(Photo from The Far Out Motel)
- The Far Out Motel in Starkville is a colorful, retro-inspired boutique motel that feels a little like stepping back into the heyday of the great American road trip—only with better Wi-Fi and a lot more comfort.
Some Mississippi hotels offer complimentary breakfast. One in Starkville comes with a Johnny Cash story, a little rock-and-roll history, and a room connected to one very memorable night in the life of the Man in Black.
And now, it is pretty groovy, too.
The Far Out Motel in Starkville is a colorful, retro-inspired boutique motel that feels a little like stepping back into the heyday of the great American road trip—only with better Wi-Fi and a lot more comfort.
The property originally opened in 1956 as the University Motel, a classic roadside motel located near Mississippi State University and downtown Starkville. For decades, travelers pulled in for football weekends, campus visits, and overnight stays.
Then Johnny Cash came to town.
On May 11, 1965, Cash performed at Mississippi State University and later returned to the University Motel, where he was staying in Room 22.
If those walls could talk, Room 22 would have one heck of a story.
Cash ventured back out that night and eventually found himself wandering through a Starkville neighborhood in the early morning hours. Somewhere along the way, he decided to pick some flowers from a yard. Police arrested him for public drunkenness and trespassing, and Cash spent the remainder of the night in jail.
He was reportedly none too pleased about it.
According to accounts of the night, Cash became so angry that he kicked the cell door hard enough to injure his toe. After paying a $36 fine and being released, he reportedly gave his shoes to a teenage cellmate.
If you think that sounds like the beginning of a country song, you’re right.
The experience inspired “Starkville City Jail,” which Cash later performed at San Quentin in 1969. The song even mentions his attempt to get back to the motel before the night went completely off the rails.
Starkville eventually decided to have a little fun with the story, too. In 2007, the city held the Johnny Cash Flower Pickin’ Festival and issued Cash a symbolic posthumous pardon. The city further recognized his connection in 2021 with a Mississippi Country Music Trail marker.
And through all those years, the old University Motel stayed.
Today, the property has been completely reimagined as the Far Out Motel, and I’m glad its history came along for the ride.
The renovated motel is bright, colorful, and unapologetically retro, with vintage-inspired touches and plenty of nods to the 1960s and ’70s. It still has that old-school roadside motel feel, but everything has been updated for today’s traveler.
Rooms include Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, air conditioning, coffee, bottled water, and toiletries. Check-in is completely contactless, and guests receive room information and access instructions by message on the day they arrive.
Colorful kitchenettes, fun throwback details, and a courtyard pool area practically beg you to put your phone down and hang out for a while.
And yes, Room 22 is still there.
Now known as the Johnny Cash Room, it keeps its connection to that infamous 1965 night, complete with a commemorative plaque above the door. Music fans can actually stay in the same room Cash did—although I would strongly suggest leaving the neighbors’ flowers alone.
That history is part of what makes Far Out so much fun.
Old motels like this once dotted highways all across Mississippi. Families piled into station wagons, neon signs lit up the roadside, and pulling into a motel for the night was simply part of the trip. There is something nostalgic about seeing one of those properties get another chance instead of disappearing.
Far Out kept some of that old roadside-motel personality and gave it a new life.
And Starkville is a great place to do it.
Whether you are coming in for a Mississippi State game, visiting your college student, spending a weekend in town, or just looking for an unusual stop on a Mississippi road trip, this is certainly not your average hotel stay.
Nearly 70 years after the University Motel first welcomed travelers—and more than 60 years after Johnny Cash failed to make it back to Room 22—the old motel is still welcoming people to Starkville.
And the new look is pretty far out.
