Centralparkgirl

We are planning a quick first visit to ds1 and the gf in Albuquerque in April. The purpose of this weekend is to spend time with him, celebrate his birthday and get the general lay of the land (literally – he is farming). We would like to treat them to an overnight in Santa Fe. They have been to SF several times, but only as day trips. I am looking for hotel, restaurant and sight recs. (I read Deb’s restaurant recs and would love some others.) As for hotels, this will not be a deluxe trip, but I like convenient locations and very clean is a must. ds lives in the Los Ranchos area and suggested two nearby B & Bs, Casita Chamisa and Sarabande for Thurs and Fri nights. His standards are not quite like mine and I’m wondering if what looks quaint online is in reality old, musty, not clean, etc. I was thinking Los Poblanos, but he’s telling me not to waste my money. I have reserved flights, car rental and two rooms in Santa Fe at the Marriott Residence Inn on Galisteo St (very cheap and I can cancel it if I book elsewhere. Btw, all hotels in SF seem to have 4pm check in and 11am check out so we won’t even have the rooms for 24 hrs).

Thurs Arrive ABQ around 1:30
Fri Albuquerque
Sat Santa Fe
Sun Santa Fe/Albuquerque for dinner
Mon Breakfast with ds – head home

Questions:

I need dinner recs for two nights in Albuquerque and one in Santa Fe. All of us love great food, but atmosphere must be casual (farmers don’t dress up). We like all cuisines. Moderately priced.
I did make an OT reservation for Andiamo! in SF, but that can be changed. Chocolate Maven sounds great – should we try for breakfast or lunch on Sunday or lunch on Sat?

If you were making one sightseeing stop in route to SF, where would you stop (best pueblo, cliffs, view, etc.). Is there someplace to stop that’s exceptional on the return trip?

Are the Loretto Chapel, Basilica of St Francis and San Miguel Mission worthwhile from a historical/architectural point of view?

Are any of the following a must: Georgia O’Keeffe museum, the Palace of the Governors, or Museum of Folk Art ?

Is the Rio Grande zoo great?

Should I stay near the airport Sun night? I assume I will see ds again on Mon am before we leave.

I would appreciate any advice that you could offer. Since our time is so limited, I would love to just hit a few musts for a first time visitor.

emalloy

On your way back from SF to ABQ take the tourquois trail, rt 14 I think. There are neat shops in old mine shacks along the way or go up to rt 4 and stop at Bandelier NM then continue west through the mountains and back down to ABQ. Plenty of advice on places to see, stay, eat in SF on other threads.

beachbum

I'd pick Tent Rocks as the stop enroute between Albuquerque and SF. It's a ways off the highway, but I think every bit worth the detour. If you've got time, take the trail up through the slot canyon(s) to the mesa on top. If you plan enough time, I agree with Turquoise Trail for the return trip.

Unless you're interested in chips, salsa, and margaritas, I don't have much to add to what you've already read on Deb's thread.

Pressed for time, I'd choose Loretto Chapel over St. Francis Basilica; never been to San Miguel Mission.

I suspect some might say Georgia O'Keeffe Museum is a must; I'm not one of them. I enjoy the Museum of Folk Art more. Palace of the Governors is interesting.... but, a must? Not in my book.

Would a place like El Farolito work for you? http://www.farolito.com/ My wife and I have stayed at other, more expensive places nearer The Plaza, but we like El Farolito better. And I'd bet you could check-in well before 4:00pm. Regardless, I doubt you'll be happy out on Galisteo.

maria_so

I second the tent rocks and the turquoise trail. a few others to check out is a day trip to abiquiu area with echo canyon, plaza blanca, monastery in the desert, ghost ranch, abiquiu lake, dar al islam, etc. Also, if you like hot springs, ojo caliente resort is nice. Chimayo is also another good alternative as is pecos river area.

Links to above:
http://www.digitalabiquiu.com/pages/tours/echo_t.html


http://www.digitalabiquiu.com/pages/...nestary_t.html

http://www.digitalabiquiu.com/pages/.../3grhikes.html

http://www.digitalabiquiu.com/pages/...teplace_t.html

http://www.digitalabiquiu.com/pages/...alIslam_t.html


http://ojocalientesprings.com/resort...t&content_id=3

http://chimayo.org/

http://www.pecosnewmexico.com/maps.php

maria_so

Oh, and in SF, Pascuals is a must - breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It's always packed so book early! It's casual enough and gooood fooood.

http://www.pasquals.com/

easytraveler

I really like the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque. It's a really good introduction to the Indian pueblo cultures in the ABQ and SF areas.

Before you go pick up at least a couple of Tony Hillerman's novels. Start with THE BLESSING WAY and DANCE HALL OF THE DEAD. These novels are set in the Navajo Nation, but they are a good introduction to the Amerindian cultures of this area.

We enjoyed the Taos Pueblo itself.

During last year's Balloon Fiesta, we stopped off at the Sandia Pueblo and ate ourselves under the table with their buffet lunch - we were going in just to "grab a bite" and were overwhelmed with the huge selection and really good quality buffet that they offered.

Agree with Tent Rocks as a great outdoors experience.

Another place that we visited last year was Las Alamos - unblievable free exhibit of the birthplace of the atomic bomb.

so many great things to do and places to go and stuff to eat there, I'm certain you'll get a lot more suggestions from other Fodorites! Have a great trip!

ElendilPickle

Could you give a $$ range for "moderately priced", please?

Since your time here is limited, I wouldn't do a day trip to Bandelier or Abiquiu. Tent Rocks would be a good stop off I-25 on your way back to Albuquerque, or you could take the Turquoise Trail back to town.

Lee Ann

DebitNM

cpg- a fast answer as I am trying to get ready to leave for San Francisco.

Stay at the airport; I just bid on Priceline for a room tomorrow night at airport. Bid for airport location, 3 star. I got a decent room for $43.

The Zoo is really good; it is compact yet they have wonderful set up, conditions and great animals.

You have got some of my favorite spots to eat for Santa Fe. Did you see my picks for ABQ restaurants? I will top it for you.

The one stop should most definitely be Tent Rocks.

I would go with a chain motel for the nights in ABQ. Los Ranchos isn't that far from most of them, and they will be clean, and more reasonable than B&B unless you have your heart set on one. Los Poblanos is really pretty.

Gotta run for now, email me if you'd like. I'll post more when I have a bit more time.

Deb

moldyhotelsaregross

You expressed an interest in animals. Would a private photo tour with wolves interest you?

I think I'm the first on this board to venture about three hours outside of ABQ to the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary. They offer a very inexpensive tour but the private photo tour is one of my favorite vacation moments. You are able to go inside and up close to the wolves. We are already planning our next visit. I highly recommend it and they are always in need of support.

http://www.inetdesign.com/candykitchen/

moldyhotelsaregross

Use this link for the wolves instead.

I'm having trouble with the other link working properly.


http://wildspiritwolfsanctuary.org/

annieO

The Museum of Folk Art was one of my favorite places in Santa Fe. If you and your family is interested in art, I think you'll enjoy this museum.

DebitNM

My Albuquerque restaurant picks are on here:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/565839

This one is more up-to-date than the one on here.

Deb

rosetravels

We used Priceline for a Santa Fe hotel and had 2 rooms at the Bishop Lodge for $75 each. It was quite nice. This was a couple of years ago but it's still on the list and that's still about the price. I usually stay in the center of town and Bishops Lodge was a few miles away but really a lovely drive with a great breakfast place a little further down the road.

saige

Tent Rocks, of course. If anyone mentioned Shidoni I missed it. We love visiting the Shidoni foundry when we are in Santa Fe. It's a great place for a picnic lunch outdoors among the sculptures and if you are there on a day when they are pouring bronzes, it is fun to watch. You can find lots more information on-line if you google Shidoni.

DebitNM

Bishops Lodge has become tired and a big conference center location. I don't think I would stay there. It is a long drive back into Santa Fe if you are only there for the one night.

shidoni is wonderful, always a recommend on my list, but with only 1 day, I would try to go for something more unique to SW. ie museum.

Deb

Centralparkgirl

Thank you all for the many suggestions. You've given me a bit to consider and I will. Tent Rocks looks great online. ds has never been and is excited to go. He's also never been to the zoo and would like to do that as well. He worked for awhile at the Bronx Zoo, so I think it will be a good choice for us on Friday.

beachbum - El Farolito looks like my kind of place, but for a variety of reasons, I want to spend less than that. And you're right, I probably won't be happy out on Galisteo.

maria - thanks for the links -will check them all out. Pasquals looks wonderful - my son will love it.

elendipickle - for Fri dinner in Albuquerque and Sat in SF, I would say no more than $50 per person. For Sun night, I would like something less expensive which might be in a BBQ joint that ds works in some nights.

easytraveler - if I read one book, which would you suggest?

Deb - thanks for the great info - I've never used Priceline. Is there a cancellation policy?

moldy - the wolf place looks quite unusual, but a little too out of the way for this short trip although farm boy would probably love it.

Approximately how long is the drive on the turquoise trail from Alb to SF?

Approximately how much time does it take to go thru Slot Canyon all the way up to the mesa?

ds mentioned Artichoke Cafe in Albq. I read some reviews that weren't great. Has anyone eaten there?

Thanks again everyone for the good advice!

easytraveler

Centralparkgirl: If you are going to start with Tony Hillerman, then start with THE BLESSING WAY because that's the first book in his series.

Hillerman's style is a very easy read. Hope you enjoy this book and and will go on to others in his series.

There's a post somewhere that lists his books in the order they were written. It's kind of important to read them in the sequence they were written, because they build on one another and sort on continues from one book to another - a bit like daytime soap operas.

The Amerindian is so much a part of the Southwest experience, unlike here in the Bay Area where there are only traces of the older cultures that used to inhabit these regions.

Enjoy!

rosetravels

Your priceline question - once you bid, if they accept then it's yours with no cancellation. You can go to betterbidding.com or biddingfortravel.com to see tips on how to bid, which hotels are most likely at which 'star' level for bidding and what bids have been accepted by others. For instance you can see that La Posada de Santa Fe was accepted for $115. I've no idea if it's good or if that's a good price.

Centralparkgirl

easytraveler - I just reserved it at my local B & N. That was easy.

rosetravels - is it a good strategy to book at a chain that can be canceled without penalty last minute and try for priceline a few days before departure?

ElendilPickle

In Albuquerque, the Artichoke Cafe is one of our favorite restaurants. We also like the Standard Diner, just up Central from Artichoke, but prefer Artichoke. Yanni's has great Mediterranean food, and Scalo has good Italian. The latter two are in the Nob Hill area.

We don't eat out that much in Santa Fe; the last dinner we had in your price range was at La Fonda a couple of years ago, and it was very good.

Lee Ann