The Historic Plaza Hotel offers spectacular and fun

lodging specials throughout the year!

Montezuma Hot Springs Special:

It’s a five mile drive to the Montezuma Hot Springs from Las Vegas, New Mexico. Three hundred years ago, the Apache ran these lands. They caught fat rabbits in brush skirting the forest and collected prized piñon. When their warriors found themselves slashed with wounds of life and war, they laid down weapon and suspicion and pressed body into ground along the banks of what would one day be called the Rio Gallinas. Healing waters bubbled around them – geothermal hot springs filled with lithium and sulphur. The Apache filled their injuries with the warm silt that rose to the surface of the lands. In order not to offend the Great Spirit and risk losing this gift of healing, the area around the springs was considered an area of peace.  No fighting took place in the immediate area, no game was hunted. The Apache consecrated the springs and surrounding areas as sacred ground.

Montezuma Castle loomed large above the Rio Gallinas, a statement of stark architectural beauty and elegance, framed by a hillside of cultivated foliage. The site was initially commercialized in 1840, when a man named McDonald petitioned the Mexican government for the land, and was granted it on the condition he became a Mexican citizen. He built a simple wooden house by the hot springs, and charged admission. In 1846, after the territory of New Mexico was conquered by the U.S. Army and seized from Mexico, a military hospital was established near the waters. Converted into a hotel in 1862, and replaced by a stone building in 1879, the Old Stone Hotel – the administrative center of the United World College – still watches over the hot springs. Jesse James and Billy the Kid threw cards in an old adobe near here, and spent an evening or two together, soaking up precious minerals in the rejuvenating waters.

Today, visitors no longer need to lie on hot water soaked ground to enjoy the springs’ soothing properties. Over the years a collection of pools have been built, each with a distinct personality. Ranging from the beloved “Lobster Pot” – a scalding hot circular stone pool of 120 degrees – to an earth-lined large natural pool of 102.7 degrees called “Africa” because of its recognizable shape. All pools are free of charge and open from dawn to dusk. Patrolled by the United World College, the site remains pristine, natural, calm. Visitors to Las Vegas can enjoy the best of all local worlds – a trip to the hot springs, including extra towels, a map and flip flops, along with a special overnight rate thanks to the Historic Plaza Hotel in the heart of the city’s Arts and Culture District.

Call 505-425-3591 and ask for the Hot Springs Special to book your room at the Historic Plaza Hotel.