Driftwood Motel

The Driftwood has stood on Indian River Drive since 1956, and the sign out front, a leaping fish in neon that still works most nights, is older than the owners. It is a one-storey motel with twelve rooms around a parking court, each with a kitchenette, a table, a good bed and a door that opens onto a chair and the river across the road. Nothing is fancy; everything is clean, and the rooms have been rebuilt inside more than once.

It is the cheapest proper bed in Jensen Beach and the closest to the causeway, which is a ten-minute walk, and the village street is five. Anglers like it for the early starts and the fish-cleaning table out back; families like it for the kitchenettes and the price; everyone likes the owners, Ray and Lupe Castellano, who will lend you a cooler, a fishing rod or an opinion.

Dogs are welcome for a small fee, boats on trailers can park along the back fence, and the coffee in the office is free from six. The ice machine works, the Wi-Fi reaches the chairs and the sign comes on at dusk.

Good to know

• Trailer parking along the back fence is free; ask when you book.
• The fish-cleaning table has water and lights.
• Rooms 9 to 12 face the river and the morning sun.
• Weekly rates are seven nights for the price of five.
• The office closes at 9 pm; late arrivals get a code.