It's ANOTHER Sands. This one has a high 60s swank factor - the sign. the stone, the loud-as-hell coffee shop with a counter and seats with backs, the hair of the woman who blocks the diving board and swears NONE SHALL PASS. Also the yellow drapes in the lobby. Also the conjoined diamonds that formed the roof and the awning. Perfect. The Best Western sign spoiled things somewhat, but it usually did.

The back of the card says it had “Exotic food” in the “Spacious Dining Room.” Wonder if that meant pineapple. The directions were maddening, though - “Southeast on Highway 287” doesn’t really narrow it down. So you take East 1-40 Westbound - already we’re in the “Live and Die in LA” car chase then exit Tee Anchor Blvd., Eastbound - which appears to be impossible, as far as I can tell; then take Nelson, which does not intersect Tee Anchor. So maybe they’ve reconfigured the streets somewhat. There’s certainly nothing around that looks like a motel, let alone something that was once that cool.