The iconic La Posada Hotel, long a community resource in Winslow and beyond, now has a future closely tied to Northern Arizona University.
Owners Allan Affeldt and Tina Mion have committed to bequest the hotel and related organizations to the NAU Foundation.
“Northern Arizona has been very good to us. We want La Posada—along with its gardens and Art Museum—to become a public institution as an expression of our gratitude,” Affeldt and Mion said in a statement. “We are delighted to be working with the NAU Foundation as successor trustee of our estate to preserve, protect and enhance La Posada for future generations of students, scholars and the traveling public.”
The hotel’s owners have long maintained close ties to NAU and its academic programs through their interests in sustainability, museum studies and Native American culture. La Posada has also hosted NAU-related functions, such as the summer speaker’s series and coaches’ caravan.
“Generosity of this magnitude is a tribute to the vision of Allan and Tina,” said Mason Gerety, vice president for Advancement at NAU. “They not only brought financial success to La Posada, but along the way have culturally enriched the community and the university. We are deeply honored to become stewards of that legacy.”
Over the long term, La Posada’s role as an economic driver in Winslow may be expanded to include educational experiences for students in NAU’s highly regarded Hotel and Restaurant Management program. During a visit in early July, NAU administrators visited the hotel to learn more about its operations and discuss potential collaborations.
For now, a former railroad station on the hotel property is being restored as a contemporary fine art museum, which will include works by Mion, an internationally regarded artist. In addition, La Posada will eventually serve as the visitor’s center for the Roden Crater—an ambitious art project at a volcanic cinder cone. La Posada and its related properties are valued at $10 million.