Inn on the Paseo, Santa Fe, NM

We stayed at the Inn on the Paseo when last we were in Santa Fe, a decade ago.  We recommended it to my folks, who do a drive out to visit each year, so they’ve been staying there since.  The place was patched up and sold in the last year, and my folks reported it was still okay … so we gave it a go again.

The Inn is a B&B made up of two older buildings joined by a common structure that includes the breakfast room and lobby.  The structure is on a hill, with the Paseo entrance on the top floor, and parking down behind on the bottom floor.

Overall		Comfort
Food		Service
Convenience		Prices

Comfort: We had a room on the top floor, on the Paseo (lucky Room 13).  It had all the amenities, a high queen-size bed, a full bath attached, a closet, even an entrance off the street (which we didn’t use).  It was immediately adjacent to a lounge space outside (which provided a nice area to read and relax in the evening).

The room was a bit cramped for furniture, and some of the doors tended to conflict with each other.  The bathroom fan was godawful noisy, and the mattress was very, very firm.  The swamp cooler (in addition to a ceiling fan) kept the room nice and cool — but at night,as it cycled directly above the bed, it made things vary between comfortable and cold.  (The cooler did help mask any street noise, however.)

For amenities, there was a fridge downstairs where we could have stored food if we wanted.  There was free Wi-Fi — apparently (digging into the site) intended.  The service was down on a couple of lengthy occasions, and there was no info about it in the room.  Like most B&Bs, there was no workout room or pool.

Parking was in back, and we didn’t have any problems finding spaces during the week (though things were looking tighter as we left on a Saturday; there are 18 rooms, and I’m not sure there were 18 stalls).

Food: Only breakfast is served — a large array of fruit, cereal (including good granola), juices, toast (on great bread), fresh-baked muffins and croissants, etc.  On most mornings, we were offered waffles, which were light and tasty (on one morning the person on shift failed to ask us, and on the last morning the manager indicated she was out of one ingredient of another); regardless, there was little excuse to leave the breakfast table (or back deck) hungry.

At night, there was often (though not always) fresh-baked cookies in the dining area, and usually coffee in carafes.

Service: The room was always cleaned well.  The gent who was watching over the front desk and breakfast did okay — but Margie noted that he didn’t quite know what to do with himself when actually not doing something, and while he was attentive when he checked in, he didn’t always pick up on stuff he should have.

Convenience:  The Paseo de Paralta circumnavigates three-quarters of downtown, and the inn’s location (at about 1:30 p.m. on the clock face) was fabulous. The downtown and Plaza were about a five minute walk, and Canyon Road about a ten minute one.  The place is well-located for any trips up north, but, honestly, if you’re not planning on going to Museum Hill or outside town, you could be at the Inn without a car and not miss it (there is, apparently, a “rack rate” with a free shuttle from the airport).

Prices:  Look to range from about $140 to $270, depending on room involved (our room was at the bottom end of that spectrum).  Not a huge bargain, but compared to other places that close to the Plaza, quite reasonable.

Overall: This wasn’t a “we’ve adopted you as part of our family” sort of B&B, but it was a lot more comfortable and friendly and less institutional than most hotels, and the convenience of walking to the Plaza cannot be underestimated.  I wouldn’t hesitate to book there again.

Inn on the Paseo – 630 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, NM 87501 – 800-457-9045