Arriving in Santa Fe, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Of course I’d heard that the city was charming and populated with a liberal, artsy crowd, but how that would translate into what I would find once in town remained a bit of mystery to me. That I ended up surprised on many fronts, given my general ignorance of the place hitherto, is, in retrospect, no surprise at all.
As my shuttle pulled into the city, the first thing that struck me was the architecture and the scale of the place, both of which are redolent of the rich history of the city – a place that traces its roots back to 1610 when it was settled as a Spanish colony. Santa Fe is also considered to be the oldest state capital in the United States. Surprise number one. Who knew that little tidbit?
During my stay, I was accommodated at local favorite Inn on the Alameda (room pictured below), located just on the edge of town. Homey and cozy, the boutique inn is an inviting place with a warm knowledgeable staff, spacious rooms of the variety in which one wants to live, and delightful amenities, including complimentary breakfast and nightly wine and cheese happy hours. As an added bonus, stacks of logs greeted me at the door to my room and I was thrilled to find that my abode for the next few days had not one but two fireplaces, both of which I lit immediately before curling up in front of the roaring fire in the bedroom. Surprise number two. No need to go off property on a Saturday night at the Inn on the Alameda. A good throw, a bottle of wine, a roaring fireplace and a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills marathon can make for a most excellent evening in.
On my first night in town, I meandered down to the Inn’s Agoyo Lounge where I joined Chef Jennifer Doughty for dinner. Fully expecting a substantially Southwestern meal, I was pleasantly taken aback when Chef Doughty met me with a bottle of bubbly and ordered an Alsatian Tart, Short Rib Roulade (the best short rib I have ever enjoyed by the way), Duck Empanadas and a Butternut Squash Soup, among other menu items for us to share. Each course blended classic techniques with local flavors and each new arrival was more delicious than the last. Needless to say, by the end of the meal my estimation of Santa Fe cuisine had risen substantially. Surprise number three. Not only is there more than Southwestern cuisine to be found on the menus of Santa Fe’s more than 400 eateries, Chef Doughty, whose resume stretches from Washington, D.C. to wine country, is a force to be reckoned with and the Agoyo Lounge is a quiet local hotspot that should not be missed.
The following day, the hotel’s shuttle dropped me off for a spot of shopping on the snow-covered plaza in the heart of town. It was a cool, overcast afternoon but the plaza was alive. Shoppers were plentiful, locals were selling their wares on every corner, and in the center of it all stood a lone, grey-haired woman armed with a violin playing a heart-wrenching version of “Moon River” to an audience of no one in particular. It was all quite a scene. Surprise number four. Santa Fe can be surreal.
Before leaving the plaza, I nipped into the Plaza Café for a bite to eat on the recommendation of the concierge at the Inn. I wanted something simple and local and this obviously popular local hotspot delivered. Surprise number five. Crazy as it may sound, Frito Pie is amazing and delicious (and not nearly as unhealthy as it may sound on paper).
To wind down the afternoon, I checked in at The Ten Thousand Waves Spa (pictured below), a Japanese inspired retreat near the National Forest that is a favorite among locals and tourists alike. Famous for its world class body work and skin treatments, I booked in for an oxygen facial and a massage, both of which were superlative as expected. Unlike most spas, Ten Thousand Waves is light and open with bits of nature filtering into the experience at every turn. That said, the real treat of the visit was the communal rooftop Grand Bath, a giant outdoor hot tub billed as “the closest thing to a real Japanese onsen on the North American continent”. Spending a chilly afternoon between the bath and sauna, nestled among the surrounding piñons and junipers, was just short of heaven, which leads me to surprise number six. The combination of snow and a Japanese hot tub is pretty invigorating.
My final stop in Santa Fe was at La Cantina, a restaurant located in an historic adobe, where American West cuisine is served and the staff is multi-talented. How multi-talented you ask? Well, not only does the staff at this casual eatery take the orders and serve the customers, they also take turns singing a mix of show tunes and pop classics. From “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” to Whitney Houston’s “I Believe in You and Me” I gleefully listened as the talented staff belted out tune after tune with the kind of gusto I would expect to find in a cabaret on New York’s Lower East Side. Surprise number seven. There is a hint of Broadway in Santa Fe.
Thanks to my companion, over the course of my final evening, I also learned that New Mexico was one of the earliest states to attempt to recognize same-sex marriage in 2004 (surprise number eight); that Santa Fe recently elected an openly gay mayor (surprise number nine); and that the Inn on the Alameda had hosted more same-sex weddings in recent months than straight weddings (surprise number ten).
The whole evening put a fine point on a 72-hour adventure filled with…well… surprises, not the least of which is that Santa Fe is a surprisingly special and multi-faceted place.
To book a stay or find out more about the Inn on the Alameda, click here.
