hotelHotel Impossible · Season 7, Episode 1 · Aired April 18, 2016
Gardner Hotel
El Paso, Texas
This one survived. It remains in business.
What happened after
Historic 1922 hotel/hostel; official site active, 24hr operation.
What happened on the show
In downtown El Paso, Melchiorri took on a piece of border-city history: the Gardner, a hotel dating to 1922 that had come to operate partly as a hostel and had fallen into grime, safety problems and a management blind spot. The assistant manager, by the show's account, could not see the very problems that were dragging the property down, the kind of denial that lets decline compound. A historic budget property serving backpackers and travelers survives on cleanliness, safety and value, so an operation that had let those slip was undermining its whole reason to exist. Anthony worked the rooms and the operation at 311 East Franklin Avenue, pushing management to actually confront the grime and hazards rather than look past them, and to run the century-old building to a safe, honest standard. The fix was about opening the operators' eyes to a reality guests could already see.
After the cameras left
The Gardner is still trading on its downtown El Paso history. As of our 2026 verification the historic 1922 hotel is open, with an active official site and round-the-clock operation, at 311 East Franklin Avenue. The property that arrived on the show grimy and mismanaged has stayed in business, still serving budget-minded travelers in the heart of the city. Confirmed operating as of 2026.
Sources
Confidence: high. Last checked 2026-07-19.
What is there now
Street imagery via Google Maps. Location approximate.