New Mexico Road Trip

March 2010, Albuquerque area south to Texas and back

Following is a blog I wrote for a different forum back in 2010. Recent questions about this trip, made me realize I had never posted this on my own blog!

My husband and I drove over 800 miles in New Mexico. We made a big loop southward from Albuquerque. Following are some of our experiences. The hotel links will take you to detailed hotel reviews, and you can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.

In Albuquerque, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Old Town when we arrived, and at the Staybridge Suites at the airport before departing. We liked the Holiday Inn Express; however, I would probably not choose the Staybridge Suites again.


Old Town

We shopped and dined in Old Town, and the jewelry prices were better than we had expected. Turquoise is very common in New Mexico; however, we found that prices for tanzanite and mother of pearl were also very competitive. We dined at Casa de Fiesta, which is right in the center of Old Town. The service was very good, and the food was acceptable. The parking cost in Old Town was $3 for the day, or you could park free on any of the streets for up to two hours.

Highway 117

Since our next destination of Socorro was only 1-½ hours south of Albuquerque, we made a large loop southwest and enjoyed the scenery along the way. We drove south on highway 117 along the eastern edge of El Malpais National Park. We did not visit the entire park, although there were places to stop along the road as we headed south.

Natural cave on Highway 117

We redeemed points for a stay at the Holiday Inn Express Socorro, which we thought was the best lodging choice in town.
 We visited the Historic Plaza about a mile from the hotel, which consisted of only a few shops and restaurants. Even though there were only a couple shops, we found the best New Mexico souvenir prices in Socorro and made a couple purchases. We dined at Socorro Springs Brewing Company, located next to the Holiday Inn Express. The service was lousy; however, the food and beverages were very good. We had a local brew and wood fired pizza.

We enjoyed a nice drive on portions of the Geronimo Trail and Lake Valley Back Country scenic byway on our way to El Paso, TX, where we stayed at the Embassy Suites for one night. You can download New Mexico scenic byways maps at: Scenic byways - NM

In Las Cruces/Old Mesilla, we had originally planned to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn. At the last minute, I learned that the pool area was closed, so we switched to the Staybridge Suites Las Cruces. We were happy with this decision.


We dined at La Posta in Old Mesilla (SW outskirts of Las Cruces), because I had read that local residents chose it as the 2009 Reader’s Choice award for the second year in a row. The food, service, and décor were all good. There are plenty of shops and restaurants in Old Mesilla, and there were outside vendors and musicians in the park the day we were there. 

We visited the White Sands National Monument on the southern outskirts of Alamogordo. The cost was $3 per person and well worth it. You can camp and hike, although we only visited for a few hours. It was a beautiful sunny non-windy day when we stopped. If you are planning a trip to the area, be sure and check the White Sands site for road and missile testing closures and updates. Click on the “things to know” link. I-70 and the monument had been closed at the end of the week before our arrival for missile testing.


White Sands

We made a brief stop in Ruidoso, which is a resort town. We found some great local shopping here. There were many local vendors selling local handmade items. My husband purchased a nice turquoise pocketknife here.

Once you get off the interstate in New Mexico, you can drive for hundreds of miles without seeing a restaurant or a gas station—be prepared! We thought this was a great trip, and will definitely visit again. Our only disappointment was that we did not have more time to visit the Santa Fe area north of Albuquerque.

Albuquerque, New Mexico / ABQ airport hotel -- Staybridge Suites

Status Perks
I did not receive a room upgrade or any extras for being a Platinum member. I asked about a king bedroom at check-in and was told that room type was sold out. The agent did not offer another option, and I did not think to ask for anything more. I later learned that better rooms were still available--queen conference suites, two-bedrooms, and queen one-bedrooms. It would have been nice if we had been upgraded to one of those rooms, because we had noisy people running down our hall and in the guestroom next door. My experience has been that there is less noise in rooms with separate bedrooms.

Guestroom
The queen studio room included a new couch, flat screen TV, desk and chair, full size fridge, stove top, and dishwasher. The carpet and bedding also looked new. The ice maker left a lot to be desired. Four hours after we had checked in and turned it on (I don't understand why hotels don't turn these on for guests--especially when we checked in after check-in time), we had only six cubes! The employee working in the F & B area was extremely helpful about filling a container of ice for me to take back to the room. If you plan to take an early shower, I would allow at least 10 minutes for the water to warm up. I had to take a lukewarm shower, which feels quite cold when the air temperature is cool and you have long hair to wash. I left the shower on when I finished, and my husband said it finally got hot enough to turn the temperature down a little when he was half finished. This was well over 10 minutes after I had started the shower.

Food & Beverage
The evening reception included salad, fresh fruits, cheeses and crackers, and pop. Usually when I stay at Staybridge Suites, there is also a hot menu item; however, not there was not a hot item at this hotel the evening of our stay. The ice machine on the beverage dispenser did not work, and there was no wine or beer, which Staybridge Suites usually serves. Beer and wine are served according to local ordinances, so it's possible this is not allowed in this area. We left before breakfast, and this location did not offer to-go breakfast bags. When I asked about this, the front desk agent asked what we wanted and let us choose granola bars from the suite shop.

Pool
We did not use the pool facilities because the pool and hot tub were both cold and dirty. The pool was a basic rectangular pool.

Business Center
I was very happy with the Samsung laser printer in the business center. The printer and Internet connection were extremely fast.

Staff/service/misc.
Staff members demonstrated a helpful attitude; however, they were not forthcoming with information. I would suggest being prepared to be specific with your request(s). This location has an airport shuttle and is located less than one mile from the car rental lot. We returned our car after checking in, and walked back to the hotel. We did not hear any air traffic noise during our stay. The Homewood Suites is the closest in this group of hotels to the car rental lot.

Overall
I was disappointed as a Platinum member, and I was disappointed about other aspects of this stay--the evening reception, the ice machine issues, and the pool area cleanliness. Considering this hotel was just over a year old during our stay, I would be concerned about what it will be like in the future. The other new hotels in this same area are--HI Hotel & Suites, Hyatt Place, and Homewood Suites.

Las Cruces, New Mexico -- Staybridge Suites

March 2010, Weekday, 1-night, Queen studio

Status perks
I did not receive an upgraded room; however, we arrived extremely early and my husband had expected to sit in the pool area while I went off to work. When we were assigned a room right away, I did not ask about an upgrade. I returned to the room later that day, and a goody bag had been delivered, which contained potato chips, popcorn, and water.

Guestroom
The room was freezing when we entered. I will never understand why businesses have their air on when it's only 60 degrees outside. I turned the wall control to "off" as soon as we entered the room and it never quit blowing cold air. My husband finally got it to shut off by turning a control off on the unit itself (even though the unit said it was controlled by the wall thermostat). I was glad he was with me, because I'm sure I would had to call engineering, if I had been traveling by myself.

We had a queen bed studio room, which included a couch, desk and chair, full size fridge, stove top, and dishwasher. We found a bottle of soda pop in the cupboard with a note that said: Thank you for finding me! Enjoy this complimentary beverage. We had no trouble exchanging the beverage at the front desk for a flavor we preferred. The guestroom was comfortable.

Food & Beverage
We stayed on Monday evening and Staybridge Suites does not offer an evening reception on Monday nights. Breakfast the next morning was satisfactory. The scrambled eggs were hot, and the bacon was flavorful, but greasy. Other items available were: biscuits and gravy, a waffle maker, hot cereal, breads, and cottage cheese.

Pool
The outdoor pool area was very nice. It faced east, and there were sunny areas the entire day. The area was tastefully landscaped with plants, it was clean, and the hot tub was hot.

Fitness center
The fitness center was satisfactory, although it quickly became stuffy in the room with no fan or means to cool it down. There were four or five cardio machines with Cardio Theater, a couple weight machines, and weights.

Misc.
This building is one of the largest Staybridge Suites I have ever stayed in. It was new, and nicely decorated. There were many shopping and dining options within a few miles. The only restaurants within walking distance were IHOP and Peter Piper Pizza (or something similar--I do not recall the exact name).

Socorro, New Mexico -- Holiday Inn Express

Status perks and check-in
I was recognized as a Platinum member at check-in, and my key pack and room were both ready even though we arrived before check-in time. I had reserved this room with points and was upgraded to a king executive room.

Guestroom #335
We stayed in room 335, which is on the top floor. The spacious bedroom area contained a desk and chair, chair with footstool, and suitcase bench. I like the suitcase benches because they are much easier to use than the fold out luggage racks. There was a sitting area with a round dining table with two chairs, and a couch with end tables and a coffee table. There was a good sized fridge and microwave, and spacious bathroom. The furniture was all comfortable, although the bed was slightly hard. The only noise we could hear from our room was the occasional drive-thru traffic at Burger King next door. There was an occasional sewage and smoke odor in the bathroom. The hotel is 100% non-smoking, so I would guess someone was smoking in their bathroom. I'm not sure what the sewage odor was from; it only happened briefly a couple times during the night.

Breakfast
Breakfast was the standard HIX fare: cheesy omelets, biscuits and sausage gravy, sausage, yogurt, juices, milk, cereal, cinnamon rolls, and breads. At check-in, we were told breakfast opened at 7:00 AM; however, employees did not turn on the lights and bring the hot food out until 7:30.

Fitness center
The fitness center was adequate with three cardio machines and one weight machine. There was a portable fan in the room, which I wish I had turned on when I first arrived because it quickly got warm in the room. The fan did a good job after I stopped to turn it on.

Pool
The pool area is the standard HIX pool area with a basic pool and hot tub. There were comfortable mesh lounge chairs around the pool, and there was an outside sitting area. There were lounge chairs in the sun outside, as well as tables with sitting chairs in a shaded area. The outside area faces south, and there is a roof over the tables.

Staff/service
Staff members were friendly, although not forthcoming with information. When I specifically asked if they offered any dining coupons or discounts at area restaurants, I found out we could get a free appetizer at Socorro Springs, which is a restaurant and brewery next door to the hotel. We were happy with the food and beverages at the restaurant.

Overall
If you need a place to stay in this area, the HIX is the nicest hotel in town, although I thought the rate of over $100 was high before I decided to use points for this stay. Some of the other hotel choices were Motel 6, Super 8, Days Inn, and EconoLodge, none of which looked nice from the outside.

Albuquerque, New Mexico -- Holiday Inn Express Old Town

Status perks and check-in
We arrived at the Holiday Inn Express Albuquerque Historic Old Town about an hour before check-in time. The front desk agent acknowledged me as Platinum member, and she read the requests I had made in the reservation before asking me if a room on floor three was okay--yay! We had been pre-assigned a guestroom on the top/4th floor (my preference); however, that guestroom was not ready. I said that the third floor would be fine, and I asked if the room was a suite upgrade. The agent said yes. We later realized that the guestroom was actually an executive mountain view king guestroom, rather than a suite. This was still an upgrade, and the executive guestroom was slightly larger than the basic king room I had reserved.

Executive, mountain view, king guestroom #304
The guestroom was located at the end of the hall. The bedroom included a sitting chair, small table, two end tables, desk and chair. The living area contained a couch, chair, footstool, two lamps, and two end tables. There was a good sized fridge, microwave, and sink between the living area and spacious bathroom. The room was clean, comfortable, and everything looked new. There was a full length mirror in the living area, and a nice hair dryer in the bathroom. The comfort of the desk chair and couch were acceptable, although not as comfy as the bed. The local channels on the flat screen TV did not have a good signal. The cable channels had excellent reception.

Breakfast
The complimentary breakfast was the standard Holiday Inn Express fare: cheesy omelets, biscuits and sausage gravy, sausage, yogurt, juices, milk, cereal, cinnamon rolls, and breads. It was well stocked and the food was fresh.

Pool
One thing I usually do not like at Holiday Inn Express is the pool area, and this hotel was no exception. We used the hot tub, although not for very long. The acoustics were terrible--the area echoed loudly when just one child or noisy person was present. Guests were not out of hand, it is just the way the room is designed, which does not make for a very relaxing atmosphere.

Fitness center
The fitness center was adequate, although I could not find the TV remote. There were several cardio and weight machines. The entire exterior wall of the fitness center was all glass with an excellent view. The center was open 24 hours.

Staff/service/misc
Every employee I spoke with was smiling, cheerful, and helpful. I was disappointed about the fact that this hotel advertised a shuttle on their IHG website when they do not have one. The hotel is also not located in Old Town. I knew the hotel was not actually in Old Town before we arrived; however, since I had thought they had a shuttle bus, I thought we would be able to visit without having to drive there. To be fair, none of the hotels listed on the Old Town map are in Old Town or even within walking distance.

Overall
I was happy with the guestroom and bed comfort. We did not hear any noise from other guests or from the outside. We had a view of the mountains and an excellent rate. I had originally booked the AAA rate, which was less than $100; however, on the day of our arrival, I read about a visitor's rate in the New Mexico Vacation Guide and was able to get that rate for $30 less!