1
stay at a motel
表示“住在汽车旅馆”常用 stay at，也可以用 check into 表示“办理入住”。
We stayed at a motel outside the city.
我们住在城郊的一家汽车旅馆。
汽车旅馆
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
汽车旅馆
a motor hotel
We stayed at a motel outside the city.
我们住在城郊的一家汽车旅馆。
一种旅馆或住宿设施,通常位于主要公路附近,其典型特点是房间入口紧邻停车场,方便住客直接存取汽车。
A type of hotel or lodging establishment, often located near a major highway, which typically features a series of rooms whose entrances are immediately adjacent to a parking lot to facilitate convenient access to parked automobiles.
汽车旅馆
a motor hotel
一种廉价短住旅馆,通常按小时计费而非按天,因允许非法性行为而臭名昭著；情人旅馆。
A low-cost short-stay hotel, often with hourly rates rather than daily rates, and notorious for permitting illicit sexual activities; love hotel.
We stayed at a small motel near the highway last night.
我们昨晚住在高速公路附近的一家小汽车旅馆。
The motel offers free parking outside every room.
这家汽车旅馆在每间客房外面提供免费停车。
Most motels along this road are fully booked in summer.
这条路沿线的大多数汽车旅馆在夏天都订满了。
表示“住在汽车旅馆”常用 stay at，也可以用 check into 表示“办理入住”。
We stayed at a motel outside the city.
我们住在城郊的一家汽车旅馆。
They checked into a motel for the night.
他们在一家汽车旅馆办理入住过夜。
motel 可直接修饰名词，如 motel room（汽车旅馆房间）、motel owner（汽车旅馆老板）。
The motel manager gave us a key.
汽车旅馆经理给了我们一把钥匙。
Not this
We stayed at motel.
Use this
We stayed at a motel.
motel 是可数名词单数，前面需要冠词；汉语没有冠词，容易漏掉 a/an。
Not this
We arrived to the motel at midnight.
Use this
We arrived at the motel at midnight.
arrive 后接地点时用 at/in，不用 to；汉语“到达”不带介词，所以容易误加 to。
Not this
We stayed at a car hotel.
Use this
We stayed at a motel.
汉语“汽车旅馆”逐字译成 car hotel，但英语用 motel（motor + hotel 的缩合词），不存在 car hotel 这种说法。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
住汽车旅馆
We decided to stay at a motel near the highway.
我们决定住在高速公路附近的一家汽车旅馆。
办理汽车旅馆入住
They checked into a motel after a long drive.
长途驾车后他们办理了一家汽车旅馆的入住。
汽车旅馆房间
The motel room was small but clean.
汽车旅馆房间虽小但很干净。
便宜的汽车旅馆
We looked for a cheap motel to save money.
我们找了一家便宜的汽车旅馆以省钱。
路边的汽车旅馆
A roadside motel is convenient for travelers.
路边的汽车旅馆对旅行者很方便。
汽车旅馆老板
The motel owner greeted us at the front desk.
汽车旅馆老板在前台迎接我们。
贝茨汽车旅馆
The creepy Bates Motel is one of the most famous settings in horror films.
阴森的贝茨汽车旅馆是恐怖电影中最著名的场景之一。
Motel 6：我们会为你留一盏灯。
The Motel 6 slogan has been recognized across the United States for decades.
Motel 6 的这句广告语几十年来在美国广为人知。
Use motel naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
记住 motel 是 motor（汽车）+ hotel（旅馆）的合体：开车旅行时停靠的汽车旅馆。
语域：neutral 常见场景：旅行住宿、公路旅行、预订住宿 motel 通常指公路旁设有停车位的汽车旅馆，比较常见于自驾旅行等场景；该词在正式和非正式场合都可以使用，多用作中性词。
hotel, cartel, bell, cell and well all rhyme with motel's stressed syllable /tɛl/; hotel and cartel share the spelling '-tel', while bell, cell and well use '-ell'. Beware: model looks similar with its '-el' ending but is pronounced /ˈmɑːdəl/ and does not rhyme.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.