Great Hotels and Guesthouses in Santa Fe for GLBT Travelers

By Andrew Collins, About.com Guide

Known until recently as the Plaza Real, the Hotel Chimayo de Santa Fe (125 Washington Ave., 505-988-4900) is operated by the very gay-friendly Heritage Hotels & Resorts company, which also owns two other nice properties in town, the Lodge at Santa Fe (a pleasant, mid-priced option on the north side of town with nice Sangre de Cristo views and relatively close proximity to the Santa Fe Opera) and downtown's historic Hotel St. Francis, as well as the Hotel Albuquerque and Nativo Lodge in Albuquerque, and Hotel Encanto down in Las Cruces.

This well-situated hotel is just a block from the Plaza, steps from the historic Santa Fe Public Library, and within a short walk of countless shops, restaurants, galleries, and museums - it's right across the street from the beautiful New Mexico History Museum, in fact. Although it's less fancy than some of the other hotels close to the Plaza, the 56-room Chimayo is perfectly comfortable and attractive, with plush bedding, wood-burning fireplaces in many units, rooms that open either to a narrow but pretty central courtyard or to private balconies, free Wi-Fi, and traditional Pueblo Revival and Southwest-influenced handcrafted furniture and textiles. Most of the rooms are suites with separate sitting areas, and there's a very good restaurant and bar on-site, Tia's Cocina, that's run by one of Santa Fe's more celebrated chefs, Estevan Garcia - it's open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The hotel is also pet-friendly, and underground parking is available but for a nightly fee.