History of Hotel
The History of La Posada Hotel is inseparable from the history of Laredo. The hotel, which has long been the cultural and social center of social life in the city, sits on the banks of the Rio Grande with spectacular views of Mexico. The historical luxury boutique hotel is built around four historical buildings
The old Casa Consistorial, the municipal building that also housed a jail, used to stand where La Posada is now. In 1886 it was converted into the old Laredo High School until 1916 when it was torn down and a new school erected. It is there that Laredo’s youth attended classes until 1937 when Martin High School finally was opened.
“La Posada is very much the same,” said Elizabeth Sorrell, a Laredoan who graduated from the high school in 1927. When erected, the old Laredo High School was a state-of-the art building complete with sanitation facilities and drinking fountains.
The gymnasium was located below the high school near the river and the auditorium was situated where the Phillip V Room is located today.
“It was brick and we didn’t have air conditioning – and nobody ever complained about the heat,” Sorrell recalled. The school lacked a cafeteria, however, and students were able to walk home to eat as Sorrell did daily.
Once the high school moved, the building housed various other schools until 1960, when the Herring family bought the building and renovated it into La Posada Hotel with 104 rooms.
In 1966 the hotel had its first expansion added 83 rooms including 6 suites.
A second expansion came in 1982 with the construction of the West wing, a heated pool with swim up bar and the Tack Room Steak House what had been the Bruni Home.
In 1994 the hotel changed hands when Barbara Fasken bought the building, along with the Tack Room and the Museum of the Republic of the Rio Grande building.
Mrs. Fasken loved La Posada Hotel, and under her direction the hotel underwent a major renovation as all of the 208 rooms were redone – a $5 million project. Barbara Fasken loved Laredo and spent a lot of her time there. Her legacy is making a large and lasting impact on the city’s hospitality industry, commercial properties and residential development.
In 2005 the hotel again underwent a complete renovation, this one with careful attention to detail and an eye on its treasured past. The blending of the old and new is part of continuing evolution of downtown Laredo.
The renovation allowed us to maintain the integrity of the original Spanish Colonial architecture and the interior creates the feel of an elegant hacienda.
In 2008 the hotel named the number one hotel in Texas by Expedia, the largest online travel site in the world. This prestigious award was driven by the superior quality of service and extraordinary attention to detail provided by the experienced and dedicated staff.
La Posada Video
