EL RANCHO HOTEL, GALLUP
Opened in 1937, the recently renovated hotel once played home to Hollywood legends (their names are on the doors) when out of the glare of movie cameras. The glitterati may have appreciated El Rancho’s new hidden Route 66–themed lounge: a 1950s retro hideaway with a checkerboard floor that’s accessed via a bookcase. DON’T MISS: Cowboy up to the John Wayne Suite, which pays homage to the Western film legend, who reportedly insisted that two rooms be joined into one during a stay.
Turn your Albuquerque getaway up a notch at Hotel Zazz.
Photograph courtesy of Hotel Zazz.
HOTEL ZAZZ, ALBUQUERQUE
Imagination runs wild in Hotel Zazz, a neon safari twist on a 1950s Sleepy Bear Travelodge in Albuquerque’s Nob Hill. Owner Sharmin Dharas grew up in this historic hotel, formerly owned by her parents, before renovating it in 2022. The on-site Monet’s Spa redefines what “rest stop” means on Route 66. “I call it ‘new-stalgia,’ designed for making new memories,” Dharas says of her vision for Hotel Zazz. DON’T MISS: In the evening, enter hi-fi dreamland at Zema Vinyl Lounge, Zazz’s speakeasy that can be accessed by tapping the mysterious golden banana statuette in the lobby.
Lounge poolside at Arrive Albuquerque.
Photograph by Tira Howard.
ARRIVE ALBUQUERQUE, ALBUQUEQUE
A six-story beacon towering over downtown, Arrive Albuquerque channels the city’s lowrider cultura with a mural by Diné/Chicana artist Nani Chacon that overlooks the pool. The Downtowner Motor Inn, which opened in 1965, was revamped in 2025 with postmodern desert-toned furnishings, an art gallery, and the happening DWTNR bar and restaurant. DON’T MISS: Watch the Sunday cruise on Route 66 from Arrive’s patio.
