Good morning, all,

My wife and I were thinking about an anniversary MINI trip to NM, either Taos or Santa Fe (we'd be coming from Colorado) - can anyone recommend a nice, relaxing, romantic hotel or B&B that we could reserve? We'd prefer something near the historic districts/plaza, maybe a spa. . .oh, and some nice twisty roads nearby would be a big plus!

Appreciate any inputs - I'll be checking this thread for any suggestions, or you can PM me if you'd prefer - thanks in advance!!

Bill

 

On our homeymoon eight years ago (almost to the day) on our X-country motorcycle trip my wife and I stopped for lunch in the dust little town of Alamagordo (sp?). We went into an unassuming "crunchy chewy" sort of restaurant and were treated to the damndest finest salad and pastries that we've ever had. Got to talking with the chef and she had been the head pastry chef at (name of hotel here) in Cloudcroft. I think its called The Lodge, but its probably the only big hotelly place there. She recomended it to us and I would certainly recommend it to you. It is very romantic, wonderful restaurant, great views etc. Its not in Taos or Santa Fe, bit South of both if I remember, but well worth the trip.

 

We have stayed at the Hyatt Tamaya just south of SF in NM. Very nice and luxurious, nice spa, plenty of pools, golf, and great food.

In that area is the town of Bernalillo (S of SF on the Interstate0 and at least 3 nice golf courses, including the resort course of Twin Warriors.

Motoring is fantastic. Go North. But beware of the area around Los Alamos Nuclear Weapons Lab...your NAV will be jammed. It is the only time mine was dysfunctional. Roads that showed on the map were not really there, roads that were there were....not on the map. Strange. But twisty and fun.

As for rood, in Bernalillo easily lives one of the finest SW style places we have ever gone: The Range. Right on the main drag, BLD is served and it is great. Try it. The other place for dinner is Maria's New Mexican Kitchen in SF, but reservations are a must if you go around mealtime. Quite good, quite busy.

Hope that helps...

JPS

 

Hi. It's hard to find a bad B&B in the area, they all have tons of character and charm. Do a search on the web. As for hotels, consider the LaFonda in Santa Fe. I't's on the plaza and it screams "souhtwest". Avoid the name brand hotels as they tend to be rather boring. A few miles north of Santa Fe is a place called Bishops Lodge...very romantic setting in the mountains. We highly recommend these places to our friends when they come out here. Oh yeah, I'm in Albuquerque.
As for drives..
Around Taos, head north to Questa. Go east through Red River to Eagle Nest. Then head back southwest to Taos. It can take as litttle as 2 hours or all day depending upon how many stops you make.
The drive to Los Alamos and then west and south on Highway 4 is pretty cool too.
The drive to the Santa Fe ski area, up Hyde park raod, is also nice.
I't hard to go wrong up in the Santa Fe national Forest. Any back road can be very cool.
If you're into art, be sure to check out the Shadoni foundry. It's a really cool place and a nice drive too. It's north of Santa Fe on the old highway to Tesuque (pronounced "Ta-soo-ke").

Hope that helps, ripley.

PS, ya might wanna keeps tabs on our club web site to see if there's a ride going on while you're here. If so, you're more than welcome to join in! www.nmmini.org

 

My wife and I will be parking our MINI and flying to Albuquerque for a few days and then on to Ojo Claiente for a few. Ojo is a spa where five different springs spring out of the ground. They have lodging (nice but basic) and a restaurant (healthy and tasty) - check out www.ojocalientespa.com. Our favorite holy spot is Santuario de Chimayo between Taos and SF.

 

Here's another B&B in Taos you should check out.
www.taos-casabenavides.com

ripley

 

Since you asked, I must solicit your business. I also offer any tour guide coaching you may need.

Located 2 blocks South of historic Taos Plaza is http://www.newmex.com/indianhillsinn . Book our deluxe single king room.

Email us at the Inn (from web site link above) if you have any questions. I don't read the forum as often as I would like. Although we'd appreciate your business, if we aren't a match for your needs or desires, I'll still be your "tour guide".

John

 

Hi New Mexico people,

I am flying in to Albuquerque area to meet up with some friends across the pond later this month -- the 28th to 31st, just for the weekend -- and looking for recommendations for places to stay as well if there are local car share/rental places where I can get a MINI (or Mini, heh) for those few days I'll be away from mine... also, are there any runs or events going on that weekend?

Thanks in advance,
Christopher 'StarLord' Calhoun