The Best City in the U.S. Just Got a Chic New Hotel With Access to 25 Miles of Hiking Trails—and Rooms Starting at $165 a Night

Santa Fe, New Mexico, which was named the best city in the U.S. by Travel + Leisure readers this year, is often praised for its charming downtown and enticing art scene. It’s outdoor adventure offerings are rarely lauded as the main draw. The new Hotel Glorieta is ready to change that.

“Santa Fe is one of those rich American cultural cities where the natural beauty isn’t going to hit you in the face,” says Jeff Burns, partner at the hotel’s ownership group, Bullwhip Capital. “But by the third day, visitors really start to see it.”

He wanted to open a hotel that would attract others looking for a greater connection to the outdoors. Burns and his business partners bought The Lodge, a 128-key hotel a mile north of downtown, and have spent the last year giving it a stylish new look.

I checked in a few weeks after the property’s reopening. With its north-of-downtown location and a perch on a hill, it also boasts one of the best views of the city. While vestiges of the building’s original incarnation as a Sheraton circa 1976 remain, it’s had a top-to-bottom refresh, led by buzzy local design firm French & French. They kept some of the furnishings and artwork from The Lodge, which operated for the last 20 years, but added meaningful upgrades to make the property feel new.

“The previous hotel owners had assembled a wonderful collection of furniture and art, and we felt it was important to honor that history,” says Heather French, the design principal. “The solid wood Mexican beds, for instance, are beautifully crafted and timeless, so we chose to keep them and design around them.” Speaking of the beds, the plush Sealy Beautyrest felt like a cloud, clad with crisp Italian-made Sferra linens.

The art in the newly repainted guest rooms includes woven wall hangings and historic black-and-white photographs of local Indigenous communities. Luxe Schumacher fabrics add texture and pops of color throughout. While the bathrooms are a throwback to an earlier time, my spacious King Suite featured a living area with a leather pull-out sofa, a workspace with a desk overlooking downtown, and a massive wall-hung flat-screen television.

I didn’t have a car, which made the trip challenging. The beauty of Hotel Glorieta is that it’s removed from downtown, but that means nothing is in walking distance. With wheels of my own, I might have struck out to see nearby Abiquiú, where famed artist Georgia O’Keefe’s Ghost Ranch is, or spent a day luxuriating in spring-fed pools at Ojo Santa Fe. To avoid disappointment—or racking up Uber charges—do yourself a favor and rent a vehicle.

Thoughtful touches abound at Hotel Glorieta, a name that means “gathering spot.” There’s a gratis coffee bar in the lobby, stocked with urns of drip coffee, a trio of flavored syrups, and takeaway cups; in-room glass bottles are filled with filtered water to help reduce single-use plastics; and the breakfast buffet—with dishes such as house-made granola, scrambled organic eggs, and fried potatoes with spicy-tart salsa—is a bargain at $10.

One morning, I walked through the hotel’s back parking lot and up one of the sand-covered hills rising up at the rear of the property. I found easy access to the La Tierra network of 25 miles of trails. Another afternoon spent lounging at the property’s kidney-shaped pool was a pleasure, thanks to the ample umbrellas and a friendly bartender-slash-DJ spinning tunes and mixing up a first-rate paloma. Morning yoga on the grassy central lawn is offered several times a week, and for days when the weather isn’t cooperating, the instructor can move the class to the diminutive chapel (it also doubles as a venue for events and weddings). The Marigold Room, just off the lobby, is an intimate music space and listening room for just 150 guests that’s already pulling national touring acts.

Some of the additions to Hotel Glorieta are yet to come. With the official grand opening in late October, the on-site eatery and cocktail bar Lady Duff’s Lounge will debut a new cocktail menu and table service with a small menu of items such as steak with chimichurri fries, oyster ceviche, and Mexican flan with mint-berry syrup. The lounge will also host live jazz performances. Additionally, the team will add a barrel sauna on the pool deck, making the “leisure club,” with its existing pool, hot tub, and bar, an all-weather hang-out spot.

With the expansion of the restaurant’s offerings, Burns says they plan to offer other services for guests interested in exploration. “We want to be an urban adventure hotel. The whole idea is that you can check-in and we’ll ask, ‘Where do you want to go today? What do you want to do?’ And we can pack you a Yeti cooler, with sandwiches, drinks, and whatever else you want, and you’ll be able to go out and hike or explore,” he says.

Rates start at $165 per night and can be booked at hotelglorietasantafe.com.