The former Hotel Blue in downtown Albuquerque is expected to reopen in the first quarter of 2025 after renovations.
According to Albuquerque Business First (subscription required), the hotel at Central Avenue (aka Route 66) and Eighth Street will be rechristened as Arrive Albuquerque. Los Angeles-based Palisociety is developing it.
The Arrive Albuquerque project was announced in 2019. It initially stated it would return the hotel to its original Downtowner Motor Inn look from the mid-1960s. Based on recent Google Street View images of the property, it indeed was doing that.
The boutique hotel will include a pool, fitness center and a bar that serves American and Asian food.
The hotel contains 137 rooms with nightly rates starting at $145. A photo gallery of the hotel shows lots of retro touches in the rooms.
Palisociety declined to reveal how much the renovations cost, which began in June 2023. Five years ago, it was estimated at $22 million.
In addition to four other properties in New Mexico, Palisociety operates hotels in California, Texas, North Carolina and Tennessee. It also plans to develop more in Santa Fe and Taos in New Mexico.
The Downtowner Motor Inn opened in 1965.
(A vintage image of the Downtowner Motor Inn via the city of Albuquerque)