The Hotel That Refused to Die
In the late 1920s, while Prohibition gripped the United States, John Stone was quietly building something very different just south of the border. Stone drilled a water well and began flying in guests from Phoenix and Tucson to Puerto Peñasco, offering them what was banned back home: gambling, alcohol, and the warmth of the Sonoran sun. Local folklore insists that Al Capone himself was an early visitor, perhaps even setting up shop to store liquor before it made its way north. Today, the building once known as the Marine Club is the Posada La Roca, a modest hotel in Puerto Peñasco’s Old Town. Curious to separate fact from legend, I arranged an interview with the current proprietor, Jorge. We met on September 4, 2025, around 6 p.m. at the hotel. The structure is a single-story, rectangular stone building sitting on what was once a prominent corner near the marina and malecón. Outside, vines twist up a chain-link fence, providing a measure of privacy and a telling sign of things to come....
