What would you consider the better hotel choice in Gallup, NM. We will only be staying one night and would like an indoor pool and hot tub. We have 2 adults and 3 teenagers. We have reservations at the Days Inn West in Gallup and saw a review for the Days Inn East which pretty much rated it a dump. Don't want the Days Inn West to be the same. Thanks for your help.

Hate to break it to you, but all of Gallup is a dump. Stay elsewhere.

Why stay in a chain motel when you can enjoy a classic like the El Rancho hotel? It is a unique, authentic historical hotel that has a beautiful and interesting lobby, especially for movie buffs.

The El Rancho is a great place to stay. The rooms are ordinary, but building and lobby are very historic, and the dining room is to die for!! Order the navajo tacos!! We stayed one time on our way to Albequerque, and stopped on the way back just to have another meal!

I agree with "xxx", above: Gallup is a dump and has such a terrible problem with alcoholism that I would hesitate to cross a street there, especially at night. If you are travelling east, it would be worth your while to continue on to Albuquerque. Also note that when you are on Indian land in the vicinity, a major source of income for the county is speeding tickets so don't speed!

El Rancho is very easy to find. I was able to find it in wee hours of the morning after a long flight and a long drive. If you like old westerns and John Wayne, you'll like El Rancho.

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but our experience at El Rancho in 1999 left me a little wary of its charms. Yes, it does have several movie artifacts that for a Western movie buff would be of interest. However, our family was approached by two young kids in the lobby who were selling "Indian artifacts"- these were not hotel employees, and we were relaxing in the lobby area (it's a spacious, open area) and not really thrilled about being merchandised. My brothers-in-law also were approached by older "salesmen" while they were unloading the car in the parking lot. I felt uneasy in our room that night - and I'm not easily spooked. The security seemed lacking at this property. Also, the furnishings in the room seemed a little dated and need of refurbishment. Our dinner and breakfast at the motel were adequate, but not extraordinary. Glad others had better experiences.

xxx and RB, you could be approaching being another Ugly American tourist. When traveling in a new part of the country it is always a good idea to read up on the culture, along with the scenery. The Gallup area is unbelievably poor. There are no industries, jobs, available land. The people on the Navaho Reservation and in Gallup are doing the best they can. I have stayed in Gallup many times on the way west. The tourist dollar is about the only way to make money these days. I sentence you to a week reading some Tony Hillerman books.

I don't think anyone needs to read some fictional novels now that it has been spelled out for us -- Gallup is a poor, run down area, plagued by rampant alcoholism and pandering street merchants. After driving through it and stopping at the El Rancho, I can honestly say I agree with these opinions. We had planned to stay at the El Rancho, but after visiting the lobby and checking out the rooms (and after seeing Gallup) we drove into Albuquerque instead. There's a layer of grime over that entire town, would personally never stay there.

Judith: Our visit to El Rancho was made as part of a family trip to SW, with reservations made by sis, who wanted to check out the Western movie connections at the motel. My comments were not made meant to be a slight on the area; it's just that the previous posts were highly complimentary and our experience did not match those of previous posters. Did not mean it in an offensive manner; we enjoyed our tours of Navajo land on this and subsequent trips.

Just returned last night from New Mexico and had planned on staying in Gallup for the night. We stopped at the McDonalds and immediately a woman came up and wanted to sell us jewelery. We politely declined and she wouldn't go away until another carload of gringos came in, then she hit on them. We went across the street to the trading post and before I could get out of the car, a intoxicated Indian was at our car window asking for money. Needless to say, we drove on to Albq/ for the night. Gallup is a dump and I can't imagine it being a safe place to stay.

In the early 70's, on a road trip to visit my grandparents in Mesa, AZ, we stayed the night in Gallup, it was a dump back then, I just checked out the tourism website for the city: gallupnm.org, the website makes Gallup look appealing!

I'm a nice person (really) but, you should find another place to spend the night. Gallup, is a sad and depressing town. I feel sorry for the people who live there and have no chance of getting out. Stay some place else. I could go into detail, but there is no need. This post BY KNOW MEANS, is meant to insult the familes and hard working folks who live there.

I must respond to all the negative posts about Gallup. Maybe I live in a naive dream world, but my family and I had absoulutely NO problems staying at the El Rancho Hotel in Gallup. I would stay there again in a heartbeat. I loved the ambience and decor of the place, and the restaurant on the premises was fine. We did not spend a great deal of time there, just an overnight stay, but if you're into historical hotels, then this is the place! We did not deal with vendors,panhandlers, etc. or anyone else that fits that description. The lobby itself is worth the price of the room-lots of interesting photos and memorabilia. Please don't settle for a Days Inn when you can stay here.

Perhaps I was there during the best of times, but I did visit Gallup during the Inter-Tribal Pow-Wow a few years ago, and it was terrific. Hotel rooms were at a premium and we stayed in one on the west side of town, but can't remember the name. New, modern, clean, no problems. There were parades, the pow-wow itself was fastenating, and we enjoyed our stay. My husband enjoys pawn shops for the amazing quality of native american jewelry (of course, it's sad that there is so much there) and found Gallup to have the best he'd ever seen. This is of course due to the poverty of the local community, which is very unfortunate. As for the Hillerman novels, I have a friend who used to be a doctor on a reservation clinic, and he said instead of having his interns (sort term visiting docs) read anthropology books, he assigned them to read Hillerman to learn about the local culture. They're excellent.

Try the Best western, I stayed there last week. No problems.