Historic Hotel Andaluz in Albuquerque bought by a local Hilton properties owner

Hotel Andaluz, built in downtown Albuquerque by Conrad Hilton in 1938, was purchased earlier this month by a local group that owns five Hilton properties in the region.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, Legacy Hospitality bought the property from Gary Goldman. Todd Walters, vice president of operations at Legacy Hospitality, did not disclose the price.

Phil Snyder, senior vice president of finance at Goodman Realty Group, told the newspaper Goodman wanted to concentrate on his other properties.

Hotel Andaluz sits at 125 Second St. NW, less than a block north of the main Central Avenue alignment of Route 66. It is also less than two blocks east of the original Fourth Street alignment of Route 66 from Santa Fe.

The Journal reported:

Hotel Andaluz was built in 1939 – the fourth hotel ever built by New Mexico-born businessman Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton Hotels chain, according to Walters. At the time it was built, it cost $700,000 and, at ten stories high, was the tallest building in New Mexico – as well as the first building in the state with air conditioning, according to the Hotel Andaluz website.

Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, the hotel was sold several times before being bought in 2005 by Albuquerque developer Goodman for $4 million. He renamed the property Hotel Andaluz in 2008, and in 2019, the hotel became a Hilton once more as part of the Curio Collection, which financially supports hotels but allows them to operate independently.

“It was pretty neat to see, 80 years later, it come back into the family,” Snyder said.

Walters told the Journal that Legacy Hospitality plans to spend several million dollars on renovations over the next 18 to 24 months, and renovations at Hotel Andaluz already were underway.

Hotel Andaluz was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The name Andaluz has this origin:

Andaluz – short for Andalucian – evokes the passion and pride of the region of Spain that has inspired the hotel’s décor and architectural style. The four interlocking A’s of the logo reflect an adaptation of classic Andalucian tile. Look for the logo in the traditional Andalucian arch that graces the hotel’s public spaces.

(Image of Hotel Andaluz in Albuquerque by Daniel X. O’Neil via Flickr)

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