Yeah, so it's not a palace
by TripAdvisor Member EssexPaul
Blimey, judging by some of the previous reviews there are some strange people out there.
This is a good solid hotel. It's not very fancy but it's a frontier hotel - what do you guys expect?
We stayed two nights in April on our 3 month trip round the southern and western US and the Monte Vista was a breath of unpretentious fresh air compared to the lentil-eating, tree-hugging, po-faced establishments we encountered in places such as Santa Fe and San Francisco.
Rough and ready but full of character - well done Hotel Monte Vista!
an aquired taste
by A TripAdvisor Member
speaking as someone who lived in flag for about five years, the Monte Vista is an aquired taste. The owner, Jimmy is opinionated and to be nice, eccentric, having at times been described as, "Shadey" by more than one person. The staff was, when I lived in Flag, often comprised of folks who were drifters and free spirits, with a few professionals scattered about they worked long hours, for little pay and could at times get 'grumpy'. The rooms are historicaly interesting and the building itself was something I was always drawn to, during the day. Flag, at night can get pretty active and people walk from one place to the other. It is a college town folks, you are going to have the occasional odd hollar, and witht the addition of the change in altitude, you can expect to see some odd goings on. The Vista is just that, an odd going on, but an enjoyable one if you are up for the challenge and willing to find a way to enjoy the experience you receive. As for the trains, they too are simply a fact of life in flagstaff they just keep comming and comming and comming...well you get the idea.
Loved It - Just What I Expected
by A TripAdvisor Member
Just got back from a wonderful weekend stay here. I was expecting a unique, colorful, stay in an old, historical hotel, not a modern chain hotel with all of the conveniences. It filled the bill. We loved it! Would definitely go back. The only slight minus was the unfriendliness of the first front desk person. All of the other staff was great, so not a problem. I used earplugs, so the train didn't bother me. If you like high-character hotels, and don't expect a resort, this is a great place.
A NIghtmare
by A TripAdvisor Member
This hotel while charming, was noisy and uncomfortable. The bar clientale on the ground floor spills out into the street to smoke. All night long my husband and I listened to screaming drunks. When the bar closed a crowd of drunks moved into the second floor hallway and we listened to slamming doors, profanity and fighting until daylight. When my husband complained at the front desk he was told that someone was patroling the halls all night!? To make matters worse there was no hot water (it never warmed past tepid) for a groggy morning shower. We had planned to stay for two nights but bailed out after our nightmare night.
Yep, it's a noisy place
by TripAdvisor Member couplefromMinnesota
We stayed three nights at the Monte Vista, taking the recommendation of a New York Times travel piece on Flagstaff. It is well located, boasts a charming lobby and our corner room was a good size, clean, though sparsely furnished. A small couch or easy chair would have been a nice touch. I have to agree with other postings here that the noise -- particularly on Saturday nights -- is excessive from the apparently drink-as-much-as-you-can-possibly-hold night club on the ground floor. (That said, the night club boasts a terrific neon sign.) The singing and profanity lasts into the wee hours of the morning,particularly unfortunate given that the hotel charges a premium to stay there on weekend nights. We found the hotel staff to be fine and we liked the cafe on the ground floor, though we fled to the nearby Late for the Train coffee shop after getting snapped at for arriving 5 minutes before their 7 a.m opening. I think there are better values in Flagstaff for non-chain, funky hotels -- the Hotel Weatherford down the street has a better restaurant and appears to be more mellow and equally well located as the Monte Vista, though we never checked out the rooms.
Over priced and noisey
by TripAdvisor Member Al_T_Publican
My wife and I first stayed at the Hotel Monte Vista in Mar 03 during a snowstorm. I was looking for something different and found it in terms of being historic. I believe it was a Sunday night when we first stayed at the Monte Vista. Between the snowstorm and not being a Fri or Sat night it was relatively quite. I enjoyed the company of some British tourists in the downstairs bar. The room that night went for around $60.
What a difference three years and a Friday night stay make. The room last week went for $115., and not even a complimentary cup of coffee that those chain hotels offer. The bar crowd noise was terrible lasting until after 2am. I can't blame the trains as I knew they blow through Flagstaff every thirty minutes or so.
On second look the rooms are decorated somewhere between odd and awful with their dark oil based paint colors.
In the first floor bar/coffee shop a manhattan cocktail went for $7.00. A bit stiff, higher than most places back home in San Diego. The basement bar was serving up cocktails for $4.50 and $5.00 with a band playing.
After two stays at the Monte Vista I'm somewhat sorry to say that I would probably not stay there again, especially on weekend with the kiddie crowd noise factor.
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