Est. 1912 · Trost & Trost-designed early 20th-century luxury hotel · Witness vantage to the 1914 Mexican Revolution firefights · Stained-glass Dome Bar architectural landmark · Marriott Autograph Collection adaptive-reuse heritage hotel
Hotel Paso del Norte stands at 10 Henry Trost Court in downtown El Paso, Texas, a 351-room luxury hotel that opened on Thanksgiving Day in 1912. Financed by wealthy businessman Zack T. White and designed by the prolific El Paso architectural firm Trost & Trost, the hotel was engineered for exceptional structural durability — its $1.5 million construction cost was informed by studies of earthquake-resistant buildings in San Francisco.
The hotel's most celebrated architectural feature is its stained-glass Dome Bar, which has anchored the lobby since opening. Throughout the early 20th century, the hotel served as El Paso's premier social destination, hosting dignitaries, businessmen, and travelers using the city as a border crossing. During the Mexican Revolution in 1914, guests famously gathered on the rooftop terraces to watch firefights between revolutionary forces and the Mexican Army across the border.
For approximately 30 years, the property operated as the Camino Real Hotel under Camino Real Hotels, a chain owned by the Mexican company Grupo Empresarial Ángeles. In October 2016, the hotel was sold to The Meyers Group. After a multi-year renovation beginning in 2018, the property reopened on October 8, 2020 under the name Hotel Paso del Norte as part of Marriott's Autograph Collection.
The hotel remains an operating downtown luxury hotel and a focal point of El Paso heritage tourism. It is included as a stop on multiple El Paso ghost tour itineraries.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Paso_del_Norte
- https://www.hotelpdn.com/
- https://www.elpasoinc.com/news/local_news/camino-secrets-lost-room-stairs-gunfights/article_100129fc-6300-11e6-9fd9-8330b61b6dca.html
Apparition of a woman in whitePhantom perfume scent (reported by men)Foul odor and unease (reported by women)Activity on the 10th floor and basementUnexplained video captures in corridors
According to ghost-tour operators and local El Paso paranormal coverage, the most prominent legend at Hotel Paso del Norte centers on a 'woman in white' described as a jilted bride. The story, repeated across regional sources including FrightFind and KISS El Paso, holds that the bride leapt from an upper floor of the hotel after her fiancé reportedly ran off with her bridesmaid. The 10th floor — said to be where the wedding was to take place — and the basement are the most frequently cited locations of her sightings.
Witnesses describe a striking pattern of sensory phenomena tied to her presence: men report smelling a sweet, beautiful perfume, while women in the same area report a foul odor and a sense of unease. The figure is described as roaming the hallways with a look of sadness on her face. Some ghost-hunting accounts also describe a separate active entity referred to as 'Lily.'
The hotel has been featured by FrightFind and is a regular stop on US Ghost Adventures' El Paso ghost tour. Local KLAQ reporting has covered guests capturing video of apparent paranormal activity in the corridors. Like much hotel folklore, the underlying suicide story is unverified in newspaper archives and should be treated as legend rather than documented history; the experience reports themselves are widely and consistently described across multiple independent ghost-tourism sources.
Notable Entities
The Woman in White (the jilted bride)Lily
Media Appearances
- FrightFind — Camino Real Haunted Hotel feature
- KLAQ El Paso — guest paranormal video coverage