Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
The Hotel El Capitan offers a unique lodging and dinning experience for all travelers. The El Capitan is a historic gem in West Texas and loved by many across the country. We specialize in quality customer service while offering modern amenities and an unforgettable experience. History Hotel El Capitan was built in 1930 by the gateway Hotel Chain, led by Charles Basset, at the crossroads of the forthcoming Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe and Big Bend National Parks. The hotel was designed by famous architect Henry Trost and constructed by McKee Construction Company, all of El Paso. The building operated as a hotel until the late 1960's. In 1973, soon after interstate 10 opened and a majority of the traffic had bypassed the once popular landmark, it was converted into the Van Horn State Bank. In 2007, Lanna and Joe Duncan of Fort Davis purchased the building from the bank with the plan to convert back into a hotel. It was one of the five hotels built by the Gateway Hotels in Eastern New Mexico and West Texas. Basset built the hotels in an attempt to encourage tourism within 200 miles of El Paso. Trost was responsible for the design of over 550 buildings from California to Texas between the 1900's until his death in 1933.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Quiet
Business
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Location
100 E Broadway PO Box 667, Van Horn, TX 79855-0667
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Hotel El Capitan garners praise for its spacious and elegantly adorned rooms, which, along with high-end amenities, enhance its historic allure. The hotel's commitment to cleanliness is repeatedly lauded, ensuring well-kept rooms and polished amenities. Guests are charmed by the hotel's historical elegance and the inviting atmosphere it cultivates.
While the service is generally celebrated for its professionalism, a handful of guests have encountered service inconsistencies in the restaurant. The hotel's amenities, including a pet-friendly approach, are acclaimed, and many guests consider the hotel to provide excellent value, despite some dining critiques.
Atmosphere
Charming
Rooms
Tasteful
Value
Reasonable
Cleanliness
Immaculate
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Well-appointed
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Staying at the El Capitan Hotel was an unexpectedly rewarding experience. This charming and elegant boutique hotel offers an unbeatable value – if it were located in a major city, it would easily command rates of $450 or more per night. What sets this hotel apart are the small but significant details that often go overlooked. The plush towels, mattresses, and pillows reflect a level of care you typically find in luxury hotels like the Ritz-Carlton or JW Marriott. The towels, in particular, are a true testament to how much the owners love their property.
The hotel is beautifully maintained, from the well-kept garden and surrounding grounds to the immaculate building itself. It’s clear that the owners are deeply invested in the quality and upkeep of this hidden gem. I highly recommend El Capitan to anyone seeking an exceptional stay without the luxury price tag.
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Date of stay: October 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What a find. After three days of chain motels staying here was a pleasure. Yes my Deluxe King with Terrace was “cozy” but it was just fine. It’s the small touches...Real furniture, not Ikea, a desk, real glasses (not plastic cups), a terrace with two chairs and a table. Real silverware and crockery at brekkie instead of plastic and paper (albeit paper plates at brekkie). A fully controllable air-conditioner, ceiling fan and small on the wall TV (maybe 25 inches but there wasn’t any room for anything larger). Ear plugs in the beside table (which you won’t need) with a Gideon bible. Squeaky clean and well maintained. The hotel location could be described as the middle of nowhere but not out of town. Pretty much a stand-alone as you can see on Google maps. Hotel restaurant does not take reservations and the ice machine was inoperative...ice from the bar. No coffee maker in room but microwave. And the final positive differential from chain motels….soap that lathers, not just a greasy pad. A great place to stay.
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Date of stay: February 2025
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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This historic hotel was delightful. Original tile floors, ceiling beams, signage, wrought iron, etc. The bathrooms (newly added) were in keeping with the time period of the build, and had rubber bath mats, grab bars, lots of hot water and new/functional fixtures! The burger and margarita in the restaurant were reasonably priced and really nicely done, and no trouble to sub a veg for fries. If you like historic renovations this is one of the better ones we have visited.
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Date of stay: November 2024Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I highly recommend the hotel. The front desk staff were exceptional. Very accommodating and friendly. The room was fabulous but the restaurant service was probably the worse we have ever had. It was downhill from the minute we were seated.  I have been putting off posting a bad review thinking that I might change my mind, but as we continued our vacation I was reminded at each restaurant how good customer service should be and it only reaffirmed how bad we were treated here.  We sat down around 845pm . The restaurant closed at 10 so we knew we were good. After 20 minutes and no one coming to take our order or offer water etc, I went to to the hostess to ask if we could place our orders.  After another 15 minutes and 3 other customers coming in and having their orders taken did I again go back to the hostess to ask what was going on. She went to talk to a waitress and the hostess relayed to use that our waitress was not available and would be there shortly.  So we waited a few minutes more and that same waitress that told the hostess to tell us our waitress wasnt available came to take our order claiming that because we were seated behind the column in the restaurant that she couldn't see us. But she saw us many times as she went to help the 3 other people who came in after us.  We finally placed drink and appetizer orders only to get very weak bar drinks and missing an appetizer that we had to remind the waitress that we didn't get.  After what seemed like forever, our food finally came and yes she said they are training 4 new people in the kitchen but the food was barely passable.  Ribeye was too salty. Salmon dish had no flavor. My sons hamburger was the only hit. The waitress apologized at one point during the night and said that she would comp us desserts so we thought, well thats cool cause we were already going to get dessert anyways.  At the end of our meal we waited again patiently for her to come around and take our order and I had actually gotten up to go find her and she met me halfway and had 3 desserts in hand. Said she was bringing them to us but they were not desserts we were planning on ordering. So we told her what we wanted and she went back to get those which we asked her to put to go since we weren't going to wait any longer. And the kicker... while we were still eating our dinner, another female started cleaning up the restaurant. This isn't bad, I have been in restaurants many times where the table service is cleared off before the room is cleared but this female started mopping right around our table with a pinesol type cleaner and it was very pungent.  That smell is okay when you are cleaning a room, a house, a bathroom but when you are trying to eat your food but all you can smell is pinesol, its not a pleasant thing.  The waitress ended up taking 20% off the bill but this was by far the worst restaurant experience I think I have ever had. I rarely complain but this experience was that bad. Yes, stay at the hotel but avoid the
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Date of stay: April 2024Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip:Â Avoid the restaurant if you can.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Two Room, Two King features two French door window balconies, comfortable bedding, ceiling fans, in-room bottled waters. The lobby is attractive in Western motif leather and tile appointments. The two taxidermy moose, meese, moosen, are uncharacteristically odd in West Texas (at a hotel). Mountain Lions, venison, or other regional game would seem more fitting but not a deal breaker. It certainly has immediate curb appeal and It has the potential to earn a good rating.
Having stayed at many historical hotels, smaller rooms and noisy walls are sometimes worth it for the premium price: Hotel Sophia San Diego, Hotel Julian Dubuque to name a couple. However, in this case If you want historical, go to the free TX state museum. If you want ROI value, go to one of many renovated motels for less than $90. Consequently, this was a $225 roach hotel for us. Light goes on in room 122, roaches scatter. Where there is one…. Shower tub is narrow and has curtain. Cheap blinds broken and in disrepair.
Immediately went to front desk where gentleman was sitting and watching his phone. Showed pic of roaches running, offered no potential resolution, just said OK.
Typical case of owner start it and forget about it, pass the burden on to discerning guests. Yes trains loud, yes big rigs loud, yes TVs mounted indiscriminately and too high, yes accoutrements lacking, yes awkward complexity-driven user interface for split system HVAC,
If you have a roach, it didn’t just get there for my pillow and we want ROI, not to have to write reviews.
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Date of stay: January 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled on business
Room Tip:Â Not much history here though it is a quaint hotel.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The hotel is cute. Beds were comfortable. Staff friendly The rooms are very small and you can hear EVERY closing of room doors!!! You don't need a night light as the door frame lets in all kinds of light. Totally disappointed in the continental breakfast. You would think that a place that has a restaurant in the hotel could put out something appetizing! Didn't appreciate a dog in the dining area either. Coffee was good.
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Date of stay: March 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We’ve stayed at the El Capitan numerous times when traveling since its approximately half way to Phoenix. We try to reserve one of the rooms with the large patio as it makes the stay more enjoyable. It’s a bit more expensive than other chain places and the character makes up for it. The beds are very comfortable and a complimentary water bottle in the room is a nice touch. This time they must have run out of soap since a large bar of Dial was cut into what seemed to be a quarter and wrapped loosely in a piece of brown paper. Never saw this before. Also an extra bath towel could be provided as some travelers need more than one per person. If you manage to get a room with a patio make sure you towel off the chaise from bird droppings since there are many flying about! Van Horn is an old dusty town that Blue Origin has been their claim to fame nowadays. Tucked in the Guadeloupe mountains it has very little to offer except as a travelers rest stop which it succeeds at to a tee. The restaurant is very good and is reasonably priced. They have a bar which is popular, not in a rowdy way and the tables are comfortably spaced apart. All in all the overnight stay is comforting and refreshing. The only really chintzy thing is the breakfast which is included. There are a few warm choices mixed with bad choices of sugary pastries. An offer of scrambled eggs and choice of breakfast meat would be welcomed by many. They do offer apples , bananas and oranges as a healthy choice. I guess a good restful stay is the most important part of the journey. I do recommend El Capitan if one is traveling through.
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Date of stay: May 2022
Value
Rooms
Service
Room Tip:Â Sling for the room with large patio.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We booked a one night stay at the El Capitan and chose a King Bed Patio Suite, advertised as having “French doors open onto a private patio with lounge chairs and a table that overlook the courtyard and fountain.” After a very long day on the road we checked into our very nice room, unpacked, washed up, and headed to dinner downstairs. Dinner was great. We were looking forward to going back up to our room and enjoying a nightcap on our room’s balcony that night as well as having coffee there the next morning. However, as we walked out onto the balcony we noticed the small table lying upside down amidst a lot of large orange cones. Looking more closely in the gathering dusk we saw a large hole through the balcony floor that was almost hidden under the overturned table and a long crack spanning the entire width of the balcony. We didn’t want to be victims of a collapsed balcony. We decided it wasn’t safe to even sit out there so we went downstairs to have our nightcap on the patio instead.
We accept responsibility for not checking the balcony before we unpacked and settled into the room. By the time we found the problem we were too tired to even think of moving to another room that night.
The next morning, we enjoyed a diverse and excellent selection of breakfast items. When checking out, we mentioned the balcony issue to the front desk manager and expressed our disappointment that the hotel would think it was okay to rent a room with a balcony that was so unsafe it needed to be blocked off with numerous traffic cones and an overturned table. We also pointed out that we had paid for a room with a usable balcony, table, and chairs, which we did not receive. The manager said she thought the balcony issue had been repaired. We showed her photos of what we found. She seemed a bit flustered and said someone would contact us. No one has. That is disappointing and wrong.
This room should have been blocked in their reservation system and made unavailable to guests. It is unacceptable that a hotel would expose guests to such an obviously unsafe situation, and after doing so, still charge full price for the room.
So, while the room itself was nice and the restaurant was good, the management of this beautiful and historic hotel is significantly lacking in attention to detail, customer service, and guest safety.
Their failure to respond to our documented and legitimate concerns is proof of that.
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Date of stay: September 2021Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My wife and I checked into El Capitan late at night on 11/30/24. We were tired from driving and your late night staff made us welcome and gave me a great deal on the room. But then they went above and beyond !!! When we went down the next morning to check out and I gave your deck help the room number, he grabbed a note that someone had written the night before or morning of.The note said " Found by curve by restaurant by black truck, might be room 238." The note came with a lost I-Pod earpiece. My wife did not even know she had dropped her I-Pod ear piece while we were unloading. Sure enough, she opened her I-Pod case and there was a missing ear piece. Someone found the I-Pod outside and then did some investigative work to find out who it might belong to. Thanks to your sharp staff. I did not have to invest in another set of I-Pods.Great job. We will be stopping and staying with you on our next trip out west.I will be putting this on Trip Advisor and Google as well.
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Date of stay: December 2024Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The restaurant was expensive and the service was nothing special. We ordered a ribeye steak to split for $45 and asked to substitute asparagus for the potatoes - they charged a $4 split charge and $8 for the change to asparagus. We got 1 stalk of asparagus each! And it was tough! The venue was noisy and the staff uninviting. Very disappointed
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Date of stay: March 2024
Value
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
Room Tip: Don’t get the steak at the restaurant
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
New Braunfels, Texas486 contributions165 helpful votes
Sorry I don't know. You might try and check thru the hotel's ownership, as they are very conscientious with there updating and refreshing of the property throughout recent years.
Get a room toward the back if this has bugged you elsewhere. I didn't notice, but the wine that accompanied my excellent dinner may have been a factor. There's a Hampton in Van Horn, or was, but what's the fun? C'mon, a waffle iron shaped like Texas? And I have a weakness for restored classics; there's a Hyatt Saint Claire in San Jose, CA that's lovely, as is the quirky Alex Johnson in Rapid City, SD. And the Palmer House...
There are more places to choose from in the Van Horn area.
PRICE RANGE
$138 - $193 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
United StatesTexasVan Horn
NUMBER OF ROOMS
50
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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