The Lamplighter reminded me of what road weary travelers hoped to find in the 50s along America's byways before interstates and chain-hotels became the norm. I had an incredibly cute little single-room cabin (for like $60) that was cozy and warm, had a great bed and tv and tiny bathroom shower as well as microwave, mini-fridge and coffeemaker.....but before I committed, the manager/host Chris insisted on showing me the room to make sure I'd like it! Who does that any more? She was so charming and engaging - tipping me to the ABSOLUTE best bar restaurant in Helena (The Windbag Saloon) and even offering to guest me to her yoga class the next morning when she learned I was yoga exerciser. Altho they don't have an ice machine, Chris troubled herself to bring me a glass of ice from her personal residence just because that's the kind of folk she is. I loved the Lamplighter, and even tho it could stand some updating, I hope it thrives for years to come because we need these places and these people to remind us of the simpler pleasures of road travel and real human hospitality. Ignore the Comfort Inns and Hampton Inns of the interchanges and venture into town to old-timey establishments like the Lamplighter - one of the highlights of my 3000 mile 5 state driving tour of the mountainous Big Sky country. Thank you, thank you Chris.

We loved the Lamplighter. We'd rented one of their cabins with a full kitchen (#25?) and were delighted with our accommodations. The room was clean and comfortable, the staff was exceptionally friendly, the television had great reception, the location was excellent for the sites we wanted to see in Helena and was convenient to every type of shopping we needed, and we saw a deer about 1/2 block from the hotel. The only issue we had was the that the kitchen did not include any cooking or eating utensils - thankfully we'd been camping prior to our visit to the Lamplighter and therefore were carrying all the kitchen gear we needed. We'd definitely stay here again and would recommend it to others.