Santa Fe Lodging in December
 

I want to plan a weekend trip for December 16-19 to Santa Fe to celebrate sister's 60th birthday. There will be 2 couples. Looking for 2 hotel rooms or a home/condo/suite suitable for 4. Are the hotels typically booked at this time or will there be holiday specials available. I want to stay near the plaza and pay not more than around $200 per night per couple. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

There should be plenty of choices, that isn't a very high priced time. Have you checked on any hotel search sites? You should find several hotels near the plaza.

Hotels.com or Priceline.com will give you some starter ideas:
These are near plaza-
Inn And Spa At Loretto
La Posada De Santa Fe
The Hacienda And Spa At Hotel Santa Fe
Eldorado Hotel & Spa

You can also try and bid a 4* on priceline to save a few $$

Also, hotwire has some good prices with hotels shown [not blind buy].

We stayed at the Old Santa Fe Inn, which is about 3-4 blocks from the plaza. It offered a good breakfast spread (included) and had suites available (pull out double-bed couch, separate bedroom) but those aren't really suitable for two couples (get your own room each instead).

Inn on the Alameda is very nice.

The thing with Priceline is you are bidding blind. Even if you put in 4 Star or 5 star hotel, there's no telling which one you'll get and some hotels work better than others for people, unless you don't care. Hotels will be less expensive than condos. See if the hotels have specials, try Expedia or similar sites and then try to book the rate directly with the hotel. You won't have to pay for the entire stay in advance and you'll have a better chance for free upgrades if the hotel isn't busy. Try the smaller Inn on the Alameda, they are sometimes less expensive than the hotels. Hotel Santa Fe is about a 10 minute walk to the Plaza but they do offer shuttle service. Inn of the Anasazi and La Fonda are the closest hotels to the Plaza. Check Home Away for less expensive condo rentals- they will generally be further from the Plaza.

bettrbidding.com at the Plaza Hilton always my fav

free parking paid $79/nt last betterbidding.com

Got free wuite upgrade as an Honors Guest

Cute hotel for price perfectly located free sangria in lobby

friendly folks... I do not stay out on Los Cerillos too hard

to get into the plaza parking expensive.

Not usually too ctowded wander around have fun...

Lunch/Dinner at The Shed cheap my fav...

We won the Santa Fe Hilton on a $65 bid for May 10-12 ... Priceline and Hotwire Forum: NM Santa Fe Hilton Plaza ... Forum Software by IP.Board Licensed to: BetterBidding.com …

www.betterbidding.com/index.php?showtopic=72238

re: Priceline - Early May is a pretty unpopular time in Santa Fe - lots of wind, sand and dust blowing around which could account for lower accepted bid. Not a good indicator of accepted prices at other times of year.

I prefer Hotwire and using betterbidding to help ID possible hotels. But as I said, there are several hotels listed on Hotwire on the listed dates that are not "hidden" but rather are shown. The prices are good, for good 4* hotels and there is no unknown. If you are feeling lucky, the 4* Pricelines, might get you a bit of better result, that IF you are willing to accept whatever you get.

BB unfortunately doesn't show much activity on accepted Priceline bids for Santa Fe, so that won't help much for guidance. You would have 2 free rebid areas - Cerillos Road and Santa Fe South, so you could try to bid at least 3 times at once, per day, if you felt so inclined.

La Posada is offering a special rate for those dates starting at $166 a night. I love the location and the beautiful grounds and buildings.
www.laposada.rockresorts.com

Also, near that is Inn on the Alameda which is near the plaza and also Canyon Road which would be a beautiful walk in the winter.
www.innonthealameda.com

El Farolito is very charming with a nice breakfast and afternoon snack with wine. It's near the plaza as well.
www.fourkachinas.com

There are many vrbo rentals for that time period that could fit your wish list as well. Areas we like are historic eastside, Ft. Marcy, private homes eastside & historical downtown, and though we've not stayed here yet the El Corazon is right in town and newly built.

Parking hasn't been an issue for us unless it's a festival day. There are a lot of public parking lots around the plaza area and also there are private lots opened on weekends to pay to park, usually $8-10 for all day or $2/hour.

Many thanks for the suggestions. Sounds like I need to check Hotwire and possibly call some of the hotels. I prefer knowing in advance exactly where I am staying and don't mind paying extra for the peace of mind. DebitNM: do you have a favorite from those that you recommended?

Since I am local, I have not stayed in any of these.
BeachGirl is very knowledgeable. Check out the websites, look at the pics, read some of the reviews on tripadvisor and see what appeals to you.

For such a short stay, I would go with a hotel. Most VRBO's charge a cleaning fee, and for such a short stay, that will add a lot to per day cost.