Friday and Saturday nights) and during Route 66 tourism peak months (April through October); midweek rates in winter can drop below $100. The property does not participate in major loyalty programs (no Marriott Bonvoy, no Hilton Honors, no Choice Privileges) — it is a fully independent operation, and bookings are made directly through the Wigwam's own website or by phone.

Reservations are strongly recommended, especially for weekend stays and during peak tourism months. The 19-teepee inventory is small and the property's social-media visibility has driven booking demand consistently higher across the past decade. Booking 2-4 weeks ahead is typical for weekends; 1-2 days ahead generally works for midweek stays. Special-event nights (Route 66 Rendezvous weekend in late September, holiday weekends, summer school-vacation peaks) book out 4-8 weeks ahead.

Check-in is 3pm and check-out is 11am, with some flexibility for road-tripper schedules. The property generally accommodates earlier arrivals (you can park, photograph the property, and use the pool before formal check-in) and later departures (with prior arrangement). The Patel ownership has been notably gracious with Route 66 travelers across the years; reasonable schedule requests are usually honored.

Visiting the San Bernardino Wigwam pairs naturally with a visit to the Holbrook Arizona Wigwam, 600 miles east on Route 66. Many serious Mother Road road-trippers deliberately stay at both during the same trip — the symmetry of beginning a westbound trip with a teepee night in Holbrook and ending the Route 66 portion (before continuing to Santa Monica) with a teepee night in San Bernardino has become an established Route 66 pilgrimage ritual. The two properties communicate occasionally; loyal Holbrook guests sometimes receive recommendations to book San Bernardino, and vice versa.

The Pixar film Cars (2006) drew explicit visual inspiration from the Wigwam Motels for its Cozy Cone Motel sequences in the fictional town of Radiator Springs. John Lasseter and the Cars production team famously road-tripped Route 66 during pre-production research, stayed at the Holbrook Wigwam, and incorporated the teepee-cabin architectural concept into the film's most-memorable accommodation imagery. Younger guests at both Wigwam properties frequently arrive having seen the film and being delighted to discover that the Cozy Cone is based on real concrete teepees you can sleep in.

Beyond the road-tripper-pilgrimage angle, the Wigwam is also one of the few mid-century roadside-architecture properties on Route 66 that has been continuously preserved as its original use (an operating motel) rather than converted to a museum or restaurant. The visceral experience of actually sleeping in a 1949 teepee on the original Route 66 alignment is genuinely different from viewing the same architecture from outside as a museum exhibit, and the Patel ownership's commitment to maintaining the property as a working motel rather than a static landmark is part of what makes the experience worthwhile.