The Palomino Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico, quietly underwent an ownership change, and many improvements are planned at the historic Route 66 property in the coming months.
The change in owners was announced in a Facebook post June 30 on the Tucumcari and Quay County Then and Now page. The deal closed May 5.
New owner Warren Fischer of Houston declined an interview but deferred questions to the motel’s manager, Lila Doughty.
Doughty outlined some of the planned upgrades at the motel:
- Shoring up the motel’s landscaping and getting rid of overgrown weeds in the parking lot. Work includes re-striping the parking lines.
- Slowly renovating the Palomino Motel’s 31 rooms. Just 11 rooms are suitable for overnight guests, Doughty said, and the owner wants to increase that to 20 by September.
- Repairing the motel’s distinctive neon sign and eventually the architectural neon lighting around the building.
- Better Wi-Fi and more cable television stations available to guests.
- Establishing an internet presence for the motel, including Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.
Doughty said the owner also is investigating bringing back the classic “Whoa! Palomino Motel” neon sign that once graced the property, although that’s not certain.
She said the previous owner, Muhammad Malik, got sick and couldn’t keep up maintaining the property.
Nightly rates are $27.95, and may go a bit higher once the improvements are made.
She said Fischer was drawn to the property during his travels to the Southwest. His work occasionally brings him to Phoenix, and his mother lives in Utah.
The Palomino opened in 1953. The current sign, however, wasn’t installed until the 1960s.
Tucumcari has seen a spate of classic-motel restorations in the past 10 years or so. The famed Blue Swallow Motel was renovated in the late 1990s. Then came the restoration of Motel Safari in 2007. Work on the Roadrunner Lodge — originally La Plaza Court and Leatherwood Lodge — is ongoing since its purchase in 2014, though it has operated for a while.
(Image of the Palomino Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico, in 2009 by Keturah Stickann via Flickr)
I stayed at the Palomino during the summer of 2013. I think there’s a lot of untapped potential here. I wish the new owner the best in his efforts to maintain and restore this vintage motel. If the appearance of the building and grounds are is upgraded and the rooms made nicer, the room rate can be raised and the weekly tenants can be replaced with higher-paying customers.
I know the weekly tenants provide a steady income, but they scare travelers away who don’t mind paying more for a nicer place. I spent a night at the Park Hills Motel & RV Park west of Vinita, OK a few weeks ago not realizing that the weekly residents occupied most of the place. It was a loud and uneasy night.
While traveling on Route 66, I have learned that a bargain room always disappoints. I traveled the Route west from Chicago during the summer of 2013. After three nights roughing it in vintage dives for $30 or so per night, I broke form and spent a night at the Route 66 Casino west of Albuquerque. It felt like the finest place ever, with deadbolts on the doors, clean sheets on a newer mattress, a luxurious cascading shower, cable TV, fast wi-fi, large thirsty towels, quiet – for $62. The next night was spent at the WigWam Motel in Holbrook, AZ. That was the most authentic possible place for a Route 66 traveling experience.
I agree with Mr. Krug’s comments. You do get what you pay for. And that includes the general look and feel of the place. I stayed at an older Route 66 era place in Tucumcari back in 2005. It didn’t cost much, and the rooms were not much and still in the original late 50s décor. But, they were clean, everything worked and the place was pretty low key. The city has many places like it, but some have fallen into disrepair.
Tucumcari used to be a major stay over on Route 66. It still offers a lot of rooms, including newer chains located right off the freeway. The Holiday Inn, for example, has built Express hotels just about any place there’s an exit. They’ve managed to force smaller joints out of business. I talked to the old owner of the Blue Swallow who told me that there is no money running the older motels, just pride of ownership. And, the business is hyper competitive, even in Tucumcari. He said owning one today is like owning a gas station back in the old days. Work your tail off for little money.
Good luck to the new owners. I hope they make it, turn the place around, and bring in even more overnight tourists in what I think is a nice small town out on the open flat lands of the west. Don’t forget to stop and eat dinner at Del’s.
I sure would like to see the amazing “Whoa! Palomino Motel” neon sign back in action in front of the real Palomino Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico. (See John Margolies’ image here https://sixgunsiding.blogspot.com/2017/07/palomino-motel-in-tucumcari-gets-new.html)