Developer outlines plan to renovate Camino Real Hotel, possibly restore ‘Paso Del Norte Hotel’ name
Investors Wednesday outlined plans for a $70 million renovation and restoration of the historic Camino Real Hotel Downtown.
Local developers The Meyers Group and Two Sabes LLC hope the investments, which include City, County and State incentives worth $34 million, will bring the 357 room hotel back to its glory years of the early 1900s.
“When they built this hotel it was wood floors, it was very Art Deco, it was so 20s, roaring 20s,” said Cito Beguiristain, Senior Vice President of Planning and Development for the Meyers Group. “More than 300 movie stars and famous figures in history have stayed here and a large part was the historic ballroom and the terraces.”
Josh Meyers, vice president of the Meyers Group, called the 17-story hotel “a giant canvas” which has the ability to once again become a premiere destination in the Southwest.
“My grandmother actually got married in this hotel, so there’s a lot of sentiment with this hotel in the community,” Meyers said, “We want to restore it to its original grandeur and to make it a four and a half star hotel.”
Plans call for restoring the hotel’s original entrance off San Antonio Street, which features a giant glass dome reputedly created by famed American artist Louis C. Tiffany.
The round bar in the old entryway is expected to be removed from the ground floor under the dome and a new bar installed elsewhere, along with three different restaurants.
“One of the greatest amenities is the dome and we’re gonna keep that exactly how that is,” Meyer said, “There is a bar currently underneath, we have some plans to maybe remove that bar.”
Meyers said they are also planning to restore the hotel’s 10th floor ballroom and terrace where guests in the early 1900s stood and watched the Mexican Revolution.
A spa is planned for the pool area, also located on the 10th floor. Most of the rooms on the 10th floor have not been available for years due to issues with plumbing.
All 357 rooms, some of which are not currently operational, will be renovated at a cost of more than $80,000 per room, Beguiristain said.
All of the furniture will be replaced and the bathrooms will be completely renovated. “For $89,000 you could build a house, so you know its going to be awesome. It’s going to be super luxurious,” Beguiristain said.
Meyers said they are still finalizing the purchase of the hotel from Grupo Empresarial Angeles of Mexico City.
He hopes to start work on the hotel by January and complete the project within two years. “We’re talking to a couple of hotel chains, we have one in mind that we really like because we can keep the historical name of the hotel which is the ‘Paso del Norte hotel,'” Meyer said.
