The Gadsden Hotel

This is my second time here. I didn’t want Mexican food so I came to the Gadsden hotel restaurant I don’t remember what I got for dinner the first time but it must have been good cuz I’m here again. Tonight I get the chicken alfredo I’m hoping the alfredo sauce is going to be a good so I asked the waitress and she says it is homemade not out of a can. So this is what I ordered she brings it out and you get a very good serving with plenty of chicken and two pieces of garlic bread. Surprisingly this Alfredo is very good I know where to get chicken alfredo when I come out here again. If you like chicken alfredo it is definitely the place to get it.

Things this hotel has:
#1 Charm, character, mystery
#2 Human operated elevators!
#3 Nicely remodeled rooms keeping with the theme
#4 A bar
#5 Friendly staff
#6 People sized divots in the mattresses
#7 Scratchy towels
#8 Hair on the shower walls
Things this hotel does not have:
#1 Blowdryers
#2 A maid
#3 A phone in the room
#4 Fabric softener
#5 Coffee
#6 Directions to the ice machine
#7 Staff who tells you everything closes at 8 (On a Saturday night no less)
#8 Parking
This is a great place to stop in and look at the lobby. Not to stay for $ 150 a night.

While the Hotel lobby is indeed beautiful, the wedding in the lobby from noon to 11:30 PM was not. Definitely NOT. Loud music made sleep impossible. Hell it made normal conversation impossible.
As far as I am concerned the people getting married shouldn’t have pissed off hotel patrons satelliting around their happy day trying to get the hotel staff to turn the music down to a level that allows sleep. All the renovated rooms are ringed around the lobby, no hallway to dampen the noise level. When we went to ask for the music to be turned down, the poor desk person was right there with us, feeling bad that we couldn’t sleep. They got it turned down somewhat, but… The Hotel should have let us know that there would be a loud function happening so that we could have gone elsewhere. Totally lame.
When we checked out, the desk person said that Saturday functions were a regular part of the hotel’s schedule. So be warned. You won’t be able to sleep on Saturday nights here at the Gadsden Hotel.
If you come on another night or can sleep through anything, the rooms were nice, but they have issues. We were first put into rm 128, but the window was stuck open. I was glad to move to 102 as the carpet in the first room was not laid properly, and had ridged badly enough to trip me. Not to mention that the toilet seat was less than an inch from the wall of the bathroom. Alas, the 2^nd room had bad carpet ridges also! (I guess Hotel Hell didn’t really care if they did it right.) The carpet was also filthy. The bed skirts are overly long and were also a tripping hazard. (wth?) The window coverings while nice, kept out zero light, and the street lights were right outside the window. It was like High Noon all night long. (Did I mention zero sleep?) Beds nice. No fridge, and the microwave was on the floor.

Big on charm, short on common sense. I was not told that they would be having a LOUD wedding in the lobby all day and night. It is now 11 pm and the music is still blaring. Because of the set up of the hotel, there are no walls between the lobby and the rooms. This shows an extreme disrespect for the guests here. Had I known this, I would have checked out today. Instead, I’m stuck in my room being kept awake by a frat party.

Gorgeous historic hotel! Everyone is extremely friendly, and will go out of their way to help you! The restaurant is delicious! The rooms are a good size, and the beds are comfortable. I highly recommend!

Fun to stay in such a historic hotel! We rented a two room suite with a jacuzzi tub. Beds were very comfortable. We visited the third floor to see «haunted» room 333 which was spooky. Older hotel obviously but friendliness of staff made up for it! Great breakfast also in hotel restaurant!

The place really looks nice and the rooms are big and spacious. The staff bent over backwards to accommodate us, with anything we needed. It was a truly fun experience. I would definitely go there again and plan on it!

Love this place… hadn’t been here ever and always saw bad reviews about it so i decided to check it out. awesome food very friendly staff, everywhere. Everybody was polite with all the people that came in and would convesrate with all. It was a good way to start the day i will be back.

The lobby of this former gem of the southwest is beautiful, but unless you’re in the area for other business, don’t waste your time. The history and tales of bygone days are unfortunately the only things left in poor old Douglas, AZ.
The Gadsden hotel is one of a scant few buildings in this downtrodden town, that isn’t either abandoned or boarded up. We checked in and immediately checked out! Pretty photos on the hotel’s website are misleading and do not represent the horribly dirty and decrepit condition of the rooms.
I can say that the staffers at the front desk were very sweet and even told us of others that had left for the same reason. They explained that only a few rooms had been updated but progress was almost at a standstill because the building itself is so old. They encountered a myriad of expensive problems with the aged infrastructure, preventing further updates.
Save yourself the gas and stay in Bisbee, about 25 miles west.

This review is for the restaurant. No. No. No. Dinner was incredibly bad. The rib eye was not recognizably as a rib eye, poorly cooked and had no capers and garlic butter as advertised. They were out of baked potatoes even though there were only 2 other diners so I had the mashed. The mashed was terrible, some lumps in a gruel. The salad was actually very good. The rolls were reheated frozen rolls. The lobby is charming, the rooms are very shabby and no no no to the restaurant. Should have negative stars.

This review is for the restaurant. We had a great time! Excellent service, delicious food, very reasonable prices. A party of five had drinks, appetizers and entrees for $ 85. They feature Sonoran cuisine and American.
Tip: order a few plates of the bacon-​wrapped jalapeño poppers. They aren’t breaded either. You’ll be so happy!
After you are finished eating, ask for a tour of the renovated rooms from Hotel Impossible TV show.

My companion and I read the reviews of the Gadsden restaurant — mostly negative — but decided to try it anyway since we were staying there. Happy surprise! We found the food excellent and the service superb. I’m not talking prim, reserved serving staff but fast, competent service and friendliness besides. We learned the hotel changed hands in 2013 and the new owner set about making changes. As far as we are concerned, it worked. We had our evening meal there and breakfast the next day and couldn’t think of a single complaint. We also found the regular hotel staff both friendly and competent and the ambiance in both hotel and restaurant well suited to its place in history.

This review is for the restaurant. They use to have the best beef ribs in southern Arizona. Now they are not even on the menu and the staff apparently doesn’t know a cow from a pig. I both called and asked about their beef ribs when I got there and was told they were on the menu but apparently the staff does not know that baby back ribs are PORK. At any rate the food was very bad. Everything was reheated. My potato was just warm. The pork ribs were just your avg fair nothing special. Unfortunately, this may have been my last visit to this once fine hotel and restaurant. I guess there is a reason this place was on Hotel Impossible.

Working on updating the hotel. I miss Robin and the old staff. The bar is our favorite in town.

This review is only for the coffee shop.
The Gadsden is an amazing historical building, but it’s a shame that this place looks horrible. The owners or management have let this place go. The booth that we sat in was broken and the seats were torn. We asked for a simple cup of coffee and that took forever because they didn’t have coffee made at their coffee shop. The wait staff seemed bored and more interested in chatting than being attentive to their customers. This place needs help bigtime.

Why am I only now rating the Gadsden Hotel when I stayed there in April 1957? Well, my parents always told me that I procrastinated. Besides, I haven’t spent a night in Douglas since 1995 or thereabouts. However, I have been in the Gadsden countless times and gone to many an event there. After all, the Gadsden has been the tallest building in Douglas since 1905 (except when it burned down) and outside of the Bushmasters and Douglas High School, the only place large enough to hold a large social event. Now the reasons for my rating it a «3.» It’s pluses are the fantastic lobby (which they brag about), the «old west» ambiance and (to me anyway) the fact that it still has an old-​fashioned manually operated elevator. It’s negatives are it’s way too expensive for what it is, the rest rooms need to be better maintained, the old west ambiance is a little too old (as in run down) and I haven’t seen the ghost they claim haunts the place. I can understand why folks would rate it a «one» and I can understand why folks would rate it a «four» but five? That’s a little much. Anyone who rates it a five must be from Pirtleville and not get out very often. But what the hey, I stayed in it 56 years ago and it’s been only a few days since I last wandered around through the lobby and ate in their restaurant. It’s like an old shoe or an old jacket. It may be worn out but it feels comfortable. I like to stand in the lobby and imagine Pancho Villa riding down the grand staircase and picture Texas John Slaughter dealing five card stud. That’s what comes to my mind when I think of the Gadsden. (P.S. The Paul Newman movie about Judge Roy Bean was partly filmed in the lobby).

Seems that the choices are limited in Douglas and I stayed here based off of other ratings compared to the options. The bar is cool. Drinks are like $ 3 (hello!!)
The rooms are dated and there is not central A/​C but in the summer, it actually wasn’t as warm feeling as I thought it would have been. The place is kooky and the staff are really nice. If in Douglas, live large and stay at GADSDEN!

We stayed here as part of a Valentine’s Day weekend in the Jacuzzi Suite. The front desk help was incredibly nice and helpful. We ate breakfast before we went in to the room. It was a shame, because everything in the hotel was beautiful. We saw corned beef hash on the menu and asked if it was home made. Our waitress said yes. «Great», thought we, «We shall order it!» Richard got it, and I got eggs benedict.
Our waitress wasn’t exactly rude, but she sure as heck wasn’t very friendly. Then the hash came out, and it was absolutely from a can. It wasn’t crispy, it was heated up. My food was good, I got tomatoes instead of ham. Oddly, it came with a side of toast and breakfast meat. Richard was very disappointed with his breakfast, and I kept trying to get him to trade with me, but he just put it all together and ate it, like a trooper. We brought this to the waitresses attention and she said, «Oh well, my bluff, right?»
Then we went into our room. Oh, my god. I have never been in a Jacuzzi Suite before, and this was amazing. The bed was super comfy, and room had crosses decorating it, which we learned very interesting history about. It had a very Mexican feel to it. We will be back after learning there is a headless ghost in the basement and one of the third floor. I would love to stay in the Jacuzzi Suite again!

What’s wrong with the Gasden Restaurant?!
What a shame, such a pretty-​historical building/​hotel to have such a crappy restaurant.
Well…I should state the positive first, …right? Building is pretty, tables are set right, ambiance is ok. But food! are you serious? Cold burritos, greasssy tacos? out-​of-​a-​can beans? tasteless enchiladas… noooo!
When you are that close to Mexico there’s no excuse why not to have GOOD MEXICAN FOOD!
Please somebody do something! or less people would go there…

This is a review of the restaurant. The dining room is definitely worth visiting, but the food is a mixed bag. My burritos could have been much better, but they were edible.
The real shocker was when are «nachos» came out of the kitchen. I was expecting something good considering the hotel specializes in Mexican food, but the nachos looked like something you would get in a ballpark.
The service was a slow, but not horrible.