Las Palomas Inn Santa Fe

Las Palomas Inn Santa Fe sits in a pueblo-style building featuring terra-cotta-colored stucco walls finished with a few pops of bright turquoise. In the lobby, you feel as if you’ve been invited into a friend’s family room with a casual collection of seating, like leather sofas, and a checkerboard-table gathered near a wood-burning stove, not to mention the coffee and cookies set out. The palette is quintessential southwest, with bright red and yellow walls and lots of natural details -- think stone floors, wood furnishings, and even a tree trunk that juts from the lobby floor right through the ceiling. From couples to families, the hotel plays hosts to guests visiting Santa Fe for vacation, concerts, or other area events. 

The Palomas Inn is well-located in Santa Fe and guests are a short walk away to a hosts of eateries and attractions. It’s a 10-minute walk from the Plaza, which marks the heart of the city’s downtown filled with restaurants, bars, shops, and cultural hotspots. It’s a 13-minute walk from the Railyard arts district, too. Several points of interest are within a 10-minute walking radius including Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, New Mexico Museum of Art, and Sweeney Convention Center. Attractions farther out include the shops and art galleries of Canyon Road (10-minute drive) and the iconic Santa Fe opera house (12-minute ride). It’s a 10-minute walk or two-minute drive to the Santa Fe train station and a 65-minute drive from Albuquerque International Airport. If walking’s not your thing, the hotel offers free shuttle service to points downtown and on-site parking is free.

Rustic, homey, and with Santa Fe charm, Las Palomas Inn’s rooms are the real highlight of the hotel, especially for those looking to avoid manufactured chain-hotel fare. While no two rooms are alike, they share common style details like hardwood or terra-cotta-tiled floors, rough-cut wood ceilings, reclaimed-wood headboards, bright upholstery, hand-woven rugs, and a bright southwest color palette. Every room has either a gas or wood-burning fireplace. Occasionally, items are worn and bathrooms are a tad outdated, but overall accomodations are clean and well-kept. 

Rooms tend to be spacious, starting with Studios with sitting areas, Deluxe Studios with couches and armchairs, and extra big Casita and Super Casita rooms featuring living areas with sleeper sofas, designed for up to four guests. For even more people, one-, two-, and three-bedroom condos with full kitchens are also available, sleeping up to eight. All units are solidly equipped with microwaves, coffeemakers, and mini-fridges, plus flat-screen TVs, irons and ironing boards, hairdryers, free toiletries, robes, and slippers.

The property's features are on par with a mid-range hotel -- that is, there’s only a breakfast room and a so-so gym. But guests rave about the breakfast, which is included in the rate and features a spread of cooked-to-order options like waffles, omelets, steel-cut oats, and other dishes, served until late-morning in a sunny breakfast room. Warm cookies, coffee, and espresso drinks are on hand all day and free of charge. In addition to the lobby, the hotel has outdoor lounge space.

The gym is an afterthought, but it's sufficient for a workout with a weightlifting machine, recumbent bike, elliptical, and treadmill, plus a bench and a rack of free weights. Coin-operated laundry facilities are available for guest use as is a public computer in the lobby. Wi-Fi throughout is free, though guests sometimes complain it’s spotty. Other services include a 24-hour front desk, free parking, and free shuttle service to downtown. Dogs are allowed for an extra per-night fee.