Review - Ana’s Lake Motel 68
This is one of the series of irregular SL Motel reviews. Note, as it’s not fair to compare a Motel to a full resort with RP activities and staff, I don’t score these in the same way.
Summary
Edit (Nov 2023) - Since publishing this review, owner Ana has added a lot of new features, including a reception area, and maids (actual RP maids) who come in several times a day. The Motel has also moved, so I updated the SLURL.
Ana’s Lake Motel 68 is on a nature themed sim, which also has trailers available to rent for anyone wanting to stay longer. Like most Motels, it’s free. However, unlike most other Motels, there’s actually quite a lot to do here.
And though quite simple, a lot of attention has been devoted to putting together the rooms, with some really good quality furniture.
Overall look and feel
The Motel is located by a large lake surrounded by trailers, a forest and mountains.
The main building has several rooms on a single floor, with a car park out front. It then faces the lake, from which there are various DIY activities you can do from bumper boats to horse riding.
If you go and explore, there are a few hidden areas in the mountains, like a hot spring.
The overall look and feel is kind of forest reserve meets a community living off the grid.
All in all, I thought everything was nicely done. It also appears to be regularly maintained, when I was there, the owner (Anastasia Juriya) was swapping out some of the furniture in the bathrooms as she wasn’t happy with what was there before.
I also understand that there’s also quite an active community here that rents the trailers around the lake, which means that there’s a bit of life here, and it’s not deserted.
The rooms
There’s a series of rooms, with a kind of retro design. Each room has a bed, sofa and there’s a working bathroom attached. Many Motels just don’t bother with the latter, so this is a plus point.
Every room also has an array of animations, in the bedroom and bathroom. The idea is that it is different in every room. For example, I was told that one room has furniture that specifically caters to FF couples.
From what I could see, the brands used, from Darkenfold to Ruckus, are pretty high quality.
The facilities
The majority of Motels have nothing at all beyond the rooms. Ana’s Lake Motel has quite a lot.
You can rez a horse or bike from outside the Motel, you can windsurf on the lake, there’s even a hang gliding spot at the top of the mountain.
Other considerations
Privacy - The Motel is free, so of course you can’t lock off the rooms
Adult - Yes, the rooms have a selection of adult enabled furniture, including for same sex couples
Price - Free, but if you want to rez there’s a 150L charge to join the group
Lag - I didn’t encounter any (I run SL on a 2021 Macbook Pro).
Overall
Having now seen a lot of Second Life Motels, I was quite impressed. The owner seems to care a lot about her creation, down to the small details of what’s in the rooms.
Especially given that it costs nothing to come here, there’s quite a lot on offer.
