Contirubted by Lanna and
Joe Duncan
Lanna and Joe Duncan, owners of The Hotel El Capitan in Van Horn, announce the addition of 14 more hotel rooms to their historic hotel. Mr. Duncan reports that there is another floor, (Mezzanine), of rooms in the building that have not been used as hotel rooms since the late 1960’s. “When we did the building renovation in 2009 we waited to finish out these rooms until we felt there was demand. We now feel there is a need for more rooms and thought it was an excellent time to proceed”, said Mr. Duncan.
General Manager, Ralph Gilmore and Head of Maintenance, Cass Luna, are coordinating the reconstruction. Luna’s grandfather, Castulo Luna, was an employee of the hotel for many years in its earlier era.
The 26,000 square foot hotel that was built in 1930 by Charles Bassett founder of the Gateway Hotel Chain in El Paso and designed by notable architect Henry Trost will soon have a total of 50 rooms. Mrs. Duncan adds “These new rooms will be similar to what we have done at the Hotel Paisano in Marfa in that they will all have private patios or balconies that add an open air feature to each room. Each of the private patios which face South, will have French doors that open out to walls covered with ivy, individual water fountains, and ambient outdoor lighting. We planted 10 live oak trees along these patios a couple of years ago in anticipation of this addition. Someday, they will provide nice shade for guests on these patios”.
Of the 14 new rooms, two will be larger two-room suites and a third will be large enough for two king size beds. The rooms that are similar at The Hotel Paisano are some of guest’s favorites there.
The Hotel El Capitan, like in its early years, is again becoming a destination for travelers from all over the country. Mr. Duncan also states “We are beginning to have a following of return guests from coast to coast that travel this interstate. These old Trost buildings are also interesting to restore. They are unique in character and impossible to duplicate”.
