There is a ton of 'original' art in Santa Fe that is priced well beyond my means. In many instances I felt as though I was in a Museum, rather than a Gallery. The folks there also seem a tad pretentious to me while trying to sell me their wares. I'm a big collector of pottery & other artwork, but the prices in Santa Fe were out of this world. I did buy a piece at one of the Pueblos though.

to Chico-

My wife and I have visited Santa Fe several times over the last several years in early-to-mid December. Although the weather can change on a dime, we've only had one really bad day (tons of snow) out of many that we've stayed there. I'm used to snow so SOME snow isn't that much of a problem. But if you're from Florida, it may be a bit off-putting. We were there last December (2005) and it didn't snow at all.

I like the Bishop's Lodge. Outside of town, but it's quiet. And they have a nice, new spa.

SAnParis - Pottery? I just bought my brother a piece of Rookwood for a wedding gift. Something from home (Cincinnati) he can put in his house no matter where he ends up!

We have a huge pottery area in NC (Seagrove) where we have purchased a ton of stuff, some of which we use everyday. Wait until you get to Santa Fe & see what some of the 'black' pots sell for...It is unbelievable.

I don't have any Rookwood pieces, but I do have some stuff from Roseville (in Zanesville).

JackO'Neill,

Thank you for your reply regarding December weather. I do not mind snow in the Winter and I think Santa Fe, with fireplaces in most lodging, would be a terrific place to be. Your help is appreciated and I will now go ahead and book our trip.

We like the Inn and Spa at Loretto. It's right in the center of Santa Fe, a fantastic location so you can walk to everything. http://www.innatloretto.com/
Rooms vary widely -- some are tiny, some have fireplaces, some have balconies, some have everything...so make sure you ask when booking. DH and I got engaged on our trip to Santa Fe and when we mentioned it to our waitress at their restaurant, when we got back to our room after dinner there was a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine with a nice note. Didn't have any spa services there but did check out the spa and it looked nice.

Have fun -- we love Santa Fe.

Beachbum--can you tell me more about your deluxe room at the Inn of the Alameda. Did you have a balcony and was it in their "newer" section?
What were the grounds like and the walk to the plaze from there? Thanks.

This was our first time at Inn on the Alameda, laurelee, so I'm not sure if our room was in the newer section or not. It appeared to me that they have three main buildings - one for reception, lobby, breakfast/lounge room, etc., and two 2-story hotel/motel like structures - and a few smaller ones with casita-like rooms. All the buildings have that southwest adobe architecture (just love it), but frankly, the website led me to think rooms were mostly in smaller casita-like buildings. Little disappointed about that.

Our King Deluxe was on the second floor of one of the hotel/motel like buildings (inside hall running the length). Don't misunderstand "hotel/motel". Entry was through double doors set on a nice covered porch, and into a beautifully furnished living room. On the second floor was a large patio. Our room was nicely sized - not quite as large as I expected though - and furnished with the bed & nightstands, large armoire closet & another for the TV, writing desk, and large lounge chair. Everything was squeaky clean, very southwestern tasteful, nice art on the walls... Bathroom was smallish, with single sink, but attractively tiled, and high-end soaps, shampoos, etc. Double doors opened to the balcony, which was plenty long, but so narrow you could barely fit the two patio chairs and table there. Don't expect a view. Ours was of the driveway between buildings, and most others are of parking lots. Really, that was the biggest negative for us.

If you have specific questions, I'd be happy to take a shot at them. I posted a review on Tripadvisor (Oct. 3 date) and will add photos of our room and the building it's in when I get home later today.

Hey laurelee,

I posted a couple photos to my review on TripAdvisor, but they probably won't show up for a few days.