Review of the Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town

by Scott S. Smith and Sandra Wells

Albuquerque is the largest city in New Mexico and a hot travel destination because of its year-round mild climate, incredibly diverse terrain, and lots of things to do, from hot air ballooning to sampling innovative Hispanic cuisine https://www.visitalbuquerque.org/things-to-do/.

In a recent trip there, we stayed at the landmark luxury Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town https://www.hotelabq.com/.?It is the perfect place to be headquartered at the northern end of walk-able Old Town, which is full of specialty retailers (including a store for merchandise about the hit TV series "Breaking Bad," set in the city) and museums (such as one entirely devoted to rattlesnakes). Near the hotel is the 25,000-sq.-ft. Sawmill Market, with everything from restaurants to artist studios. Just north is the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center where one could spend hours learning about the 19 fascinating Pueblo communities in the region.

The Hotel Albuquerque?has an enormous convention center that includes small meeting rooms with a variety?of decor and settings (a total of 62,000 sq. ft.). There is outdoor dining that can accommodate groups, an adjacent wedding area under an arbor (and a chapel for those who prefer), and a pool surrounded by a tall fence for privacy. Inside, the gym only had a few machines, so best to get there early or late. The store in the lobby was well-stocked and featured valuable handmade art objects in a display window.?

The hotel has a partnership with the locally-headquartered, nonprofit National Institute of Flamenco to preserve this distinctive aspect of Spanish culture, hosting Tablao Flamenco Albuquerque https://www.tablaoflamenco.org/ Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons (the evening dinner shows are for 21+ and Sunday lunch is open to all ages). The hypnotic combination of guitar, singing, and rhythmic dancing is not to be missed. ?

Garduno's of Mexico Restaurant and Cantina https://www.hotelabq.com/eat_drink/gardunos/ is considered one of the best of kind in the city, but we are on restricted diets and were unsure if we could find something we would enjoy. Our waitress told us one of the most popular dishes for most diners was the Mexican Shrimp Salad, but recommended we try their famous Green Chile Con Queso with an assortment of cheeses and the garden fresh vegetables version of the Flaming Fajitas. Both came in enormous portions and were delicious. We don't drink alcohol, but she assured us the Virgin Coconut Margarita was the best coconut margarita of any kind in the city and it was hard to imagine that any others would taste so good. Everyone was also entertained by a guitarist who sang popular songs in Spanish and English.

The room was a comfortable size for two people, with a wooden floor, lots of closet space (two robes, an iron and board), drawers, and full mirrors. There was a full balcony with a view, double curtains, a large desk area, a stuffed chair with a small table, an easy-to-use LG flat screen TV, a small refrigerator, and a hidden safe. The Queen mattress, comforter, and pillows were Beautyrest, always extraordinarily comfortable. Most important for us, it was very quiet, especially for a hotel that hosts a lot of events. The hotel was undergoing renovation and coffee maker had to be replaced, while phone was not working initially, but these types of glitches can happen at even the newest hotels.

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The bathroom was small, but the sink was large enough and had adequate light for makeup (not always the case at top hotels). The shower was easy-to-use and powerful and there was a Conair 1875 dryer. The LATHER brand of shampoo, body wash, soap, exfoliator, and lotion had an all-natural lemongrass and bamboo formula.

We give Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town four stars.