Rocket Motel

I’ve stayed at the rocket a few times and usually have a good but not great stay. I’m usually here for work over the off season and choose to stay (and pay a little more) because it’s clean and comfy. The owners are very sweet and clearly take a lot of pride in what they are doing. It’s spot on kitschy retro chic.
I’m in town during the off season — stay there often — but am bummed out by the steep price. Will probably travel a little further for a better deal.
Also — disconnect the wall clock. It’s a nice and quiet room and the first thing I do when I get there is unplug the loud ticking clock on the wall!
Hate to give it three stars — love the owners and the comfy bed.

Wonderful! Very clean and super comfy. The owners are wonderful! Stay here if you’re in the area. You won’t be disappointed!

Incredibly clean! I haven’t stayed in a motel since I was a kid and this place was cleaner than most chain hotels. The whole motel has been kept up very well and feels like it was transported directly from the 50s (but in a really good way). I was so happy that following other Unilocal reviews helped me select this establishment.

Nice clean motel. I am sure the units were built some years ago but they have been nicely maintained. We had room 3 that had one bedroom with a queen bed and one bedroom with a single and a full bed. Both rooms had smallish TVs. The free Wi-​Fi was very slow, good for reading your mail but not much else.
They have a very nice roofed outside seating area. There were about 4 tables with chairs, a lp grill, a fire pit and a hot tub. We did not ask about the usage a the grill, fire pit or hot tub. We had a very enjoyable evening with a take out pizza and a bottle of wine watching the day end.
The owners are very nice.
If I am in Custer again, I would stay here again.

Wonderful, friendly owners and staff, and just what we needed after a long day of hiking.

Arrange your trip so you can spend the night in this charming and sparkling clean motel!

The couple who own it were friendly and helpful. The family suite was perfect for our traveling needs and our room was super clean. Great price and open all year unlike many in the area.

Very clean and friendly, free wifi. I would recommend the Rocket Motel to anyone looking for a clean reasonably priced motel.

Thank you Rocket! Got tired driving to Mt Rushmore at 1am and –18 degrees. Stopped at the Rocket and they hooked us up. SUPER nice owners! Sorry again to wake you so late but thanks so much for a nice place to crash. Even had a 3 bedroom!

Clean and reasonably priced. It was more nicely decorated than your average motel. It has a laundry facility right across the street which is great for those on a road trip and is located in the heart of Custer, so eating options are everywhere.
One complaint: All rooms are non-​smoking (Yah!), but they have ashtrays outside, so at almost any time, people were sitting outside smoking, making us non-​smokers with kids unwilling to go outside or open windows. They may be better off with a few smoking rooms tucked away in a corner.

I never write incendiary reviews, but this place invites the occasion. I know the Black Hills pretty well, and I know that most of the hotels are mom and pop shops. About anyplace you go is going to be clean (a 2 star in Hill City is nicer than a 3.5 star in Chicago). These hotels ARE the people who own them. And the people are usually great. But these owners, in my experience, are the exception that proves the rule.
It was mid october (the tourism off-​season) and I’d pulled into the Rocket around 4:00 as a MASSIVE storm was rolling in. I had to take a conf call and was in the parking lot on the phone with my laptop open, going through spreadsheets with the bosses. I was 1 of 2 cars in the parking lot. About 5 minutes after I pulled in, somebody knocked on the window. It was the owner who had come out to tell me that the internet is for guests only and I needed to move along.
Firstly; Okay. Makes sense to me, internet freeloading IS a threat to our well being as a nation, after all. But I wasn’t on their connection, and… well…I’m assuming the connection was password protected — if not, they may want to consider it. For America.
Secondly, and here’s the rub; I had OUT OF STATE PLATES (California) and THERE WAS ONE CAR IN THE DRIVEWAY. Might I be a prospective ONLY guest?
Were you a hotel owner with only one car at your hotel (probably YOURS), I don’t think your first impulse on seeing a car with out-​of-​state-​plates pull in would be «Hope they aren’t here to steal INTERNETS! NOT MY GLORIOUS INTERNETS! Tammy, get the gun…»
I admit, I’m cheesed not only because of this dude’s jerk-​y-​ness, but because I was embarrassed. I had to hang up with corporate and drive down to a gas station to resume the call. The boss joked about it — we both agree’d it’s a good thing I wasn’t shot.
I stayed at the Alpine in Hill City that night. Super great people. A great, clean, and unique room, and the best steak I’ve had in years.
This is one heck of a long review to say the facility is probably fine, but there are many great hotels in the hills with people who deserve your business.
Go about anywhere and you’ll find them.
But not at the Rocket Motel.

A friend told us about this place and we confirmed the rec through the Unilocaliverse.
We were on a cross country trip and needed a place to crash for the night on the way to Rushmore and points west. This place looks a bit (too) retro from the outside but the rooms have clearly been renovated recently (other than maybe the showers). The Rocket was a breath of fresh air from the place we had stayed at the night before in the Badlands. Everything was spotless, there was a flatscreen on the wall and even the carpet appeared to have been replaced recently. Even the towels were an upgrade from the typical motel towels we had seen on the trip. Definitely a lot of bang for your buck.
The Owner/​Manager was very helpful and gave us a discount card for local restaurants, etc. Most of the local eateries are walkable from this location.
Would definitely recommend this place to weary travelers looking for a very clean place to rest their heads for a night or two.

Typically when you think back to a vacation, the last thing you remember is where you stayed. This place can’t seem to be forgotten.
The rooms are cozy, and very retro-​and also amazingly well kept. We decided to stay here mostly because it looked cute from the road and they had a room available. We had made no previous plans. The woman in the office was very friendly and the prices were reasonable. I would highly recommend the Rocket Motel to anyone driving through South Dakota.