Flagstaff, AZ - Near the main boulevard in the Route 66 town of Flagstaff, the Hotel Monte Vista has been a landmark sight for over 80 years. The hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For more information, see the Hotel Monte Vista website.

Hotel Monte Vista Coffee Shop
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo courtesy Rod Holcomb

Leave Route 66 and turn toward downtown Flagstaff and it does not take long to spot the Hotel Monte Vista. The tall building rises above the surrounding storefronts, topped by a giant rooftop neon sign that seems to announce the hotel to the entire town. Locals simply call it the Monte V, and after nearly a century on the Flagstaff skyline, it is difficult to imagine downtown without it. 11-10

A return visit years later found the same big sign still watching over the corner. From across the street, the vertical lines of the hotel pull the eye right up toward the rooftop letters. It is one of those landmarks that lets travelers know exactly where they are before they ever check a street sign. 05-21

Hotel Monte Vista
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The hotel began as a community project in 1926, the same year Route 66 was established. Flagstaff residents believed the growing number of automobile travelers deserved something better than the town’s aging accommodations. Local investors, including Western novelist Zane Grey, raised about $200,000 in a single month. Ground was broken on June 8, and the 73-room hotel opened on New Year’s Day in 1927.

At first it was called the Community Hotel in honor of the townspeople who helped build it. A contest was held to find a permanent name, and the winning suggestion came from a 12-year-old schoolgirl. She chose Monte Vista, Spanish for “mountain view.” Not bad for a kid naming what would become one of northern Arizona’s best-known hotels.

Hotel Monte Vista
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Monte Vista quickly became one of Flagstaff’s favorite gathering places. “Meet me at the Monte V” became a familiar local phrase, whether the plan involved dinner, drinks, dancing or an overnight stay. A light on the roof even served as an emergency signal during the 1930s, flashing to alert the town when trouble was nearby.

There was also a radio station inside. Mary Costigan, one of the earliest women in American commercial broadcasting, moved KFXY into the hotel in 1929. More than 400 people reportedly showed up for the first broadcast from its new 100-watt studio. The station aired three hours a day, which apparently qualified as a pretty full schedule during Flagstaff radio’s early years.

From across the street
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The hotel lounge had a less public operation during Prohibition. It supposedly concealed a speakeasy and bootlegging business behind the cover of a newspaper office. Local authorities shut it down in 1931, but the bar returned legally after Prohibition ended in 1933. From 1935 to 1940, the lobby also held what are said to have been the only slot machines ever legally permitted in Flagstaff.

Hollywood soon discovered northern Arizona, and the Monte Vista became a favorite place for actors filming Westerns around Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon. John Wayne, Jane Russell, Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope were among the famous guests connected with the hotel. Several rooms now carry their names.

Built in 1926, the Hotel Monte Vista was originally named the Community Hotel until a contest winner renamed it to what it is today.

Another shot of the hotel
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Then there are the guests who may never have checked out.

The best-known Monte Vista ghost is the Phantom Bellboy. According to hotel lore, he knocks on doors late at night and calls out “room service,” only to disappear before anyone answers. John Wayne reportedly encountered the bellboy while staying at the hotel in the 1950s. The story says Wayne was amused rather than frightened, which sounds about right for John Wayne.

Room 305 has its own long-term resident. An elderly woman once lived there and spent hours rocking beside the window. Guests and housekeepers have since reported seeing the rocking chair move by itself, hearing knocks from inside the closet and occasionally glimpsing a woman seated near the window. Apparently, she is still keeping an eye on downtown.

The blade sign
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The tale surrounding Room 306 is much darker. Hotel lore claims that two women were murdered there during the 1940s and thrown from a window. Male guests have reported waking with the feeling that they cannot breathe, while others say they have felt someone watching from inside the room. No need to request a late checkout there.

Even the cocktail lounge has a ghost story. A bank robber was supposedly wounded during a 1970 robbery and stopped at the Monte Vista for a drink before dying from his injuries. Since then, bartenders and guests have reported hearing an unseen voice say “good morning,” along with stories of drinks and barstools moving on their own. At least this particular ghost sounds reasonably polite.

A close up of the cocktails sign
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

How much of this is paranormal activity and how much is an old hotel settling into the cold Flagstaff night is up to the guest. Historic buildings have creaking floors, noisy pipes and long hallways that can play tricks after midnight. Still, the Monte Vista has collected enough stories to keep ghost hunters checking under the beds.

Another view of the hotel and rooftop sign
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

UPDATE: The Hotel Monte Vista remains open with 73 rooms, two bars and its famous rooftop neon sign. In July 2026, burned-out portions of the sign briefly made “HOTEL MONTE VISTA” appear as “HOL MONSTA,” turning the old landmark into an unexpected online celebrity. The hotel was probably haunted enough already. 09-26

The Hotel Monte Vista is a very prominent site when you drive off the main highway into the downtown area. The rooftop sign is a can't miss sight for miles. and hasn't really changed over multiple visits over the years.

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Coffee Shop sign Flagstaff, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com	The newsstand nearby Flagstaff, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com