Surrounded as they are by centuries-old pueblos and dramatic high-desert landscape, it’s little wonder that Northern New Mexico’s triple crown of cities—Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos—are prized for their arts and culture as well as their proximity to outdoor adventure.
While the region has long been a magnet for artists, photographers and visitors seeking a distinctive yet accessible vacation experience, it has more recently come into its own as a versatile meetings destination able to serve large associations as well as small executive groups with efficiency and flair. New convention facilities, transportation options, off-site venues and a wide variety of hotels and resorts are enabling groups to experience the history, culture and scenic beauty that have entranced leisure travelers for decades.
Albuquerque
With the majestic Sandia Mountains as its backdrop, Albuquerque is New Mexico’s largest city and its major transportation and convention hub. Yet it retains an easy, small-town feel in quaint districts such as Old Town, with its leafy plaza, art galleries and adobe structures.
Downtown is home to the Albuquerque Convention Center, with its 167,000 square feet of meeting space. Hotels in the immediate vicinity include the 395-room Hyatt Regency Albuquerque and 295-room Doubletree Hotel Albuquerque, both of which have been recently renovated.
Located a block from the center, the 107-room Andaluz debuted Oct. 1. Converted from the former La Posada de Albuquerque, a historic property that was opened by Conrad Hilton in the 1930s, Andaluz is an eco-friendly hotel that has earned gold LEED certification. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Andaluz retains its Spanish-Moorish-style architecture and features indoor and outdoor dining and a cultural center devoted to the local arts scene.
"This opening is very exciting because it not only gives us more room availability near the convention center, but it brings back a significant hotel that had been closed for several years," says Larry Atchison, senior director of sales for the Albuquerque CVB. "It’s been beautifully restored and all the rooms are totally different."
Also new on the scene is an expansion of the Isleta Casino & Resort, which opened a 200-room hotel and 30,000-square-foot meetings facility last year. The resort, which is located just south of the Albuquerque airport, already had a large casino, a showroom and 27 holes of golf.
Albuquerque is also home to the 228-room Sandia Resort and Casino, offering golf and more than 50,000 square feet of meeting space. Just north of the city on the Santa Ana Pueblo is the 350-room Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa, which features golf and 70,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space. Tamaya recently unveiled a $2.8 million renovation that included upgrades to the ballroom, spa and guest rooms.
"The casino resorts have definitely added to our area and have created additional awareness of Albuquerque," Atchison says. "They’ve expanded what we can offer groups—there is something to be said for having an 18-hole golf course outside your room."
While Albuquerque attracts a variety of group business, Atchison says scientific and healthcare meetings are developing as particularly strong niches.
"It’s not surprising, as we’re home to Intel and Sandia National Laboratories, plus Los Alamos is just an hour away," he says. "Healthcare and education are coming on strong, particularly since the University of New Mexico has opened a cancer research center that is very well known on a national level."
Sure to please scientific groups is the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, formerly the National Atomic Museum, which moved to larger quarters earlier this year. With a nine-acre site, the museum includes displays of historic aircraft and military vehicles and also offers a variety of meeting and event spaces accommodating up to 950 people. Tours led by docents, many of whom have had careers in nuclear technology, can be arranged.
Along with the quality of its hotels and venues, accessibility and good transportation options also make Albuquerque an attractive meeting destination, according to Atchison. Unlike other cities, Albuquerque has not suffered a reduction in airlift; it maintains good connections from around the country, he says.
In December, the New Mexico Rail Runner Express, a light rail system running through the Albuquerque metro area, extended service to and from Santa Fe, an hour to the north. The trains, which operate seven days a week, offer bike storage, Wi-Fi and inexpensive day tickets to Santa Fe for just $8.
"This makes it easy for groups to go up and spend a day in Santa Fe," Atchison says. "It’s also a great pre- or post-trip option.
Another new transportation choice is the ABQ Trolley, which conducts hourly tours throughout Albuquerque.
"It’s primarily for tours, but groups can charter the trolley after-hours," Atchison says. "It’s really unique, with stucco siding and gorgeous hardwood details."
In order to help visitors, including meeting attendees, get the most out of their time in Albuquerque, the CVB recently launched ABQ Experts, a section on the bureau’s website providing tips and insights from 11 local experts in such areas as cuisine, history, outdoor adventures and Native American culture. Among the experts is a local meeting planner, Patty Dotson, who shares her unique perspective on Albuquerque as a group destination.
ABQ Experts incorporates videos, stories, photos and maps to provide information on the various aspects of the destination. Visitors to the site are encouraged to submit questions to the experts, which are answered and posted on the site.
"This is a way that people can get some real insider’s knowledge about things to see and do in Albuquerque," Atchison says. "It’s not just talking to some sales guy—it’s a way to put a real face on the destination."
Santa Fe
While Santa Fe has long been blessed with great restaurants, museums, historically significant architecture, stellar shopping, outdoor activities and high-quality hotels and resorts, there was one ingredient missing: a modern, centralized meeting facility. Now, with last year’s opening of the long-awaited Santa Fe Community Convention Center, the city has everything it takes to make it a well-rounded meetings destination.
"The convention center has made a big difference for us," says Keith Toler, executive director of the Santa Fe CVB. "The first year of operation, we had nine citywide conventions, but next year we will have 23. Meanwhile, we have 44 weekends booked for local business within the next year."
Beyond providing the city with 40,000 square feet of meeting and event space, the new convention center is a LEED-certified facility that reflects the character of its surroundings with plenty of natural light and such architectural touches as a traditional kiva fireplace and a spacious outdoor terrace available for events.
As a bonus, the recently opened New Mexico Museum of History, located a few steps from the center, offers a 220-seat auditorium that can be used during conventions. The museum, which adjoins the iconic Palace of the Governors on the central plaza, is also filled with interactive exhibits devoted to New Mexico’s long and culturally diverse history.
"We’re booking the new museum for off-site receptions as well as for additional breakout space during citywide conventions," Toler says.
While Santa Fe, like many destinations, has seen a drop-off in corporate meetings business, Toler says association and SMERF (social, military, education, religious and fraternal) business remains strong. Legal, scientific and government meetings are also active niches for the city, he adds.
"We’re seen as a luxury destination, so some corporations are steering away," he says. "The truth is, however, that it’s not that expensive to meet here. Summer is our peak season, but the rest of the year is good for values, particularly winter."
With about 1,500 guest rooms within walking distance of the new convention center, Toler says the city can comfortably host groups in the range of 700 people, although groups twice that size have been accommodated.
Group-friendly hotels include the Eldorado Hotel & Spa, La Fonda on the Plaza, Inn of the Anasazi, Hotel St. Francis, Hotel Santa Fe, Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza, Inn and Spa at Loretto, La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa and Bishop’s Lodge Resort & Spa.
Located 15 miles north of the city, the Hilton Santa Fe Golf Resort & Spa at Buffalo Thunder offers 66,000 square feet of meeting space, nine dining and entertainment outlets and Las Vegas-style gaming. Also close to town is the new Encantado, An Auberge Resort, which offers 65 casitas, an equestrian center and meeting space.
While most visitors to Santa Fe fly into Albuquerque, about an hour away, direct service is expanding into Santa Fe Airport, including recently added daily flights on American Eagle to and from Dallas. Daily service on American Eagle to and from Los Angeles is set to begin Nov. 19.
Along with Santa Fe’s historic central plaza and the art galleries along Canyon Drive, the Santa Fe Railyard, which opened last year, is emerging as a focal point for the city. The 50-acre complex includes a park with performance space, a new home for the Santa Fe Farmers Market, contemporary art galleries, artists’ lofts, restaurants and shops. The Railyard is also where the New Mexico Rail Runner Express arrives from and departs to Albuquerque.
"The Railyard has given us the opportunity to shift some of our events from the downtown plaza," Toler says. "It’s created a whole new area of interest, with a beautiful park and galleries. And it’s just a 15-minute walk from the downtown plaza."
With its abundance of resources devoted to the arts, Toler says Santa Fe has emerged as a leading proponent of the creative tourism movement. A new website, www.santafecreativetourism.org, provides information on how visitors can become active participants in the local cultural scene.
"We’re pushing more experiential opportunities—artists’ workshops, cooking classes, even different types of experiences like making adobe bricks," Toler says. "It’s part of creative tourism, which is a new movement focusing on the experiential and the hands-on."
Taos
While sharing an artistic vibe with Santa Fe, located 70 miles to the southeast, the small city of Taos provides a more laid-back atmosphere. With a stunning mountain backdrop and mystical atmosphere that inspired such artistic and literary figures as Georgia O’Keeffe, Ansel Adams and D.H. Lawrence, Taos still works its magic on those seeking inspiration and rejuvenation.
"Taos is an ideal place for reconnecting with yourself and others in a work context," says Cathy Connelly, public relations director for the Town of Taos. "It’s a place where you’ve really gotten away. If planners are looking to save money, yet looking for something different and exotic, Taos fits the ticket."
For 2010, the Taos Chamber of Commerce is launching a "Return to Sacred Places" theme that celebrates the city’s wealth of sites of historic and religious significance to Native American, Hispanic and Anglo cultures. Information on the sites and festivities will be a focus of the city’s tourism website, www.taosvacationguide.com.
"The focus on our sacred places covers everything from the Taos Pueblo to Spanish/Moorish irrigation waters to our churches and moradas—small adobe chapels held by families," Connelly says.
The heart of downtown is Taos Plaza, lined with art galleries, shops and restaurants housed in mercantile buildings dating from territorial days. Nearby, visitors can explore Kit Carson Park and Cemetery, where Carson and other famous Taos citizens such as art patron Mable Dodge Luhan are buried, and the Governor Bent Museum and Gallery.
The Taos Convention Center accommodates groups of up to 500 people, while meetings-friendly properties include the Sagebrush Inn and Conference Center, El Monte Sagrudo Living Resort and Spa, Best Western Kachina Inn & Meetings Center, Don Fernando de Taos Hotel & Suites and Fechin Inn. Located 40 miles east of Taos, Angel Fire Resort is a popular ski destination with accommodations and meeting space.
Activities for groups abound in and around Taos, with outdoor pursuits including river rafting, hot-air ballooning, mountain biking, hiking and skiing. With 70 art galleries as well as studios devoted to everything from pottery to weaving and glass-blowing, arts-related activities are also abundant.
"A whole lot of unique experiences can be arranged here," Connelly says. "We can do evening events in the galleries, where people can meet local artisans. We can arrange for arts and creative writing workshops, cooking classes, literary readings—just about anything can be customized."
