Hotel Americas is a luxury hotel located in Guadalajara, Mexico. The hotel was owned by drug lord Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo from the early 1980s until 1989, serving as his headquarters and base of operations for the Guadalajara cartel. To maintain cover, the building also functioned as a normal hotel.
In the series[]
Before Narcos:[]
Félix Gallardo and Don Neto first arrive at the hotel to meet with Hernin Naranjo, who (with his brother) control Guadalajara's drug trade. After Naranjo decline to form a partnership, Félix Gallardo shoots him, causing the hotel's guests to flee in panic. Naranjo's body is found by police, putting the hotel on the DEA's radar.
As Cartel HQ:[]
Felix moving into his office
After taking control of the Guadalajara cartel, Félix Gallardo buys the hotel and makes it his headquarters. He offers to host Leopoldo Sánchez Celis's son's wedding at the hotel. The extravagant and expensive party is a success, although Celis reminds Félix Gallardo that he is still dependent on his support.
The DEA gets a major break in their investigation when they wiretap the hotel. They learn about the sheer scale of the cartel's operations and locate Félix Gallardo's office. Kiki Camarena infiltrates the building as a "guest" and makes it inside the empty office. He looks through the drug lord's files but is forced to hide when DFS Director-General Nava enters. Kiki barely avoids being seen and manages to escape.
Félix Gallardo later meets with Nava in the hotel lobby. After Nava mocks him and claims he will never be "one of them," Félix Gallardo bludgeons him to death with an ashtray as his partner El Azul looks on helplessly.
Downfall:[]
The DEA finally gets American support after Kiki's disappearance and raids the hotel. Agents arrest and incapacitate the fifth floor guards and ransack Félix Gallardo's office. The raid provides a mountain of evidence detailing the cartel's operations. This also forces Félix Gallardo to move to another property with Don Neto.
However, by 1989, Félix Gallardo regained control of the hotel, and hosted the cartel members in a conference room in the said year. It would be the final meeting of the cartel, as several kingpins announced their intentions to leave the cartel.
It is unknown what happened to the hotel after Félix Gallardo's arrest in April 1989.
Features[]
The hotel's exterior
The Hotel Americas was a luxury hotel in downtown Guadalajara. It had at least five floors, a pool, 72 rooms and 6 suites. The first floor had a massive hall, which was used to host an upper-class wedding. The lobby was large and spacious, and had chairs for guests; however, it was also where Félix Gallardo personally murdered some of his opponents.
Félix Gallardo's office was at the end of the fifth floor hallway. It was an elegant space, complete with ivory figure pieces, many desks, and the painting set "La Leyenda de los Volcanes" by Saturnino Herrán. The paintings were slashed by the DEA after they raid the office.
In real life[]
According to some Mexican sites, the Hotel Americas was based off of El Motor Hotel Americas, a property owned by Félix Gallardo. It was located at Number 2400, Avenida López Mateos Sur del Fraccionamiento Ruiz Galindo, in the municipality of Zapopan, Jalisco. After Félix Gallardo's 1989 arrest, the hotel was confiscated by police, along with many of his other properties and farms.