Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza

If you don't expect to much then that's good. The rooms are large but the ones on the 1st floor (which are below the lobby) were dingy and dark like a basment apartment. If you stay - get a Casita. They are quaint, large with a fireplace. Hotel cleaning staff starts at 8:00 am and knocks on your door - early. Put your do not disturb sign up if you want to sleep in late.

There were no major issues - but nothing outstanding either.

Unless you get a very good daily rate, try the Inn of the Governers.

Overall, this hotel was somewhat disappointing for a Hilton property. Some specifics:

PROS:

--Customer service in general was excellent. Everyone was heplful and friendly, and the concierge was great.

--Location is great, right at the edge of old town, a few blocks from the Plaza

--Restaurants were all OK, nothing great, for their price level

--Pool and hot tub run year-round

--Wireless internet works well

CONS:

--"Oversized" rooms were not that big, and are sparsely furnished. No balconies on those rooms either.

--Overall quality of the recent renovation is dismal. Lots of holes in the walls, lumps under the wallpaper, peeling edges, cheapy fixtures, and a TV with a VCR (no DVD?)

--Unless you get a special deal (like I did), you have to pay $10 a day to park in the hotel lot AS A GUEST. This isn't Manhattan or downtown Chicago - they have a big empty lot!!!

--Workout room is tiny, and sparse.

--Bathroom was tiny, and in poor shape. Again, lousy job renovating.

All in all, not great for a Hilton (with Hilton prices, but not horrible. Felt more like a Hampton Inn, or less. There are many nicer hotels near the Plaza (Inn of the Anasazi, the new El Dorado Hotel, Inn at Loredo), so if you can get a deal on one of those, take it.

My wife and I have visited Santa Fe many times and stayed everywhere from the motels of Cerrillos Road to the La Fonda. We've found the Hilton to be a good choice. It has a great location within easy walking distance of the plaza coupled with all of the amenities you would expect from a Hilton, including nice pool/hot tub, wireless internet, easy parking, etc. Contrary to some reports, it is not wholly lacking in charm and there is always a roaring pinon fire in the lobby fireplace. I have found the front desk staff to be very friendly and accomodating. They offer very competitive internet rates on their website.

This Hotel is okay at best. The room rate of $289 for a standard room is an outrage - it is Motel 6 quality at best. I strongly recommend agains going here as they charge too much for a nothing hotel.

The reiewers here have it right. This property is centrally located and convenient to just about everything in the Plaza area of Santa Fe by foot. Canyon Road restaurants and galleries are a longer walk or a short cab ride.

The hotel grounds and appearance were disappointing -- just not well manicured or maintained (cigarette butts in the bushes around the pool and hot tub). The rooms themselves were average - having just been recently renovated. Note to travelers: this property's "oversized" rooms do not have balconies; normal sized rooms do. The king size bed was outstandingly comfortable.

The concierge service (Gloria) was top notch. She helps one enjoy everything this city has to offer.

We stay at the Hilton in Santa Fe when we go to the opera. Since the opera ends late, we do not wish to drive back to Albuquerque. The rooms have always been in good condition, although I believe that we had a slightly leaking toilet last time.

There is ample parking late when we return from the opera. Some hotels do not have sufficient parking for all the guests since a car is necessary in Santa Fe unless you are going only to the plaza area. (There is a shuttle available to the opera, however.)

For a great breakfast or lunch, go to Cafe Pasqual's nearby. For dinner, go to The Old House across the street in the Eldorado Hotel.

We just returned from a 3-night stay at the Hilton of Santa Fe. It's not a bad hotel, but I expected much more quality for the price we paid ($180/night + parking).

Pros: great location, above average customer service, nice pool area in court yard, mostly quiet hotel.

Cons: some rooms are in severe need of renovation, some of the renovated rooms have problems, breakfast restaurant not very good, must pay for parking.

The first night we had a fairly nice room, but discovered that the toilet was leaking at the base--not flooding, but just enough water to fill the cracks in the grout. I think that the room was recently renovated, but the plumbers did a bad job.

We requested a new room, and were given one along with 2 free breakfast coupons (which was nice of the front desk to offer). However the 2nd room was not recently renovated--the carpet had stains and burns in it and the furniture was not so nice. But, we didn't complain because it was a busy weekend (Labor Day holiday) and we knew we wouldn't spend much time in the room.

We used the free breakfast coupons in their restaurant--the service was okay, but the food wasn't too good. I would not have paid the usual $14 for the breakfast buffet.

We experienced good front desk/customer service... they gave us great restaurant and sightseeing recommendations upon arrival and were very sorry about the room problem we experienced.

The location is EXECELLENT--just a few blocks from the main plaza.

I would recommend choosing a different hotel in Santa Fe, but I do think it's worth extra money to be close to downtown so you can walk everywhere instead of getting in the car every day. Navigating downtown can be tricky, slow, and frustrating in a car. Much more relaxing by foot.

TRAVELERS BEWARE - Hotel under refurbishment. Paid $180 a night for a room falling apart. Room not available at posted checkin time. Front desk personnel very helpful and doing their part to make the best of a bad situation. Best features - 2 blocks from Plaza and down comforters on beds otherwise STAY AWAY.

This hotel and restaurant (The Pinon Grill) are partially housed in the historic Ortiz family hacienda. Built in 1617 the Ortiz hacineda preceded the Pilgrims landing. The hotel is exceptionally warm and staff are responsive to every need. The crusine at the Pinon Grill is "New Western" grilled over hardwoods native to the area and it is fantastic. Try the Green Chili wrapped and stuffed filet. Awesome! This hotel is located one and a half blocks from the plaza and you can walk to most all galleries, museums, and restaurants. There are three Casitas housed withing the walls of the Ortiz family stables and are exquisite with locally crafted furnishings and kiva fireplaces.

Stayed here for a conference and enjoyed my stay very much. Great location withing 2 block walking distance of the Plaza and 1 block from the Lensic theater. It is next door to the Eldorado and I enjoyed the restaurants at both hotels. It has a beautiful swimming pool and plenty of parking. I would request a pool view room on the 2nd or 3rd floors.

Coffee shop serves Starbucks!