The last resort: More and more Americans are calling long-stay motels home

Long-stay hotels can be found in almost every major American city. They offer none of the privacy of trailer parks, and even less of the permanency. Guests make do with postage stamp-sized rooms, paper-thin walls, and nylon sheets. You'll rarely find them listed in tourist guides, even the section of a Lonely Planet devoted to 'rock-bottom dives'. Staying in one isn't exactly what you might call a holiday. It is, however, an experience. So says Kalpesh Lathigra, whose compelling photo-essay on the Wilmington Hotel in Long Beach, Southern California, is published on these pages.

A British documentary photographer, he stumbled upon the place while looking up relatives during a family holiday to Los Angeles (it is owned by his uncle, Bachu), and has since re-visited for extended periods, building close relationships with its most colourful and well-established residents.

"The carpet looked like it was bought in the 1970s. The doors are this ugly blue. My idea of American hotels and motels was of a place where you came and stayed for a night or two. But here, every room was occupied by someone who had been living there long-term. It felt like one of those places that has a real story to tell."

Lathigra's images capture some of the unlovely realities of life at the $150-a-week Wilmington, which is situated a stone's throw from the industrial fug of Long Beach port, and a half-hour's drive from the mansions of Beverly Hills and the Hollywood sign. They show peeling paint, filthy curtains, and nicotine-stained walls – not to mention the battle-scarred men and women who have ended up inhabiting the building's 30-odd rooms.

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