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"El Primero" at La Casa Santa Fe. Make your stay in Santa Fe special by staying in the historic José D Sena House, within walking distance of the renowned Plaza and of the Sanbusco Center. See our homepage (link at the bottom of this page, below the calendar) for clickable links to information about local food, museums, art, upcoming events, outdoor activities, and more.
Yep, we’re waiting on permission from the Historic Design Review Board to work on the outside, but the inside is dandy, and you can’t beat the location! Here in the historic Guadalupe district, you will be near the Plaza, the Lensic Performing Arts Center, the Sanbusco Center, the Railyard Park, and the Santa Fe River, as well as half a dozen museums.
This is a neighborhood where families with generational Santa Fe roots mingle with newer folks who have come to love the traditional Southwestern hospitality. "El Primero" is located in the front part of an adobe house once owned by Civil War Major José D Sena. Local legend says he lost the property and the adjoining corn fields as a gambling debt. However that may be, various parts of this multi-roomed building have served as residence and as stables. You will be staying in rooms with 12 ft ceilings, in which you can still see bits of the adobe that originally served for the roof. But never fear, there are modern touches such as electricity and indoor plumbing!
The thick adobe walls which provide insulation, and the high ceilings with hand-hewn vigas and boards are some of the authentic historical features. Off-street parking near your door makes it easy to lug home your finds from shopping expeditions. A high-speed internet connection is available in case you have an urge to surf the web or, alas, have to attend to business.
You will find a king size bed with a cozy comforter and a bank of pillows, to sleep two. Check out the antique walnut petticoat dresser, with the huge oval mirror.
The living room sofa makes out into a double bed for two more sleepers or for stretching out while you watch HDTV. Or maybe you just want to enjoy a fire in the kiva fireplace, wood provided.
Your kitchen is outfitted with everything you need to prepare intimate meals, including recipe books featuring New Mexico home cooking recipes and a rack of basic spices. Complimentary reverse osmosis water lets you brew that perfect cup of morning coffee; we’ll give you some ground Starbucks to get you started. If you need some particular kitchen gadget give us a ring ... we can probably lend you one. Then let the dishwasher do the clean up while you relax.
A full bath followed by hefty cotton towels and a hair dryer will perk you up for a night on the town, but If you want to cozy up "en casa," look through the bookshelves and choose from our selection of guidebooks, novels, and historical materials with a New Mexico theme.
Sure, it's an easy walk to the famous Plaza. But look at what else there is, within a 10 minute walk of La Casa Santa Fe! Here’s a small sample of the neighborhood:
Let’s eat! Walk over and pick up fresh and prepared organic food at The Marketplace/La Montanita Co-op: 5 blocks (or drive a few more blocks to Trader Joe’s, Wild Oats, or Whole Foods.) The Farmers’ Market is open Tuesday and Saturday mornings in summer, and Saturday in winter -- we can show you how to take a walking route to shortcut through the neighborhood: also about 5 blocks.
On those days you want somebody else to do the cooking (and we all have those) at least two dozen restaurants are a stroll away, most moderately priced. For example, there's New Mexican, barbeque, Japanese, American, Continental, Thai, pizza, and mid-eastern. Look in the La Casa Santa Fe guestbook for sample menus from many of them so you can figure out where you want to go while you work up an appetite.
Maybe you’re up for some unique shopping opportunities? The Guadalupe District is full of arts, crafts, quirky independent shops, antiques, and even some familiar chains. Sanbusco Center (three blocks away) has an eclectic collection of shops, including a Border's bookstore to find maps and guides about New Mexico, and an inexpensive, informal restaurant.
Or walk to a variety of museums . . . between the art galleries and the historical buildings, half the town looks like a museum. But six actual museums within a ten minute walk are: The Santuario de Guadalupe, Site Santa Fe, the Georgia O’Keeffe, the Museo Cultural, the Palace of the Governors, and the Museum of Fine Arts. Bus connections to four more museums on Museum Hill are two blocks away.
When you're in New Mexico, get outdoors! This might be our favorite topic. Nearby, Hyde Park and the Santa Fe National Forest are a cool twelve miles and 3,000 feet up. Petroglyph National Monument, Bandelier National Monument, and Pecos National Monument are all within an hour's drive. We are happy to share with you our knowledge from over 40 years of traipsing around New Mexico, from day hikes to car camping to multi-day backpacks, from X-C skiing to downhill dashes, with rafting and a little rock climbing thrown in, along with some bird watching and mushroom hunting. Just let us know what interests you.
Our guests have left us some kind comments, click on the "Comments" link to read them. Give us a call or send e-mail if you have questions. We live around the corner from the property, and we're looking forward to meeting you!
Please note: La Casa Santa Fe offers a smoke-free environment, so we trust you will respect this policy and only smoke outdoors. |
