I'm looking to book 3-days loding in Santa Fe. I noticed they have a Holiday Inn. How does it compare to the other motels that are away from the Plaza? I'm looking for a "budget" place: Nothing fancy, but nothing "divey" either.
Thanks!

The Holiday Inn is on Cerrillos Rd, a huge commercial strip leading into downtown SF. It is home to every chain accommodation known to man. They rank the same on the hotel food chain in Santa Fe as they do in any other city. My personal choice when not staying near the Plaza is the Radisson located off of Cerrillos (big plus) and slightly closer to downtown. St. Francis St. I think.

I spent almost a week there two years ago and it was fine. It's not a dive, and we found it convenient in relation to the many things we like to do in the area. The room had a fridge and there's a grocery store nearby. (Santa Fe water doesn't taste very appealing to me.)

For what it's worth, Frommers likes the La Quinta

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/santafe/H6358.html

I think that Holiday Inn Express is a Priceline hotel. If you're going alone have you considered PL?

I stayed there a while back, so don't know if it's changed, but it was fine when I was there. I didn't care for the pool. Too small and partially indoors. Otherwise, was convenient for driving, etc.

I would agree with a previous post. The Radisson is always my personal favorite. It's not too close, yet not too far away. It will be quite a bit more in price, but its a very nice and upscale hotel. I have not stayed at the Holiday Inn before, but it looks like a nice enough place from the outside.

I always stay at El Rey, which is also on Cerrillos, but closer to downtown. It's really nice with lot of authentic charm -- not a chain, for sure.
http://www.elreyinnsantafe.com/

However, if your main objective is a good deal in Santa Fe, I'd give Priceline a whirl. If you bid on a 2 1/2 star you might get the Courtyard Marriott, or a 3 star might get you the Raddison. I saw that someone on biddingfortravel got the Marriott with a $35 bid and the Raddison for $70.

Santa Fe is apparently a very popular destination and I don't think there are a whole lot of spectacular deals out there. But it's worth a try.