Hotels We Like

Mojave Sands, Joshua Tree

Last year we told you about a hotel which a friend of ours was building in Joshua Tree. It’s now open, and Mojave Sands looks great.

Mojave Sands is a five-room motel located in Joshua Tree, California, in the high desert close to the national park. The original building was created in 1952, but fell into disrepair and was used as a flophouse for ‘transients, outlaws and lost souls’. That’s according to artist, photographer and designer Blake Simpson who bought it in 2002, gutted it and has been working on it since then. It opened earlier this year, a work of art in its own right.

It’s simple, pared down and ecologically-friendly, decorated with reclaimed wood, insulated with recycled denim, and planted with native flora. Doors, windows, gates and furniture were all designed and built on site.

Each of the five rooms is pretty much self-contained, with private patio and fountain, full kitchen, a small library, and a few old school creative features, including a typewriter and record player.

Yes, you could live there – and that’s exactly what Blake wants you to do: relax and work on creative projects. There’s even a music and film production studio on a nearby property, complete with its own private house and hot tub. RM

2010 Oct 25 no responses. share this

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