Westward Motel

Rande Wolters spent 25 years of his life on the road, working for rock bands and living in hotels. After he left that line of work, he says, “I wanted something that was totally different.” In the mid-2000s, Wolters bought Salome’s five-room Westward Motel, which dates to 1942, because it reminded him of the iconic spots along Historic Route 66. He’s since completed a massive renovation of the entire property and turned one of the rooms into a common area with a full kitchen for guests to use.

The four remaining guest rooms feature gas fireplaces for chilly Sonoran Desert winters, along with plush beds, antique furniture and Wi-Fi. But visitors often spend much of their time relaxing on the veranda and enjoying the McMullen Valley’s desert views. The Westward isn’t what you’d expect to find in a tiny Western Arizona town, and that’s exactly how Wolters likes it: “We don’t do anything normal. That’s our goal.”