Albuquerque's hotels offer character and intriguing places to stay. Why not try out the home of a starlet, or a spy, a place for native art, or one for non-smokers …
Hotel Albuquerque
From a distance, this place looks like a generic tower hotel. But up close, plenty of details make it feel warm and historic. In the large Spanish-colonial lobby, sun glints off the glossy brick floor, and rooms are furnished with hand-hewn wooden bedsteads. The shops and galleries of Old Town, the historic adobe district, are a short walk south, as is Albuquerque's excellent art and history museum. Request a room on the north side, in the back, for the best view of the Sandia mountains.
• 800 Rio Grande Boulevard NW, +1 505 843 6300, hotelabq.com. Rooms from $98
Andaluz Zsa Zsa
Zsa Zsa Gabor slept here. Well, not when it was the Andaluz, but way back when it was husband Conrad Hilton's first hotel in his native New Mexico. After a complete renovation in 2009, the Andaluz is again drawing big names downtown, especially to the private cocktail nooks in its grand lobby. The rooms have smart modern tech (auto-off lights, solar-heated water) and luxury touches such as Frette sheets, but retain the Moorish-arch doorways and other historic details from the Hilton era. The Zsa Zsa penthouse features a copper soaking tub fit for a Hollywood queen.
• 125 Second Street NW, +1 505 242 9090, hotelandaluz.com. Doubles from $128 a night
Los Poblanos
In Albuquerque's bucolic North Valley, Los Poblanos is a cottonwood-shaded retreat on 25 acres of organic farmland, complete with goats, chickens and the occasional peacock. Guests can choose between snug rooms in the 1930s adobe main house or a roomier, more minimalist "farm suite" in the dairy barns past the saltwater pool. Wherever you sleep, the scent of lavender wafts in from the tidy fields out front, and meals are dazzling compositions of the local produce – including eggs from those chickens.
• 4803 Rio Grande Boulevard NW, +1 505 344 9297, lospoblanos.com. From $150 B&B
Parq Central
"Quarantine!" is this hotel's version of the "Do not disturb" sign, and the halls are lined with glass cases full of odd medical paraphernalia. This is a nod to the stately building's past as a hospital for railroad workers (and later as a psychiatric ward), but now the atmosphere is all comfort and calm. Rooms are in soothing shades of grey, and bathrooms have a vintage look. Opened in 2011, the hotel quickly became popular with locals for its rooftop cocktail lounge, with a view of the Sandia mountains.
• 806 Central Ave SE, +1 505 242 0040, hotelparqcentral.com. Rooms from $160
Downtown Historic Bed & Breakfasts of Albuquerque
These two 100-year-old homes, dubbed Heritage House and Spy House, sit in a treeshaded neighbourhood on the edge of downtown. Both are excellent places to sleep, tastefully furnished with Victoriana and blessedly light on frills and chintz. But the really interesting detail is in Spy House: the 1912 bungalow is where David Greenglass, brother of Ethel Rosenberg, lived and met with other KGB operatives to pass on atomic secrets in 1945. His room is now painted a cheery yellow, dispelling the cold war gloom, but still has news clippings and period furniture.
• 207 High Street NE, +1 505 842 0223, albuquerquebedandbreakfasts.com. Rooms from $89 B&B
Hotel Blue
The shell of this hotel is pure 1960s concrete mod. Unfortunately, that flair doesn't carry into the rooms, but they're nonetheless a bargain on the west edge of downtown. All the practical comforts are here: mini-fridges, free Wi-Fi, plush beds … and (oddly) faux fireplaces. Rates include airport pick-up and a generous breakfast buffet, of the prepackaged sort common at chain motels (make your own waffles). There's even a small pool, and on Saturdays, the farmers' market sets up in the park across the street.
• 717 Central Avenue NW, +1 505 924 2400, thehotelblue.com.Rooms from $73 B&B
Monterey Non-Smokers Motel
The heart of Route 66 still beats at this little motor court, as a snazzy orange-and-green neon sign points drivers in from Central Avenue. The rooms are as sensible as the name implies, on the snug scale of decades past. The beds are firm, the sheets are crisp and the small pool is so clean it looks like it was installed yesterday. The German owners are on hand in the office to dole out advice about the area, not far from Old Town. They've also helpfully installed a laundry room.
• 2402 Central Avenue SW, +1 505 243 3554, nonsmokersmotel.com. Rooms from $86
Nativo Lodge
Like the Hotel Albuquerque, which also manages this place, the Nativo Lodge doesn't look special on the outside. But inside, it's a showcase for Native American decoration, both traditional and modern. In particular, four rooms have been painted by contemporary Navajo artists, in styles ranging from wild graffiti to simple geometric designs; part of your room rate goes to the Southwest Association for Indian Arts, which runs Santa Fe's famous Indian Market. The location, on the north side of the city, is especially convenient for the October Balloon Fiesta.
• 6000 Pan American Freeway NE, +1 505 798 4300, nativolodge.com. Rooms from $59
Cinnamon Morning
At this quirky, artfully designed bed and breakfast near the Rio Grande and just north of Old Town, the weather determines the venue for your morning meal. In winter, you breakfast in a cosy room with stained-glass windows and are warmed by a crackling fire. In summer, meals move outside to a festively tiled open-air kitchen and dining area, surrounded by rambling gardens. Hostess Sue has style and a sense of humour: the seven rooms and suites are done in candylike Mexican hues, and in one, the bathroom tiles cheer "Olé!"
• 2700 Rio Grande Boulevard NW, +1 505 345 3541, cinnamonmorning.com. Rooms from $109 B&B
Hyatt Tamaya Resort
Hyatt Tamaya Santa Ana Pueblo owns this 350-room resort, on tribal land north of the city. From here, the Sandia mountains look close enough to touch – especially from a "mountain vista" room. The surrounding hills and adjacent Rio Grande provide plenty of room for horse riding or golf. But what really makes the place distinctive are the cultural programmes, such as storytelling nights with pueblo members or pottery classes. There's also a long list of kids' activities. If that all sounds too active, head for the spa, which always smells of wild sage.
• 1300 Tuyuna Trail, +1 505 867 1234, tamaya.hyatt.com. Rooms from $178
Zora O'Neill is the author of guidebooks Moon New Mexico and Moon Santa Fe, Taos & Albuquerque, and blogs at rovinggastronome.com
Prices do not include 15.5% hotel and city taxes. Rates include breakfast only where noted
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