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Santa Fe- 400 Years of Southwestern Hospitality The market may be feeling an occupancy pinch, but developers are gambling on a comeback with variety of new and re-imagined projects. Friday, April 03, 2009 Mr. Jim Merritt

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It’s taken a few centuries, but Sante Fe, New Mexico’s capital, may finally earn the recognition it deserves, along with a royal visit.

Santa Fe, which was founded by Spanish missionaries at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in 1609 –10 years before that Plymouth Rock landing – lays claim to being the U.S.’s second oldest city. It will be commemorating the 400th anniversary of its birth starting on Labor Day, 2009.

And the royal red carpet may be rolled out for the occasion.

“We fully expect King Juan Carlos of Spain is going to attend,” says Art Bouffard, the president of the New Mexico Lodging Association. The city’s lodgings will be vying to have “the distinction of where the king stays,” Bouffard said.

He might consider a hotel in the pipeline: the 92-room Hyatt Place, which broke ground in February and is expected to be completed in 2010. It will reportedly be a 24/7 lifestyle hotel with 42” flat panel televisions and round-the-clock meal service. The Hyatt already has two properties elsewhere in New Mexico.

“Thanks to the Hyatt Place locations in Albuquerque, we know that the Hyatt Place brand is a great fit for New Mexico travelers,” said Chris Dobbins, regional VP Development for Hyatt. “We’re confident the contemporary design, strong focus on technology and exemplary service found at Hyatt Place will make it a natural fit for Santa Fe’s dynamic atmosphere.”

There’s also Encantado, Auberge Resorts’ new full-service luxury resort featuring 65 casitas, a world-class spa, a signature restaurant and bar on 57 acres just outside of Santa Fe. The adobe-style casitas have stucco exteriors, oversized windows, square-cut wood beams, polished cement flooring, stone detailing and kiva-style fireplaces. 

“Encantado represents our vision of the perfect Santa Fe experience: sweeping mountain views, peaceful wide-open spaces and the tastes and textures of the region woven throughout,” said Mark Harmon, Principal & CEO of Auberge Resorts.
Travelers up and down the economic scale know Santa Fe as a historical and cultural center of the U.S. Southwest.

Santa Fe was a center of Native American life for centuries, was governed by Spain for 200 years, and spent a short period as a seat of Mexican government, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), which named it one of the organization's Dozen Distinctive Destinations in America for 2009.

It was a trailhead of the Santa Fe Trail, hosting trading caravans, which began coming across the Plains from Missouri in 1821. 

A National Trust press release said the city is “Noted for its individual architectural style, well-preserved historic districts, and dedication to cultural conservation.” The release continued, “Santa Fe is both a living link to the past and a modern-day travel destination with its own sophisticated style.”

Part of that style owes something to artist Georgia O’Keeffe, who lived in New Mexico for most of her life and was residing in Santa Fe at her death at age 98 in 1986. Since 1997, the city has been home to The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, boasting the largest collection at any museum in the world of works by the artist.

The city also boasts more than a dozen museums and some 250 art galleries and dealers. The new Santa Fe Railyard, which opened in September, encompasses restaurants, retail stores, a farmers market and a 10-acre park, and is the terminus for the new Rail Runner Express train to downtown Albuquerque.

Many lodgings either incorporate elements of Santa Fe’s past or seek to recreate it for guests seeking a pastel-hued Southwest experience.

“Most hotels we have are independently owned,” Bouffard said. Fifteen or more are located in the prime downtown lodging area, he said.

In the downtown area, Missouri-based Drury Hotels chain is renovating the site of Santa Fe’s first hospital for a lodging of reportedly about 100 rooms, which is scheduled to be completed in 2011.

Several historic properties are being renovated. The interior of the Hotel St. Francis, a downtown landmark dating to 1880, is undergoing renovations to offer guests “a more historic and authentic cultural experience,” according to the hotel Web site, www.hotelstfrancis.com.

La Fonda, another historic hotel, on the site of a coach stop dating to the city’s founding, renovated its restaurant and bar area, Bouffard said.  

And rooms and common areas were renovated last year at the Lodge at Santa Fe, owned and operated by Heritage Hotels & Resorts of Albuquerque.

Despite these positive notes, the lodging industry has been experiencing declining numbers.

New Mexico Business Weekly reported that occupancy in Santa Fe was 42.8 percent in December, down from 63.4 percent the previous year. The weekly also reported that the average daily room rate for Santa Fe was $108.38 in December, down from $125.76 in December 2007.

Locals are hoping their two-year quadricentennial celebration, with its many historic and cultural events, will bring attention to Santa Fe’s uniqueness, and help move the numbers upward again.

Said Bouffard: “We often think of Jamestown (Va.) and St. Augustine (Fla.) as locations where the first settlers landed, but Santa Fe truly holds that distinction.”