Est. 1939 · First Hilton Hotel built outside Texas (1939) · First modern high-rise hotel in New Mexico · Designed by Anton F. Korn for Conrad Hilton · LEED Gold certified after 2009 restoration · Curio Collection by Hilton property since 2019
Hotel Andaluz at 125 2nd Street NW opened on June 9, 1939 as the Albuquerque Hilton, Conrad Hilton's first hotel outside his home state of Texas and the first modern high-rise hotel in New Mexico. Designed by Dallas architect Anton F. Korn in a New Mexico Territorial style with Spanish-Andalusian interior detailing, the ten-story property quickly became the social and civic hub of downtown Albuquerque.
Conrad Hilton sold the hotel in 1971 when a newer Hilton opened near the Big I freeway interchange. The downtown property was rebranded as the Hotel Plaza in 1974, then sold and closed in 1981. It reopened in 1984 under new ownership as La Posada de Albuquerque, named for Hilton's first New Mexico property elsewhere.
Gary Goodman of Goodman Realty Group purchased the hotel in 2005 and oversaw a $30 million renovation that emphasized historic preservation and sustainability. The reopened property, renamed Hotel Andaluz, achieved LEED Gold certification and received recognition from Condé Nast Traveler. In 2019 the hotel joined the Curio Collection by Hilton, returning it to a Hilton-affiliated brand 48 years after Conrad Hilton sold the original property.
The building retains its original lobby with hand-painted ceiling beams, the Casbah Ballroom, and ten guest floors. The hotel is a contributing property in the historic fabric of downtown Albuquerque and remains in active operation as a full-service hotel and event venue.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Andaluz
- https://www.hotelandaluz.com/
- https://www.abqjournal.com/news/history/article_54eb0ba8-8261-11ef-9041-bb2758dbae45.html
Woman in 1940s clothing on the seventh floorOlder woman in pink dress on the fourth floor near sundownElevators stopping at unrequested floorsCloset doors opening on their ownLoud bangs reported around midnightSensed presences in the Casbah Ballroom
According to the Albuquerque Journal's 2024 reporting on the city's most haunted places, Hotel Andaluz is associated with multiple reported apparitions across its ten floors. The seventh floor is described as the territory of a woman in 1940s-era clothing who is said to walk the corridor nervously. A separate apparition, an older woman in an old-fashioned pink dress, has been described on the fourth floor, with reports clustering around sundown.
Visit Albuquerque's tourism board describes the same two principal apparitions and notes additional reports tied to the historic Casbah Ballroom on the lower floors. The Journal's account also references mysterious loud bangs at midnight, closet doors that open by themselves, and a guest in Room 611 who described disturbances but said they never felt threatened. Staff lore at the hotel includes elevators that occasionally stop at floors no one selected.
The hotel does not formally advertise the ghost stories on its booking pages, but the reports are recurring features of local haunted-tourism coverage and tour-operator itineraries in downtown Albuquerque.
Notable Entities
Woman in 1940s attire (seventh floor)Older woman in pink dress (fourth floor)
Media Appearances
- Featured in Visit Albuquerque's haunted places guide
- Listed by the Albuquerque Journal among the five most haunted places in Albuquerque