Private dinners for up to 120 guests, ballroom receptions and weddings, and outdoor events in the Cottonwood Grove can be organised at La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona, a former Fred Harvey railroad hotel on Route 66. For full use of the event spaces, the hotel asks the host to buy out the entire property and order catering from its Turquoise Room restaurant, so the guest rooms and the gardens are reserved for one group.
Weddings and receptions
The ballroom, with its teal ceiling and tan columns, hosts indoor wedding ceremonies, and the hotel's rooms page lists the event space for 50 people. Couples can also hold the event outdoors among the cottonwoods in the gardens. The main dining room of the Turquoise Room and the Fred Harvey Room together seat 120 guests for a reception dinner. Arrangements other than a full buyout can be discussed with the general manager of the Turquoise Room.
Rooms and capacities
The Ballroom is the indoor event room, listed for 50 people. The Turquoise Room dining rooms, the main room and the Fred Harvey Room, seat 120 together. Outdoors, the gardens restored since 1997 include the Sunken Garden, the Rose and Potager Gardens, the Cottonwood Grove and the South Lawns. The hotel does not publish capacities for the gardens.
Accommodation
The guest rooms carry the names of their position in the building: King rooms in the historic section, rooms with two full beds in the West Wing or the Tower, King Balcony rooms over the Cottonwood Grove, King Deluxe rooms, some with a fireplace, King Patio rooms on the gardens and Deluxe rooms with two kings. Many bathrooms keep their original black and white tile. Some rooms face the railway, which train enthusiasts ask for. An accessible King room has a roll-in shower. Two RV sites with hookups sit on the east side of the property. The west wing alone holds 33 guest rooms.
Catering
Catering comes from the Turquoise Room, which serves contemporary Southwestern cooking. Formats run from plated meals to buffets, and a contract with the restaurant is required for events.
History and setting
Mary Colter designed every part of the building, which opened in 1930 as a Fred Harvey hotel on the Santa Fe Railway and which she regarded as her finest work. It closed after 27 years, lost its furnishings at auction and served as offices before Allan Affeldt and his partners bought it in 1997 and restored it. The hotel now keeps a gallery with rotating exhibitions of Southwest art and paintings by Tina Mion. Past guests listed by the hotel include Albert Einstein, Amelia Earhart and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Getting there
The hotel is at 303 East 2nd Street, Route 66, in the center of Winslow, within walking distance of the historic downtown. The railway runs beside the property.
