Hotel Congress is a historic, family-owned boutique hotel in downtown Tucson, Arizona, built in 1919. The property combines a hotel, the Cup Cafe restaurant, three bars, the Club Congress nightclub, the Century Room jazz club, and an outdoor Plaza Stage.

Sources: Hotel, History, Venues

Hotel Congress offers live music most nights, dining at the Cup Cafe, drinks at three bars, haunted hotel tours, and free weekly events. You can stay overnight, see a concert at Club Congress or the Plaza Stage, hear jazz at the Century Room, or take a 30-minute ghost tour.

Sources: Calendar, Food & Drink, Hotel

Hotel Congress has these spaces on one property:

• Hotel: Cactus Garden Rooms, Club Rooms, Standard Rooms and Haunted Rooms
• Restaurant: Cup Cafe (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
• Bars: The Lounge, Tiger’s Tap Room, and the Century Room bar
• Music venues: Club Congress (nightclub), the Century Room (jazz club), the Plaza Stage (outdoor), and the Tiger’s Tap Room patio

Sources: Hotel, Food & Drink, Venues

Hotel Congress is family-owned. Richard and Shana Oseran bought the hotel in 1985, the same year Club Congress opened.

Sources: History, About

Hotel Congress is best known for the 1934 fire that led to the capture of gangster John Dillinger in Tucson. It is also known for its reported hauntings, its neon sign, the historic Tiger’s Tap Room, and more than 40 years of live music at Club Congress.

Sources: History, Haunted Rooms, Club Congress

Yes. The Cup Cafe, all three bars, the music venues, the plaza and the haunted hotel tours are open to the public, not just hotel guests. Many weekly events on the plaza and in Club Congress are free to enter.

Sources: Food & Drink, Calendar, Venues

Hotel Congress is at 311 East Congress Street, Tucson, AZ 85701, in the heart of downtown Tucson. It was built to serve travelers arriving at the nearby Southern Pacific Railroad depot.

Sources: Contact, History

Call Hotel Congress at 520-622-8848 or toll-free at 800-722-8848. The front desk is staffed 24 hours a day.

Sources: Contact, Hotel FAQs & Info

Email reservations@hotelcongress.com or call the front desk at 1-800-722-8848.

Sources: Contact, Hotel FAQs & Info

Parking for Hotel Congress is in a lot across the street and in a garage off the premises. Check in at the front desk first, and staff will give you your parking options.

Sources: Hotel FAQs & Info, Contact

No. Electric vehicle charging is not currently available at Hotel Congress.

Source: Hotel FAQs & Info

Hotel Congress is about 8 miles from Tucson International Airport, roughly a 14-minute drive. Hotel Congress does not offer an airport shuttle.

Sources: Hotel FAQs & Info, Contact

The Tucson streetcar is within walking distance of Hotel Congress. The Tucson Convention Center and the University of Arizona are generally too far to walk comfortably, so plan on the streetcar or a short drive.

Sources: Hotel FAQs & Info, Contact

Room rates at Hotel Congress generally run $129 to $229 per night and change by season. Special-event dates are priced differently; call 800-722-8848 for those rates.

Sources: Hotel, Hotel FAQs & Info

Hotel Congress has four room types: Cactus Garden Rooms, Club Rooms, Standard Rooms and Haunted Rooms. Every room is decorated individually, with furniture and books chosen by the owner and artwork unique to that room.

Sources: Hotel, Cactus Garden Rooms, Club Rooms, Standard Rooms, Haunted Rooms

Hotel Congress has 40 guest rooms.

Sources: Hotel FAQs & Info, History

Hotel Congress rooms come in different bed configurations, with twin, double, queen and king beds depending on the room. Check the bed details of the specific room before you book.

Sources: Cactus Garden Rooms, Club Rooms, Standard Rooms, Haunted Rooms

No. Hotel Congress rooms have no televisions by design. Instead, each room has a retro radio, a tray of local treats, and free Wi-Fi.

Sources: Hotel, Hotel FAQs & Info

The radios in every Hotel Congress room are pre-tuned to 91.3 KXCI, Tucson’s community radio station. KXCI broadcasts live from a studio in the hotel’s downstairs lobby.

Sources: Radio Station, Hotel

Yes. Wi-Fi is complimentary for all hotel guests.

Sources: Hotel, Hotel FAQs & Info

Yes. Hotel Congress replaced its 1930s evaporative cooler with air conditioning in 2010.

Sources: Hotel FAQs & Info, History

Book online through the “Book a Room” button at hotelcongress.com, or call 800-722-8848. Online bookings charge the first night when you reserve. Haunted Rooms must be booked by contacting the hotel directly.

Sources: Hotel, Haunted Rooms, Hotel FAQs & Info

Yes. Roll-away beds cost $30.

Source: Hotel FAQs & Info

Generally no. Breakfast is not included with a standard room, though some special-event packages include it. The Cup Cafe in the hotel serves breakfast daily from 8 a.m.

Sources: Hotel FAQs & Info, Cup Cafe

No. Hotel Congress has no pool, no fitness center and no room service.

Sources: Hotel FAQs & Info, Hotel

Sometimes. Hotel Congress offers hotel packages for select events. For example, its 2026 Halloween parties offered a $250 package with a Standard Room, two tickets, skip-the-line wristbands and two welcome cocktails. Check each event listing.

Sources: Calendar, Signature Events, Club Congress

Check-in at Hotel Congress is 3 p.m. and check-out is 11 a.m. If you will arrive after midnight, tell the hotel in advance, or your room may be released.

Source: Hotel FAQs & Info

Often, yes. Hotel Congress can frequently accommodate early check-in or late check-out; ask the front desk ahead of your stay.

Source: Hotel FAQs & Info

Yes. Hotel Congress will hold guests’ luggage before check-in and after check-out.

Source: Hotel FAQs & Info

Guests must be at least 21 years old to rent a room at Hotel Congress, unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

Source: Hotel FAQs & Info

Yes. Children are welcome in Hotel Congress rooms when accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Cribs are not available.

Source: Hotel FAQs & Info

Hotel Congress gives a full refund for cancellations made at least 48 hours before arrival. Cancellations must be made by phone at 1-800-722-8848; they cannot be made online.

Sources: Hotel FAQs & Info, Contact

Yes. Hotel Congress welcomes pets up to 80 pounds. The pet fee is $50 for the first night and $25 for each additional night. Request a pet-friendly room when you book.

Source: Hotel FAQs & Info

Yes, it can be. Hotel Congress is an urban hotel with a nightclub and outdoor stage, so plaza, club and street noise can reach the rooms. Every room has a white noise machine, and earplugs are free at the front desk. The hotel does not give refunds or discounts for noise.

Sources: Hotel, Hotel FAQs & Info

All Hotel Congress rooms are non-smoking. Smoking is allowed on the outdoor plaza.

Source: Hotel FAQs & Info

No. Arizona liquor laws prohibit bringing outside alcohol onto the property. You can buy drinks from Hotel Congress and enjoy them in the bars, on the plaza, or in your room.

Source: Hotel FAQs & Info

No. Hotel Congress has no elevator; the original was destroyed in the 1934 fire. All guest rooms are up one flight of stairs, and the hotel has no ADA-accessible rooms.

Sources: Hotel FAQs & Info, Haunted Rooms

Yes. The Hotel Congress front desk is staffed 24 hours a day.

Sources: Hotel FAQs & Info, Contact

Yes. Guests are liable for any room damage, charged to the card on file. The hotel asks that guests not exceed each room’s stated occupancy.

Source: Hotel FAQs & Info

Hotel Congress is known as one of Tucson’s most haunted places. Guests and staff report activity across the property, most consistently in four rooms: 212, 214, 220 and 242.

Sources: Haunted Rooms, Hotel

Hotel Congress has four rooms with the most consistent reports:

Source: Haunted Rooms

Yes. The Haunted Rooms can’t be booked online; contact Hotel Congress at 520-622-8848 for availability. They are popular, so book early, and note they are up one flight of stairs.

Sources: Haunted Rooms, Contact

Yes. Hotel Congress runs 30-minute Haunted Hotel Tours on Fridays at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at noon. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children, sold through DICE. The tour covers the hotel’s ghost stories and the John Dillinger story and ends in the rarely seen séance room.

Sources: Calendar, Hotel, Club Congress

Yes. Call Hotel Congress at 520-622-8848 to book a private Haunted Hotel Tour.

Sources: Hotel, Contact

Yes. Hotel Congress hosts some of downtown Tucson’s biggest Halloween parties, such as Nightmare on Congress and Totally Hot Halloween, with costume contests and DJs across the property. Dates and prices are posted on the event calendar each fall.

Sources: Signature Events, Calendar

Hotel Congress was built in 1919 to serve travelers arriving on the Southern Pacific Railroad, with a soft opening on November 18, 1918. It celebrated its centennial in 2018 and 2019.

Source: History

On January 22, 1934, a fire at Hotel Congress exposed that bank robber John Dillinger’s gang was staying there. That discovery led to their capture in Tucson without a single shot fired. Dillinger was then tried in Tucson.

Source: History

Dillinger Days is an annual Hotel Congress event, held since 1994, that commemorates the 1934 fire and the capture of John Dillinger’s gang.

Sources: History, Signature Events

After the 1934 fire, Hotel Congress was rebuilt with 40 rooms instead of its original 80. The rebuild was completed by 1940.

Source: History

Thomas “Tiger” Ziegler was the longtime bartender of the hotel’s Tap Room, serving drinks there from 1959 until his death in 2024. The bar was renamed Tiger’s Tap Room in his honor in 2013.

Sources: Tiger’s Tap Room, History

Source: History

The Cup Cafe at Hotel Congress is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., with a break from 2 to 4 p.m. between lunch and dinner. It is closed for dinner on New Year’s Eve.

Sources: Cup Cafe, Food & Drink

Yes, through OpenTable. Dinner reservations are taken seven days a week. Breakfast and lunch reservations are taken Monday through Thursday only. Reservations are highly recommended on Easter, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Sources: Cup Cafe, Food & Drink

The Cup Cafe serves continental favorites with a twist, often made with local ingredients. It is known for its dessert carousel of house-made sweets. The daytime and dinner menu is posted as a PDF on the Cup Cafe page.

Source: Cup Cafe

The Cup Cafe often has vegetarian and gluten-free options. The menu changes, so check the current menu on the Cup Cafe page.

Source: Cup Cafe

Yes. The Cup Cafe has served breakfast, lunch and dinner since 1990, has been named a “Best Neighborhood Gem” by OpenTable, and regularly wins “Best of Tucson” awards. Walk-ins are taken Friday through Sunday mornings.

Sources: Cup Cafe, History

Yes. The Cup Cafe sits in the hotel’s north lobby, with an indoor dining room and a large patio that extends onto the Hotel Congress plaza.

Source: Cup Cafe

The Cup Cafe’s floor is covered in pennies, an installation added in 2005. The cafe also displays Jenny Holzer “Truisms,” installed in 1991.

Sources: Cup Cafe, Art, History

The Lounge is a Wild West–themed bar in the hotel’s grand lobby, opened in 2023. It focuses on whiskey and custom cocktails and serves charcuterie boards, light bites and house-made desserts.

Sources: The Lounge, History

The Lounge is open Thursday through Saturday from 4 to 10 p.m., with bar service from 10 p.m. to close. It is closed Sunday through Wednesday.

Sources: The Lounge, Food & Drink

Yes. The Lounge hosts whiskey-focused events such as reserve tastings, Repeal Day parties, Dillinger Days and Kentucky Derby parties.

Sources: The Lounge, Signature Events

Tiger’s Tap Room is Hotel Congress’s historic bar and a Tucson landmark, known as the first bar to operate in Tucson after Prohibition. It holds the world’s largest collection of artwork by western artist Pete Martinez.

Sources: Tiger’s Tap Room, Art, History

Tiger’s Tap Room is open 2 p.m. to midnight Monday through Wednesday, and 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Sunday.

Sources: Tiger’s Tap Room, Food & Drink

Tiger’s Tap Room was the favorite bar of artists Ted DeGrazia and Pete Martinez. Visitors have included Lemmy of Motörhead, Laurence Fishburne, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Fiona Apple and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana.

Sources: Tiger’s Tap Room, History

Yes. The Tiger’s Tap Room patio hosts free, 21+ small shows and events, such as acoustic sets and a poetry open mic.

Sources: Tiger’s Tap Room, Calendar

The Century Room is Hotel Congress’s borderlands jazz club and mezcal lounge. It pours ancestral small-batch mezcals, craft cocktails, and regional beer and wine.

Sources: Century Room Bar, Century Room

Hotel Congress has four live music spaces: Club Congress (indoor nightclub and concert venue, open since 1985), the Century Room (jazz club, open since 2022), the Plaza Stage (outdoor stage on the hotel plaza), and the Tiger’s Tap Room patio (small free shows).

Sources: Venues, Club Congress, Century Room, Plaza Stage

Club Congress is the nightclub and live music venue inside Hotel Congress. It began in 1985 as a once-weekly showcase for downtown Tucson’s creative community and now hosts touring bands, local acts and weekly dance nights. Club Congress holds 400 people.

Sources: Club Congress, History

The Century Room is a borderlands jazz club and mezcal lounge at Hotel Congress, opened in 2022. It presents local and national jazz most nights, usually with two evening sets around 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., plus late-night sets around 10:30 p.m. on weekends.

Sources: Century Room, Century Room Bar

The Plaza Stage is Hotel Congress’s outdoor stage on the hotel plaza. It hosts concerts, markets, dance parties and community events, often with standing room plus premium, rail or table seating.

Sources: Plaza Stage, Venues

Tickets for Hotel Congress events are sold through DICE, and DICE fees apply. The “Get Event Tickets” link at hotelcongress.com goes to the full calendar of all venues.

Sources: Get Event Tickets, Calendar

It depends on the show. Each Hotel Congress event is labeled All Ages, 16+ or 21+, and some change partway through the night (for example, all ages until 10 p.m., then 21+). Check the listing before you buy.

Sources: Calendar, Get Event Tickets

Doors at Hotel Congress usually open 30 to 60 minutes before showtime. Each listing shows exact door and show times.

Sources: Calendar, Get Event Tickets

Many shows are general admission. Some Plaza Stage and Century Room shows sell premium, rail or table seating; tables often must be bought in pairs, sometimes in fours.

Sources: Plaza Stage, Century Room, Calendar

Yes. Hotel Congress hosts free weekly events, most of them 21+ dance nights. Examples are listed below; check the calendar for current dates.

Sources: Calendar, Plaza Stage, Club Congress

Recurring events as of October 2026:

Sources: Calendar, Century Room, Club Congress, Plaza Stage

Yes. The Century Room jazz jam with Max Goldschmid opens with a short house-band set, then an open instrumental jam until 9:30 p.m. Musicians who sit in get in free.

Sources: Century Room, Calendar

Yes. The Century Room is a venue for the HSL Tucson Jazz Festival, hosting festival concerts and the official late-night afterparties.

Sources: Century Room, Calendar

When a Hotel Congress show is postponed, original tickets are usually valid for the new date. Refunds go through the original point of purchase or marketing@hotelcongress.com, as noted on the listing.

Sources: Calendar, Get Event Tickets

Yes. Annual Century Room traditions include live performances of Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and the Century Jazz Orchestra playing Ellington’s “Nutcracker Suite” each December.

Sources: Century Room, Signature Events, Calendar

Yes. Hotel Congress hosts weddings, rehearsal dinners, corporate events, banquets and private parties. Call 520-622-8848 or fill out the inquiry form on the Private Events page.

Source: Private Events

Hotel Congress rents out the Century Room, the Cup Cafe, The Lounge, the Hotel Plaza, or the whole property for private events.

Source: Private Events

Yes. Hotel Congress sells gift cards, shirts, calendars and accessories at its online shop, shop.hotelcongress.com.

Sources: Gift Cards, Hotel Congress Shop

Sign up for the Hotel Congress newsletter at hotelcongress.com to get presale offers, promotions and perks by email or text. You can choose updates about the hotel, Club Congress or the Century Room.

Sources: Hotel, Hotel Congress home

Use the Media Requests page under the About menu at hotelcongress.com.

Source: Media Requests