8 Best Hotels in The Mojave Desert, California

One of the best hotels in town, this Best Western offers a handful of larger rooms with pull-out couches, a voucher for a free breakfast at the cafe next door, and an attractive pool area that offers some precious shade.

This mountain-lodge-style hotel, where the river-rock lobby has a wonderfully large hearth, is a good base for exploring the town or going skiing and trout fishing nearby. Rooms are elegantly furnished; request number 140 for a view of the creek. In summer you can sit around fire tables near the water's edge.

Rooms are spacious and contemporary, and there is both an indoor pool and large outdoor patio and pool area ideal for large groups. The open lobby includes a bistro that serves specialty coffees, soups and sandwiches. Other amenities include a business center, fitness room, a full bar, grab-n-go market, and cubbies stocked with books to peruse. Rooms were ungraded in 2023 with new TVs, microwaves, and mini-refrigerators. Families should request a room with a pull-out sofa bed. 

From the moment you’re greeted with a warm chocolate chip cookie, you know you’re in for a good stay at this DoubleTree hotel just 10-minutes outside Lancaster. There are plenty of other perks here, too, including a market, gym, pool, bar, business center, and common spaces with TVs and games. Connecting the rooms to the lobby–restaurant area is a corridor draped in white silks. A breakfast buffet ($16) is plentiful, but it’s dinner at Hangar 300 that you don’t want to miss, with shared plates of fish tacos and burger sliders, alongside mains like Atlantic salmon and Thai chicken salad. The kind staff and lovely touches like Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries keep this hotel on repeat.

Built to cater to the film industry, this lodging in the center of town consists of a 1923 hotel—where John Wayne, Gene Autry, and other Western-movie greats stayed—and a late-1950s motel, where rooms (many of them updated in 2023) are more spacious. Both buildings have access to a pool and are within walking distance of just about everything in town. 

This former antiques store and car garage landed in the right hands with the Rose family, who transformed it into a boutique hotel for those on a hostel budget. Designed with community in mind, there are plenty of common spaces, including a kitchen; picnic area; and lounge with games, books, and a fireplace for winter nights. Rooms are spotless and modern, including the bunk rooms for hikers seeking refuge from the Pacific Crest Trail. Among the lodging options are seven private rooms, five family rooms, four bunk rooms, and one apartment suite. In summer, an airstream is set up, offering pastries to go with your free coffee served daily from 6 to 10 am.

Your best bet in Ridgecrest, the Hampton has a well-equipped exercise room; pool; impeccable Internet service, free breakfast; laundry facilities; early check-in/late check-out (based on availability); and rooms with microwaves, mini-refrigerators, and coffeemakers. The studio and one-bedroom suites with sofa beds are great for families. Local restaurants are just minutes away.

In a sea of chain hotels this one has a few homespun touches up its sleeves, such as the cozy living-room-style lobby and designated pet-friendly rooms. Spacious rooms have microwaves, refrigerators, coffee machines, and a work area. Complimentary breakfast is served and there’s an indoor pool and fitness center. It's within walking distance of the outlet mall and Chili's restaurant is next door.