The Bottom Line
Pros
- Although rates are rather steep, every imaginable amenity and service is included
- It's steps from the Plaza but on a quiet side street away from the crowds
- One of the highest staff-to-guest ratios in the state, and charming staffers at that
- It's a great size - large enough for privacy but small enough for personal attention
- A delightful tapas-oriented restaurant was added late in 2006
Cons
- It's one of the pricier options in town, even with all the included perks
- The richly ornate, whimsical rooms don't sit well with minimalists
- It's a comparatively small hotel, meaning no on-site spa or full-scale facilities
Description
- At 150 E. DeVargas St., just off Old Santa Fe Trail, in the historic center of town.
- The 23 rooms and suites have WiFi, cable TV, CD players, and - in most cases - kiva-style wood-burning fireplaces.
- In-room perks include refrigerators stocked with complimentary gourmet goodies, plus free phone calls within New Mexico.
- Bathrooms and showers are done with ornate tilework and come with high-end bath amenities and toiletries.
- Book online or call 505-992-0957.
- Shopping, dining, and nightlife are within walking distance, but it's best to have a car to explore the surrounding area.
- Rates start at $295/$375 (depending on season - it's pricier in summer) and run up as high as $750 for two-room suites.
- The clientele is mostly straight, but this is a highly gay-friendly property in one of the Southwest's top gay getaways.
- It's an hour's drive from New Mexico's major airport in Albuquerque, which is served by most major airlines.
- Popular sidetrips include Taos (90 to 120 min.), Abiquiu (60 min.), and Los Alamos (45 min.).
Guide Review - The Inn of the Five Graces - Gay Santa Fe
The western outpost of a small group of special hotels operated by the Garrett Hotel Group (the others are the Point and Lake Placid Lodge in Upstate New York and the Willcox Inn in Aiken, S.C), Santa Fe's distinctive Inn of the Five Graces sits along a historic lane, hidden away from the bustle of this tourist-driven city. Although well-cloistered, it's practically within the shadows of the city's "Roundhouse" state capitol building, and it's a short walk from the scads of inviting art galleries, tony boutiques, and first-rate restaurants of the City Different.There are 23 rooms filled with museum-like artifacts, tiles, handcarved furnishings, and finely woven pillows and tapestries imported from all over the world, but especially the India, Mexico, and the Far East. There's a dreamy 1,001 Nights quality to these spacious rooms and suites, which have wet bars and receive twice-daily housekeeping. The hotel is neither modern nor especially Southwestern in style, which suites devotees but might put off those looking for a more traditional Santa Fe accommodation.[/p Included in the rates are parking (a scarcity in downtown Santa Fe), afternoon wine-and-cheese, in-room margaritas, an ample breakfast, free downtown walking tours (led by the inn's genial general manager, Niall Reid), all staff gratuities, and plenty of other fun touches, including dreamcatchers left on your pillow at turndown.
The inn's small but cheery restaurant, which also includes plenty of seating on a charming patio, opened in fall 2006 and has quickly become a hit for its sterling - and quite affordable - small plates and sandwiches, such as jumbo-lump-crab cakes with organic greens and remoulade; panini sandwiches with prosciutto and mozzarella; and salad Nicoise with pan-seared bluefin tuna. Meals here are open to the public, and most dishes cost from $8 to $12.
