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Madera · Hotel shortlist

Cheap hotels in the university district, Madera

Stefan Bauer

Stefan Bauer The American west

Updated 1 September 2026 · 9 Madera hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Madera, out of the 9 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4 down to 3.6.

Every one comes in under $130 a night, and the one I would book first is $67.

Dutch Motel

Highest rated of the five

Dutch Motel

★★★★★4 from 142 reviews

Dutch Motel comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4 from 142 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is found under the university district and around $67 a night on the dates we checked.

9 hotels in Madera qualified for this list and five made it. Driftwood Motel is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
  • Parkinga real consideration if you are driving in
  • Step free accesslevel entry and a lift

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All five, ranked

  1. Dutch Motel1

    Dutch Motel

    ★★★★★4 from 142 reviews

    • Parking
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

    Check rates Read more

  2. Driftwood Motel2

    Driftwood Motel

    ★★★★★3.6 from 95 reviews

    • Parking
    • Air conditioning

    Check rates Read more

  3. Colton Motel3

    Colton Motel

    ★★★★★3.8 from 167 reviews

    • Parking
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

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  4. Sierra Crossing Motel4

    Sierra Crossing Motel

    ★★★★★3.8 from 285 reviews

    • Parking
    • Kitchen
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

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  5. Americas Best Value Inn Redlands San Bernardino5

    Americas Best Value Inn Redlands San Bernardino

    ★★★★★3.6 from 189 reviews

    • Parking
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

    Check rates Read more

How this list was put together

9 Madera hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

Stefan Bauer

Stefan Bauer The American west

Chases total solar eclipses. Seven of them on four continents, from Wyoming to a fishing town in Chile. Banks days off through the on-call rota and books the trips years ahead, because eclipse dates do not move.

Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.