Gardner Hotel & Hostel

I came here to escape my broken a/c on a 100°+ night, turns out they have a swamp cooler and the room was just barely cooler than my houseI have no regrets. For $60 I got to experience a little bit of history. The tiny room was adorable and the bathrooms were shockingly clean and tidy (considering the entire floor shared 2 bathrooms).

Great hostile and great location near downtown El Paso and so close to the freeway and to the bar

If you're expecting a comfortable bed, a quiet comfortable stay, and a TV in your room, this is not the place.There was noise from the pub below and all the drunks eating pizza slices on the street at the corner pizzeria. You can hear the cars driving by constantly. There was construction noise, from dump trucks and garbage trucks making extremely loud banging noises. I have no idea why this was going on at 3-4 a.m. The noise is so bad, that the hotel gives you ear plugs and makes you sign a waiver at check-in, that you have been advised of the noise. Had I known this, I would have never booked it, but it was already too late, as I had paid on Priceline. The front desk clerk at check in waspolite and personable. I saw him again the next morning at check out and he was very pleasant.The night clerk was pissed off and was mean mugging the entering guests. He had a scowl on his face that said, "I hate my job and don't want to be here."Believe what others have said. The noise is real and it can be heard thru the thin windows. If you are a light sleeper, avoid this place.The bed must be from 1922, the year the hotel was supposedly constructed. You could feel all of the metal springs. It was not even a mattress. It was like sleeping on a set of boxsprings. Between the noise and horrendous bed, I did not sleep at all. The hotel promotes itself on its nostalgia and because Dillinger supposedly stayed there. Who really cares? The lobby is about the only decent part of the hotel. They have some old typewriters in a display case and a vintage phone booth. The elevator is out of order. Hope you enjoy a narrow, slippery, treacherous marble staircase with lots of luggage. The soda vending machine on my floor was out of order as well.The bathroom is shared by other rooms on the floor. Your room only comes with a sink to brush your teeth, etc., unless you pay double to get a an en suite bathroom. Hopefully you don't need to go to the restroom while someone has the door locked for an hour. I had to piss in the sink in my room twice.There are lots of renovations that were taking place. And some of the rooms are just used to store junk. Much of the property appeared to be in a state of disrepair. I don't know what they are improving, but I do know that you can't polish a turd.The best thing about this property is the downtown location if you have business in the area or at UTEP, as the street car route is right across the street. I only gave it 2 stars because of the location. Otherwise, it is a quaint, nostalgic 1-star dump. Every other hotel in downtown El Paso is better. Much better. Do yourself a favor. Spend the extra money and stay at one of the other properties.

The hotel is a trippy time-warp in the heart of Downtown El Paso. The service and amenities are bare-bones but the savings and unique experience are definitely worth it.Very LGBT+ friendly and on the same block as many of the local gay bars.The shared-bathrooms are super clean and not nearly as intimidating as it might seem for Americans used to having their own bathrooms.

Great stay at The Gardner. Fantastic location downtown and a three minute walk to the passport office. Room was clean, but you will need ear plugs as there is a music venue next door. Best value for the location. Cute and quirky!

Meh. As poor quality as this hotel room was, i would say it was still not the worst. We've definitely had a good helping of hotel rooms over the years with the Army moving us around. Service and quality of the room here still beat a couple places.We'll start with parking which is almost non-existent. I tried to look for a bigger sign for parking than it actually is. I had to call the hotel clerk a few times so she can explain where to find it. It was literally a 4 car space area with a small sign "hotel loading zone." And once that was full, you basically need to just find some other area which you would need to pay and walk quite a ways. Second, the room temperature was warm, almost hot. Even at night after the temp drops. The only accommodation would be to open the top latch over our door to let in cold air from the AC vent that was literally blasting through the hallway. Third, even though they warn you about the noise level being loud, it still doesnt make the experience better. The fore warning was more to tell us no refunds from the noise level. This is all thanks to the lower level also occupied by The Pizza Joint and the other bars along with their loud drunkees. And since The Pizza Joint doesnt close until 3am, you will hear loud ass cranking sounds from them closing up that time. I would say the only thing that redeems them is the historical value to the place, especially since we believe we got to spend the night in John Dillingers room, 121. Pretty cool. Thats the most value of it though. Not worth 75$ but probably the cheapest rate downtown.

Useful, clean and conveniently located.No issues with loitering like other hotels in this area(will not go into details,but, I can get girls on my own, no need for pimps!)Historic building, looks good as new, no issues.Reasonable, clean and close.What more would one expect?

In reading some of the reviews here, I've come to the conclusion that some people are just whiners who complain when they get what they ask for. You pay $65ish for a hotel room downtown in one of the country's largest cities and are sad it doesn't look like the Holiday Inn? You pay $25ish to stay in a shared hostel room, and you don't like the air conditioning? Get the hell out of here! This is cheap and interesting housing for travelers. In a world where all of us must make compromises, this is the right set of compromises for me. I'm on a cross-country bike trip from San Diego, California to San Augustine, Florida. I've camped in National Forests and on remote BLM lands. I've stayed in RV parks full of migrant workers or snowbirds. Sure, the paint in some places looks like it needs touch up, I'm not confident about the fire protection system, and the nearby club shakes the place with its booming bass dance music until really late. The elevator appears permabusted, so I had to walk my bicycle down some gnarly stairs after a long day of pedaling. There probably isn't any car parking, but travelers adventurous enough to stay here might be arriving by bus, bike, foot, thumb, or rail. You people who have to have a place for your late-model SUV are out of place anyway. Go choose again.At this price, why complain? It's fascinating, fun, in the center of downtown right next to San Jacinto Plaza, and has pizza and beer right next door. The staff are solicitous and helpful. The prices are, again, cheap. The bass boom is muffled enough to sleep through. Everything is old, but clean.Jeez, Louise. It's amazing some of you people made it to adulthood. Which one of you still sucks your thumb? Your dentist wants you to stop, you know, because it's not helping your overbite.

I wish I can put minus five this hotel. Because they speak about cancelation policy with so conviction about rules. But the standard of the hotel is poor, and deficient. They do not care about care the customers you charge $107 for a room that does not have the minimum requirement for a hotel. If you have second floor and the elevator does not work and you do not repaid the elevator to take care of disable customer. You are in the wrong business. Do not waist your money in paying for a room with this this hotel.

The guy at the front desk has a jar of ear plugs because the club next door is so loud, the windows and walls shake. The bass and the people yelling into the mic are just what I want to hear when I'm tired -- not. I guess there are no building codes or noise regulation in TX.