On my road trip to Wrestlemania 39, I decided to stop and see as many tv and movie-related attractions as I could. When I read about Hotel El Rancho, I knew I had to stop and see this piece of Hollywood history in person. According to their website, they have played host to some of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars, including Robert Mitchum, Elia Kazan, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Melvyn Douglas, William Holden, Billy Wilder, Kirk Douglas, Gregory Peck, Ward Bond, Lon Chaney, Jr., Jose Ferrer, Kim Hunter, Troy Donahue, and Suzanna Pleshette. Reading more about it, the star that stayed there that caught my eye was Lucille Ball.
If you’re not new to this site, you know that Lucille Ball was an idol of mine growing up. Several years ago, I went to Jamestown, New York, where she was born, for the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. While I was there, I took a tour of the area and saw her childhood home, where she went to school, and where she is buried (yes, I cried). I took a tour of the Lucy-Desi Museum, which has so much memorabilia of their lives and, of course, their legendary show I Love Lucy. You can read about my trip to Jamestown here.
I love the idea of staying overnight where Lucille Ball stayed, but unfortunately, the timing didn’t work out for the time that I would drive through this area on my three-week road trip. That didn’t stop me from a quick visit to see if I could just look around. And boy, was it worth it!
The Western-themed Hotel El Rancho opened in 1942 and is located off Route 66 in Gallup, New Mexico. It was easy to find. When I arrived, I thought it would be a quick pop-in and take a peek and leave. I went to the front desk and asked if it was okay if I could walk around a little since I didn’t have a reservation. The receptionist said it was no problem. Great! Then I asked if I had my facts right and if Lucille Ball had stayed there. She turned around, grabbed a set of keys, and gave them to me.
“This was the room she stayed in,” the receptionist said. “Go take a look.”
WHAT?!
Each room is named after one of the celebrities that stayed there, and there is one named after Lucille Ball!
Now you and I both know that even though I sat on the bed in the room, there’s no chance that’s the same bed where Lucille sat. But it’s the idea that she was in that room. Yes, I get giddy that way, and that’s okay! (I posted a video of the Lucille Ball room on my Instagram, so be sure to check it out!)
It’s really just a hotel room and you have to imagine the history, but to help you along, there are some photos of Lucille around.
In the bathroom is an overwhelmingly large shower curtain featuring Lucille and John Wayne. I’ll show it, but I wish they would change it. John Wayne has a reputation for being a racist and the connection to Lucille is heartbreaking to me, especially since she is looking at him so lovingly in the photo.
I spent about 5-10 minutes walking around the hotel room before walking through the rest of the hotel. There are so many photos for you to see.
In addition to rooms, you can rent a suite named after John Wayne, the Marx Brothers or Roy Rogers. If you can’t stay overnight, you can still stop by for a meal.
I was here for under an hour, but so happy I stopped by. This is a historic hotel now and the history of Hollywood needs to be kept alive, so stop by and see it or stay there when you’re in the area.
Have you ever been here? Let me know.
