Albuquerque New Mexico
Hotel Andaluz
Spectral guests stay due to both painful or fun reasons.
DESCRIPTION
Hotel Andaluz is described as “One of the Best Boutique hotels in the Southwest.” Rated AAA Four Diamond. The hotel was honored with LEED Gold certification for its sustainability.
Hotel Andaluz. A visitor may wonder how they came up with that name? Andaluz is short for “Andalucian,” which is a historic and picturesque area of Spain. Conrad Hilton and the architect thought that the Andalucian architectural style would be a great asset for the architecture of this new, 1939 Hilton Hotel.
“When it comes to “Boutique Hotels, this is the real deal.”
The common areas of the hotel, especially the two floored Lobby, are “architecturally stunning.” The generous amount of artwork is “eclectic” and a wonderful fit for the overall decor. Tom and I were wowed when we walked into the main Lobby to see the inside; so beautiful, unique and inspiring.
The decor in the two story lobby can be described as being “Moroccan meets New Mexican vibe.” We admired the attention-to-detail woodwork; especially the expansive, beamed ceiling and other hand-carved accents, glorious stained glass, and arches, a beautiful fountain and the unique secluded alcoves; called Casbahs. In the lobby, there is also beautiful leather furniture, and tile and ironwork that showcase the Spanish Andaluz region. Equally impressive are the original 1930s’ murals from the Conrad Hill era that display scenes from New Mexico’s history; found in the Hotel Andaluz’s entry walk ways.
Each Casbah has its own theme and decor, for example; “a trellis garden in one, a water feature in another.” They are described by enthusiastic guests as being “both gorgeous and relaxing; something that the visitor/guests doesn’t see every day. Casbahs are really unique for a large hotel. They can also be “ideal for meetings.”
The second floor of the lobby has quite an inspiring view. Half-tables and chairs are strategically placed along the railings. A great spot to have a cup of coffee, a cocktail or read a book!
Off the first floor of the Lobby, the visitor finds the hotel’s excellent restaurant, MAS, that has the reputation of providing “an amazing range of flavorful food and superb wines.” They feature Spanish tapas and wine. Dining here, the guest enjoys a Spanish-influenced “dining experience.”
This is not surprising as they are lucky to have Executive Chef Marc Quinones planning it all. He has been honored with 8 nominations for the James Beard Award for Best Chef of the Southwest.
Another popular spot for guests is the Ibiza Urban Rooftop Lounge, that provides not only a lovely view, great drinks but also “an extensive live entertainment program on weekends.”
Guest Rooms are described as being “stylish modern lofts with down comforters on king- or queen-sized beds, contemporary art and writing desks.” The more upscale rooms are quite beautiful besides having all the bells and whistles that are expected at this price point. Whether high end or standard in price, all the rooms and grand suites offered here are “very comfortable, a good bed with soft linens.”
The Hotel Andaluz is environmentally friendly. All the rooms have Smart technology! “It turns on or off heat, air conditioning and lighting as guests enter or leave the room. Solar panels on the hotel’s roof heat 60% of the hotel’s water, and an extensive recycling program is practiced here.”
Hotel Andaluz also hosts conferences and business events and meetings,having plenty of space; 6,000 square feet of conference facilities.
HISTORY
It was the city of Albuquerque that Mr. Conrad Hilton chose to build his 4th grand hotel; a 160-room ten-story building called The Albuquerque Hilton; at a cost of $700,000! The influx of high-end guests who came into town via the railroad, would make this high style hotel a financial success. The master designer was Architect Anton F. Korn who was hired to design this glorious hotel.
“It featured a two-story ground floor to house the lobby, restaurant/bar, and ballrooms, while an eight-story tower contained the guest rooms. The hotel has a modernist form, but distinctive Southwestern styling with stuccoed walls and Territorial Revival brick coping along rooflines, decorative and functional features in metal and wood, and an arcaded lobby.”
It became a popular place for the well-to-do. ZAZA Gabor and Conrad Hilton had their honeymoon here in 1942, just three years later.
Fast forward thirty years to 1969. Conrad Hilton decided to build a newer Hilton near by and sold his 1939 Albuquerque Hilton building. New owners changed the name of this establishment to Hotel Plaza.
Only after eleven years, in 1981, once again the building was put on the real estate market, needing a major restoration and renovation to be able to stay an upscale hotel. It was closed because the new owners planned to restore it and reopen as Hotel Bradford. However, life happened and it sat forlornly vacant; but not for long.
The Hotel Plaza was renovated three years later in 1984, reducing the rooms to one hundred and fourteen. To give this classic hotel legal protection, the owners applied to list it on the National Register of Historic Places. Their hotel was accepted for this honor, and reopened on August 3, 1984 with a new name; La Posada de Albuquerque.
In 2005, La Posada de Albuquerque was once again put on the real estate market. New owner, a mover and a shaker, Gary Goodman and his company did some more renovation efforts in 2008, with the focus being on restoring the original glamor and style of Conrad Hilton’s fourth hotel masterpiece. This hotel reopened in 2009 with yet another name; the Hotel Andaluz.
“We are proud of our work in restoring the Hotel Andaluz to its former glory. The hotel was meticulously restored using The National Register of historic Places’ guidelines. They also updated by using cutting edge technology and with an eye to bring new life to one of the “Southwest’s iconic buildings.”
Apparently, all these renovations and the most current restoration has pleased the spirits who love this place as well!
HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS
Unhappy, depressed, worried, anxious live people do not make happy spirits especially if they can’t let go of the pain or anxiety they had in this world; which grounds them in their most comforting structure.
A female spirit shares her pain with the living vocally.
An anxious spirit can’t let go.
Spirits sometimes like to visit or stay in special places where they had fond memories when alive. Hotel Andaluz has a glorious ballroom, the place for many memorable events throughout the years.
Children who die from accidents, illnesses, sometimes like to stay where they felt happy, enjoying the same things they liked while alive and often look for their parents.
MANIFESTATIONS
Variety of spirits are described as being nice but will make themselves known to the living guests and staff, as they follow their own agenda; especially if the living are in their space, or doing an activity they adore.
Many guests and staff have shared their paranormal experiences that they have had with the spectral hotel patrons mentioned below.
On October 25th, 2009, a paranormal investigator from radio KOBN Fm caught some hard evidence in the known haunted rooms.
Anxious Spirit in the Lobby
Must have been seeing pacing, wringing the hands.
The Ballroom Area
Spirits enjoying their memories and the current activities as well, sometimes crashing events to enjoy the festivities.
Spirit of a little girl known as Emily on the 2nd floor
Perhaps she is the spirit who loves women’s jewelry; moving it around as she looks at it. Children sometimes have a hard time not admiring items without touching.
Guests have reported that their jewelry put at the side of their beds has been fiddled with and moved around the bedside stand.
An unhappy female spirit in Room 409
She must have had a violent end or a huge devastating event in her life that she is still suffering from and can’t let go to it.
She freely shares her feelings with the hapless guests who spend the night in her room. For those she chooses, the guests are treated to the full auditory package of screaming; high to low screech, with moaning thrown in for free!
The seventh floor has two female spirits,
perhaps looking for a party in one of the rooms…
A spirit of an older Lady – dressed in a pink dress.
Likes to go up and down the hallways of the 7th floor.
A spirit of a woman – dressed in a 1940s’ party dress
Is seen looking for one of those rooms on the 7th floor.
STILL HAUNTED?
Yes Indeed! For a variety of reasons, past guests now in spirit form still stay for free in their favorite hotel.
LOCATION
125 2nd St NW,
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 242-9090
Hotel Andaluz is located on the corner of Copper Avenue NW and 2nd Street SW, conveniently near the convention center and Old Town. Conrad Hilton chose this location wisely.
SOURCES INCLUDE
- https://www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=41541
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTE2nhHA3eI
- https://frightfind.com/hotel-andaluz/
- https://www.commdiginews.com/entertainment/a-night-in-albuquerques-historic-and-haunted-andaluz-hotel-50755/
- https://www.axs.com/haunted-new-mexico-albuquerque-s-hotel-andaluz-98553
- https://www.10best.com/destinations/new-mexico/albuquerque/articles/explore-this-ghostly-tour-of-haunted-albuquerque/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Andaluz
- https://www.10best.com/destinations/new-mexico/albuquerque/articles/albuquerques-hotel-andaluz-celebrates-history-of-southwest-class/
- https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60933-d92752-Reviews-Hotel_Andaluz-Albuquerque_New_Mexico.html
Our Haunted Paranormal Stories are Written by Julie Carr
