A. A cheap motel.

Q. Where is it supposed to be on the show?

A. In or near Bon Temps, Louisiana.

Q. When did we see it on the show?

A. We see it for the first time in Episode 6 of Season 1 ("Cold Ground")

We see the motel when Sam Merlotte goes there to visit Tara, after she has moved out of her troubled mama's house.

Sam is shocked to find she is staying at the "fleabag" motel, where the thin walls let them overhear the neighbors fighting all the time. He tells her he thought she was going to stay with Lafayette, but she says that Lafayette has a webcam in the bathroom...

Sam & Tara argue a bit, he almost storms out, but they wind up making love.

Afterward, Tara hears Jason Stackhouse having sex with another girl in the motel room next door, gets upset and abruptly leaves, leaving Sam perplexed.




In the second season, in Episode 9 ("I Will Rise Up"), the motel resurfaces, and we catch another shot of its exterior & sign.

Sam, on the run from Maryann's efforts to cut out his heart, tracks down Detective Andy (one of the few townspeople who hasn't been possessed by Maryann), and finds him hiding out in a motel room, getting drunk (after the Sheriff refused to believe Andy's tales about the supernatural happenings in Bon Temps). Sam (who has escaped the town jail by turning into a fly) arrives naked at the door of Andy's motel room 11 (the same room where Tara stayed).

We catch a brief glimpse of the motel's exterior once again, in Episode 10 of Season 2 ("New World in my View") (at 06:12), when we see Andy re-enter the motel room (where Sam is hiding out). Andy has brought back Sam's clothes (and some booze).

Sam checks Andy's eyes to make sure they're not black (like Maryann's disciples). After he changes back into his own clothes, Sam gets a call from Arlene, who begs him to come rescue her. It's a trap, of course - but he falls for it.


The motel is briefly seen again in Season 3, episode 4 ("9 Crimes"), in the scene where the crazy vampire Franklin returns, and we see that he has a frightened Tara duct-taped to a toilet.

Q. What is it actually, in real life?

A. A motel - but not in Louisiana.

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

A. This red, white & blue motel is actually the La Crescenta Motel, at 2413 Foothill Blvd, in La Crescenta, CA.

It's at the northwest corner of Foothill Blvd & Briggs Ave, in the foothills northwest of Pasadena, about two miles northwest of Descanso Gardens. It's a few blocks north of the Foothill (210) Freeway.

 Here is an aerial photo of the motel. And here is a map link.




(The photo below was shot by Ralph Hockens)

Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was?

A. If you look at Episode 9 of Season 2, at approximately 41:39, you'll notice that there is brief glimpse of the gaudy neon sign outside the motel (see the screencap below).  At the top of the sign, in blue neon script, it reads "La Crescenta".



From there, it was only a matter of Googling for "La Crescenta motel" and then comparing the resulting photos with the motel shown on the show. They matched, of course.