Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Overdue New Mexico Trip Report

I’m sorry because I know that I am awfully delinquent in writing my trip report. I also know a couple of other fodorites were also at the Balloon Fiesta and have already written their reports so I’ll keep this short and focus on the highlights in case it might be useful for anyone and because I promised a report for all of you kind people that answered my questions during planning.

I will organize this report into categories to try to cover everything as it has taken me so long to do this that a narrative would probably take me another couple of months. But as an overall summary we arrived and drove to Santa Fe for two days, 1 overnight in Taos and then finished up the week at the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque. All I can say is WOW – what a fantastic trip!!!!

Transportation – Southwest Air to ABQ was uneventful which is just the way that I like it. Budget car rental was the best rate that I could find especially because all of the rates were very high during the fiesta. I believe it was a Chevy Impala but DH was doing the driving and he always complains about rentals, no pick-up, power, etc. But it was just fine by me.

Hotels

Santa Fe – Eldorado Hotel – Although this hotel has had mixed reviews on TripAdvisor we were very happy here. The room was clean and a good size and most of all in walking distance to the plaza, shopping, restaurants, etc. which is very important to us. Only thing I wouldn’t recommend would be the lounge/restaurant the service was very slow and the food only OK. Although we did enjoy the other restaurant (The Old House) and had a fabulous although pricy meal there. I can also say that we thoroughly enjoyed room service pizza one night – it was excellent.

Taos – Fechin Inn – Again, the Inn was well situated and I really enjoyed the common rooms here. I loved the little library with the free internet access and the continental breakfast was sufficient to get us going in the AM.

Albuquerque – Marriott Pyramid – This was probably the least favorite of the three and if had not been so close to the Fiesta which was obviously worth its weight in gold, we would have chosen a different location. Pretty standard Marriott fare otherwise.

Restaurants – I will state up front that DH is not a fan of spicy food and not a very adventurous eater so we didn’t really get to take full advantage of a lot of the wonderful New Mexican cuisine but he was at least game for a couple of meals and almost became a fan of the green chile.

Santa Fe – The Shed – lunch here was quite a wait and I certainly found it worthwhile. DH was not unhappy but probably would have preferred to eat elsewhere, San Francisco St. Bar & Grill – although I was initially wary this upstairs location is open and airy and the lunch that we had here was very good. They had a nice selection of choices and the sandwich special they had that day was excellent. The Bull Ring was an evening for a great steak meal. We were very pleased with this selection. Tia Sophia’s for breakfast was very close to our hotel and we loved it there.

Taos – Michael’s Kitchen – Although I know they are known for their breakfast they were very close to our hotel so we had dinner there and were happy with this choice. I did notice that several people around us complained and had received the wrong orders but we were fine and happy with the choice. The Apple Tree was a great place for lunch the afternoon we arrived in Taos.

Albuquerque – As we were working around the Balloon Fiesta quite often we ate on the festival grounds, but we did get out for a few meals. Trombino’s Bistro was an excellent Italian place recommended by our hotel. Their soup of the day that day which was a Spicy Italian Sausage was out of this world and the rest of our meal followed suit. Dickey’s Smokehouse was another choice for us and we got a platter for 2 – I don’t remember the name of it but I couldn’t believe how much food we ended up being served. Although I must admit we put a pretty good dent in it.

Things to Do

Well our primary reason for the trip was the Balloon Fiesta and we took advantage as much as possible. A couple of the events were cancelled due to weather conditions but I lucked out and Friday AM took a ride in a balloon and it was an experience that I will never forget. The Mass Ascension was another event that was truly a sight to remember forever.

While in Santa Fe we visited the Palace of the Governors, the Plaza, St. Francis cathedral, the Lorretto Chapel and Bandolier National Monument.

Took the High Road to Taos and while there visited the Taos Pueblo, walked to the Taos Plaza and on the way back to ABQ drove to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge and enjoyed the lovely scenery.

Other than the Fiesta in Albuquerque we went to Old Town, the Pueblo Cultural Center and the Petroglyph National Monument.

We loved it all and had a fabulous trip. Once again I want to thank you all for your help because you made the experience that much better with all of your helpful suggestions and I hope this report will help someone else plan their trip to New Mexico – It really is the Land of Enchantment.