Holiday Motel Simulator, developed and self-published by Indie studio Red Phoenix Interactive, is one of those quirky titles currently in Early Access that sneaks up on you with charm and atmosphere. Wrapped in a liminal, cozy presentation, it offers a management sim experience that always keeps you guessing.

Holiday Motel Simulator may resemble a typical management sim, but the game cleverly combines two familiar styles: the day-to-day responsibilities of running a business and the hands-on renovation and upkeep work of owning a Holiday Motel, reminiscent of other simulation games, such as House Flipper. Before you’re juggling guests or expanding your motel, you’ll be scrubbing, repairing, and restocking, giving the game a satisfying “restore and manage” loop.

The overall objective is simple: transform a run-down roadside stop into a thriving, guest-ready motel. You start with a decrepit property and slowly breathe life back into it by cleaning, renovating, and gradually expanding services. As you progress, you unlock upgrades, decorative options, and staff to help manage the workload. Its structure revolves around tasks, goals, and dynamic guest interactions that shape the experience organically.

The game doesn’t throw you straight into guest management. Instead, it begins with the gritty but oddly satisfying work of making the motel habitable again. Your early days are spent mopping up spills, vacuuming up dust and dirt, cleaning graffiti off walls, and hauling out rotting garbage.

Each tool you select, whether it’s a mop, sponge, or vacuum, highlights its use in the environment, making cleanup feel more relaxing than frantic. Once a room is spotless, it can then be renovated and furnished to your liking.

Once the property is in shape, opportunities begin to expand beyond the motel’s walls. The nearby beach naturally draws crowds in the evenings, and with them comes the chance to run a beachside restaurant and bar. Both businesses operate under a shared system: supplies are ordered, delivered the next day, and stocked before customers arrive. The service itself is straightforward: simply press a button, collect the item, and hand it over to the customer.

The restaurant operates during the day, while the bar comes into its own at night. Shop management is also another key factor in the game. Much like other simulator titles, you’ll order products, line them up neatly on shelves, and operate the register as customers filter through.

All of this is coordinated through your in-game mobile phone. It acts as your central hub where you accept “story” jobs, order everything, and even access the tutorial if you’re new to this type of sim, across various apps installed.

The visuals lean heavily on a grainy art style that perfectly captures the feeling of a forgotten roadside stop. Daytime scenes possess a warm, almost cozy charm, characterised by pastel tones and clean lighting. In contrast, nighttime scenes take on a more eerie atmosphere, marked by dim hallways and stark shadows. This contrast makes every transition between day and night feel distinct, helping set the game’s mood.

Details like cracked tiles, flickering signs, and worn furniture lend authenticity to the renovation phase. At the same time, guest-ready rooms shine with your personal touch. However, the obvious use of AI in the game, such as its character portraits and specific in-game decoration models, breaks immersion and undermines the otherwise strong visual identity the game establishes.

Understandably, this is a small studio, and to give credit where it’s due, it is disclaimed in the game’s Steam profile that AI is used, but there are already so many high-quality model packs available to indie developers that leaning on AI for character art or assets shouldn’t become an acceptable industry norm.

Sound design does a lot of heavy lifting in Holiday Motel Simulator. During the day, you’re accompanied by a chilled, cozy soundtrack that feels relaxed and slightly nostalgic. At night, the tone shifts – subtle audio cues, such as creaking floorboards, buzzing lights, or distant, muffled sounds, creep in to subtly dampen the mood. The interplay between cozy daytime audio and eerie nighttime ambience ties perfectly into the game’s dual identity. Completing tasks rewards you with some satisfying audio feedback (the hiss of a mop, the thump of trash hitting the bin), which makes the cleaning/renovation phase even more rewarding and does a lot for the overall immersiveness of the game

Holiday Motel Simulator is more than just another management sim – it’s a hybrid of renovation and operations that keeps things fresh from start to finish. By blending House Flipper-style cleanup and restoration with the ongoing challenge of running a motel, restaurant, and shop, it delivers a satisfying loop. Engaging yet straightforward mechanics, combined with an evocative soundscape, create an experience that feels both engaging and relaxing. The only gripe I have is the AI-generated art used in the game, which I hope will be patched out in a later update, perhaps with the full release.

Written by: Emily France