Motels: Season 3
The places Sam and Dean stay during each episode provides a very important backdrop to each episode. Whether they stay in a motel, squat, stay at Bobby's, or sleep in the car, we are reminded of their nomadic existence. The sets are always excellent, with wonderful attention to detail, the work of Production Designer Jerry Wanek and Art Director John Marcynuk.
The motels in particular have become a signature of the show, with each one having a different theme, and the set detail often contains in-jokes that only the most dedicated fan will get. Jensen said of the motel rooms: "Jerry Wanek's just a crazy guy, and likes to use his talents when he gets the ability to, and the motel rooms are his passion. source."
This entry also lists places the boys travel to in each episode.
- Jensen talks about the motel sets - June 2008.
- Gimme Shelter: Motel and Inns of Supernatural: Season 3 by Bellanut
- Love Shack fanvid by Ash48
See also Motels: Season 1, Motels: Season 2, Motels: Season 4, Motels: Season 5, Motels: Season 6, Motels: Season 7, Motels: Season 8, Motels: Season 9, Motels: Season 10, Motels: Season 11, Motels: Season 12, Motels: Season 13 and Motels: Season 14.
| Episode | Accommodation/ Motel name | Motel Location & Other Locations | Trivia | Picture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.01 The Magnificent Seven | Tamara & Isaac's house (most likely). | Oak Park, Illinois, just west of Chicago
Just outside Lincoln, Nebraska |
||
| 3.02 The Kids Are Alright | Cicero Pines Motel | Cicero, Indiana | The motel name “Cicero Pines” is the same name as the flashback motel from 3.08.
Prop re-use: Flower arrangement also used in 3.11. The exterior of the motel is the same as the exterior of The Adobe Hotel seen in 2.03 |
|
| 3.03 Bad Day at Black Rock | City Centre Motor Hotel | Black Rock, Outside of Buffalo
Queens, New York |
Prop re-use: headboard also seen in the previous episode, 3.02.
The actual City Center Motor Hotel was used as the exterior. Also seen in 2.07, 4.07 and 8.02 Jerry Wanek states “We used the metaphor that Sam’s in a bubble about to burst, so we had things like the screen with round details.” (source: Supernatural Magazine July/Aug 2009) |
|
| 3.04 Sin City | Unnamed hotel | Elizabethville, Ohio | It seems appropriate that a motel from an episode called "Sin City" would feature mirrored ceilings and a return of the Magic Fingers (also seen in 2.13 & 6.02).
Wall ornament returns from 2.08 and 2.20 Bed headboards also seen in 1.19 and 1.14. Hanging lights from 2.20 |
|
| 3.05 Bedtime Stories | Unnamed | Maple Springs, New York | Headboard from 2.07 and 2.10
Dresser from 2.07. |
|
| 3.06 Red Sky at Morning | Abandoned house | Massachusetts | The boys squat in an abandoned house rather than stay in a motel. | |
| 3.07 Fresh Blood | Unnamed | Somewhere in New York State | Jerry Wanek states: “That motel room was essentially a kill room for the boys. The motel was way off the beaten path, they might have been the only occupants that night…” (Source: Supernatural Magazine July/Aug 2009)
Print also used in 2.07 |
|
| 3.08 A Very Supernatural Christmas | Unnamed motel - “The Kinkade Suite”
Flashback: Cicero Pines Motel |
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Flashback: Broken Bow, Nebraska |
On the back of the motel door it says "The Thomas Kinkade Suite" and the painting is reminiscent of a Thomas Kinkade painting. This is a shout-out to Jared's role as Kinkade in The Christmas Cottage.
Bedding from 1.12, 2.17 and 6.04 Flashback motel: Blanket used from 1.20 Cicero Pines Motel sign also used in 3.02 |
|
| 3.09 Malleus Maleficarum | The Conquistador Motel (room 5) | Undisclosed | Mediterranean style décor.
Bedding also seen in 2.11 and 7.05. (Interestingly 7.05 is also an episode with witches). Wall painting (bull fighting) also used in 2.08. |
|
| 3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me | The Aviary Hotel (with the Birdnest Lounge and Restaurant) | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | The theme is one of birds. It features bright blue and green bird wall paper, Escher-esque dove room divider and various birds paintings. | |
| 3.11 Mystery Spot | Flamingo Des Palm Motel
The Bounty Inn (Sam’s motel) |
Broward County, Florida |
Flamingo theme. This hotel has flamingo wallpaper and room divider, and large flamingos painted above the beds. Lamp in The Bounty Inn used in 3.08 The Deer's Head makes an appearance in this episode (not in the motel rooms). The actual Buck & Ear Bar & Grill used as the exterior for the second motel. |
|
| 3.12 Jus in Bello | The Wagon Trail Motel (Room 12) (episode 12) | Monument, Colorado | Cowboy theme. Horse and cowboy room divider, horse and buggy bedding and wall paper, horse paintings, cowboy hats hanging near the door, various horse ornaments, and a tree branch wall lamp.
Bed frame also used in 3.08 |
|
| 3.13 Ghostfacers | none | Morton House is in Webster Springs, West Virginia, though Ed and Harry’s car has Wisconsin plates so the episode could take place somewhere in Wisconsin. | The Deer's Head makes another appearance in the Morton House. | |
| 3.14 Long-Distance Call | The Starburst Motel | Milan, Ohio | A Retro "style"room. It's not stylised retro, rather it looks as though it's actually that old. 50s style fridge and stove, formica table, faded wallpaper and room dividers, etc. | |
| 3.15 Time Is on My Side | The Erie Motel (Room 15) (episode 15)
Bela is staying at Hotel Canaan, Vermont (room 39) |
Pennsylvania, Canaan, Vermont | Headboard reused: 1.18, 2.12, 4.15, 5.04 | |
| 3.16 No Rest for the Wicked | Bobby's house | Sioux Falls, South Dakota
and then New Harmony, Indiana |
