A friend and I are thinking about going to Santa Fe in November. Looking at the Santa Fe tourism website, it seems that there are not many special events, etc going on then. Is that a sign that it is a bad time to visit there? I am worried that since it is a tourist town, they will roll up the sidewalks. OTOH, I love the idea of avoiding crowds and the heat. I looked up the weather, and the highs appear to be in the 50s, which suits me just fine.
Any recommendations on where to stay? I love B & Bs, but they all seem to have a single large bed in the rooms, and I am traveling with a female friend so we would prefer two beds.
Also, I would appreciate suggestions on what to see/do and where to eat. So far, we are planning on a southwest cooking class at the Santa Fe School of Cooking and taking a photography class, assuming I can find one.
There’ll be stuff to do - there’s museums and about eighty billion art galleries, which will be open. They’ll close fairly early in the day (5 PM or so, maybe? I’m honestly not sure), but there’s enough to keep you busy. Head on up to Museum Hill, check out the new History Museum downtown, wander the galleries on Canyon Road. Depending on when in November there may or may not be ski areas open, if you’re into that.
Hotels: Friends/family have had good experiences with Sage Inn and Garrett’s Desert Inn, both fairly central and affordable. I’ve also heard good things about El Rey.
Eating and drinking: Oh, gosh, now this is making me homesick. Go to Del Charro for a burger and one of their amazing house margaritas (and cozy up by the fireplace while you’re there). Eat dinner at Tomasita’s. Or Maria’s. Or La Choza. Grab a breakfast burrito at either Flying Star Cafe or Santa Fe Baking Co., or go French at Clafoutis*. If you’re looking for a cheap meal, you can’t beat Harry’s Roadhouse or the Tune-Up Cafe. Treat yourself to some goodies at Chocolate Maven. Have a drink at Second Street Brewery or Marble (right on the Plaza), or Santa Fe Brewing Company. If tea is your thing, stop by the (creatively named) Teahouse and bask in good tea. If you’re more a coffee connoisseur, head to Java Joe’s (they’ve got two locations).
Every summer the local alt-weekly publishes the Best of Santa Fe - their recommendations tend to be pretty spot-on. Geared for locals, but definitely worth a look.
(Seriously - for a relatively small town, Santa Fe has an absolutely staggering number of amazing restaurants. Go wild eating there, because it’s completely worth it.)
*Yes, I know you want New Mexican food. Go to Clafoutis anyway.
Also, if you’re into spa days and/or public nudity and/or theme accommodation there’s always 10000 waves.
I’m not too thrilled by the museums, but that’s more personal taste. As far as restaurants go, aside from the ones NinjaChick already mentioned, there’s the CowGirl, which has a very nice baked potato desert, and if you want to take a short drive up to Pojaque you can go to Gabriel’s and get guacamole made right at your table. If you go to Second Street, go to the Second Street that is actually on Second Street, instead of the one in the railyard. Service is crap at the railyard one.
If any server at any restaurant asks “red or green?” or “red, green, or christmas?”, don’t worry about what they mean. The right answer is “green”.
I don’t get the love for Del Charro and Tomsita’s, other than they’re a decent bargain for the money. I actually think Del Charro’s margs are some of the worst in town.
The places I long for most in Santa Fe are:
Cafe Pasqual’s. Oh such lovely, delicious food. I really miss this place.
My favorite margs are at the bar at the Inn of the Anasazi, right off the square. Pricy, but worth it.
Santa Cafe is another restaurant that makes me drool to think about. They’re not as new or hip as a lot of places, but I consistently had great food there the winter/spring I spent in Santa Fe.
La Boca is really good, though not strictly New Mexican. Don’t be put off by the modernist style - it’s really good, well worth a trip.
On the pricey end there’s Geronimo and El Farol on Canyon Road. These definitely fall under the “restaurants not really interesting to me, but the tourists go nuts for them”.
We stayed at the Sage Inn about a month ago. The room wasn’t bad, though when they say they have a pool - well, you’d have to be very tiny to actually swim in it. Also the breakfast was rather crap. It’s easy walking distance from the Plaza but they also run a free shuttle bus if you need it. We didn’t use it so I can’t comment on how efficient it is.
We ate at La Fonda (where they also make your guacamole right at your table). It’s just off the Plaza, and though it seems to have some poor reviews online, we enjoyed it. Maybe we hit a good night, but the food was really good, excellent wine, great service, and we liked the covered courtyard setting.
My favourite part about Santa Fe was walking around at night. It’s a very pretty town.
Cafe Pasqual’s cannot be recommended enough times. If you want to splurge, I have never had a bad meal at Coyote Cafe, but it is PRICEY (worth every penny, IMO).
If you want to drive a little way out of town, hiking at Bandolier National Monument might be a good side/day trip.
We always look for casitas on Craigslist - we’ve been able to find several that are within walking distance of the Plaza for about $100/night. Most of those have been with a king-size bed, but all of them have had fold-out couches in the living rooms.