Top 12 Cool and Unique Hotels in Albuquerque 2023

Downtown Albuquerque, just a few yards back from the famous Route 66 is the good-looking Hotel Andaluz, constructed in 1939.

The hints of pueblo styling on the outside are continued inside with heavy, carved wood, Spanish arches, and earthen tones mixed cleverly with modern touches creating a soft, calm atmosphere throughout. Guest rooms and suites are spacious, comfortable, and tastefully furnished in similar natural tones to reflect the glorious landscape around Albuquerque.

There are plenty of bars and restaurants on nearby Central Avenue and it’s only a couple of miles to the Old Town for the full street experience of Nuevo México.

In the modern hotel, there’s an excellent tapas restaurant serving locally sourced foods, some very nice alcoves in the lobby for cocktails, and an excellent small rooftop bar for views of the beautiful desert sunset.

Generally fêted as one of the best hotels in Albuquerque the Hotel Chaco rests just 100 yards north of the Old Town. It is a beautiful minimalist building of different levels, reflecting the glorious rock stacks and mountains in the Rio Grande.

Inside it is frankly exquisite with repeated themes of tactile stone enhanced by stylish furnishings with drizzles of Native American design. Everything has been stunningly curated to produce neat, comfortable, restful spaces. From the smallest room to the biggest suite the design theme continues flawlessly.

The pièce de resistance must be the restaurant on level 5 with fabulous local cuisine consumed against a background of stunning panoramic views of the Rio Grande Valley and Sandia–Manzano Mountains beyond the city. There’s a good fitness center, weekly yoga sessions, and a lovely, big outdoor pool.

In the neighborhood known as Huning Highlands on the eastern side of the city center is Hotel Parq Central. Parq is presumably a reference to the small Highland Park behind the hotel and Central refers to Central Avenue (Route 66) that runs past the front.

With the Pan American Highway passing the eastern side this, like much of Albuquerque, is not a place to stay without transportation of your own; local amenities, like bars, restaurants, and markets are close by but hard to reach on foot. Externally the hotel is a pleasant sandy pueblo-style building with a homely appeal.

Inside it doesn’t disappoint it grows in charm as you uncover the delightful guest rooms, suites, and public spaces all coolly styled in understated, traditional desert tones with an occasional nod to Nuevo México heritage.

Then there’s a lovely relaxing courtyard, a fitness room and outdoor jacuzzi to discover; and finally a truly splendid rooftop bar and bistro plus breakfast to die for.

On the edge of Albuquerque Old Town is the imaginatively named Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town with its high pueblo-style tower and jagged balconies dominating the skyline. Not the greatest-looking exterior, but the interior is cleverly styled to create a cavernous central atrium in a Native American/Mexican style, which continues into comfortable open courtyards.

The public spaces are big, yet warm and homely, with a welcoming ranch atmosphere. The rooms and suites continue the theme with interesting unpretentious furnishings and warm earth tones. There’s a very good outdoor, seasonal swimming pool and jetted hot tub, and a nice patio restaurant serving the famous, traditional local cuisine.

It’s a very short distance to the historic Old Town, founded in 1706, now the center of Albuquerque’s cultural district, with numerous museums, shops, galleries, and restaurants, and just across the street from the trendy Sawmill Market with its many cafés, restaurants, and small shops. Overall, this is a good hotel in a great location.

Twelve miles to the south of Albuquerque, the Isleta Resort & Casino is a self-contained resort complex aimed at guests who intend to stay on-site for the duration. There’s golfing, gambling, swimming, bowling, billiards, a music theatre, bars, shopping, a spa, and, of course, plenty of eating options.

There’s even an entire section of the estate for recreational vehicles to park up and camp. The resort towers above its surroundings like a colorful glass and Lego pastiche of quirky shapes and attractive blocks impressing, but not overwhelming, the visitor.

It is presented as a bright palace of fun throughout the shared areas, with 201 subdued, simple guest rooms and suites in restful beige and brown to add calm after a full day of fun. Overall, an excellent, polished resort suitable for singles, couples, families, and even people who don’t like resorts.

A converted 1930s collection of artists’ casitas in a beautiful adobe-style compound on the edge of Albuquerque Old Town – this is not your standard hotel. Set amid exquisitely tended gardens and architectural delights, that hit you as soon as you arrive, this is a fabulously quirky collection of rooms offering an almost traditional cultural experience with a few mod-cons shoe-horned in.

The twenty casitas vary in size, all have separate seating areas or rooms, and some have indoor hot tubs and private patios. Everywhere is furnished in comfortable New Mexico designs and styles with a mix of Spanish and Native American influences.

Casas de Suenos has a great breakfast and is only a few blocks from the museums, arts centers, and Old Town Plaza shopping district, with alfresco dining at one of the many restaurants.

It’s the perfect location for a stroll through the Old Town Historic District, or just relax in the beautiful garden compound with its unique architectural art and gazebo. Worth a visit if you want something different.

Eight miles north of Downtown, between a residential neighborhood and industrial estate is the Nativo Lodge, overlooking a major intersection of the Pan American Highway.

Many of the rooms and suites have balconies, those at the rear have views of the mountains and get some protection from the noise of the highway.

Everywhere is presented in vibrant pseudo-native styles, and many of the rooms have been decorated by Native American artists to produce a particularly unique experience. There is no restaurant on-site, but there is an exaggerated lobby bar with a few snacks and a small fitness area with a nice indoor-outdoor pool and hot tub.

There’s plenty of modern native art dotted around to create a contemporary feeling and demonstrate that the culture is current. There is even a tepee in the grounds with seating.

On the northern edge of Downtown, around 1½ miles from the Old Town with plenty of bars and restaurants in between, is the unique Painted Lady Bed & Brew.

Originally built around 1881 as a brothel, it now hosts a row of spacious suites decorated in quirky eclectic styles which adjoin a shared terrace with a cozy, community feeling.

Each early evening has a “hoppy hour” of beer tasting around an eccentric trolley bus on the grounds before guests head out to pick from the myriad of local restaurants and breweries.

A unique establishment that needs to be savored. Painted Lady Bed & Brew has no fitness center, no pool, no breakfast buffet or valet parking; but it does have tons of charm, character, and originality that creates a truly original, unforgettable experience.

On the western side of the Rio Grande lies the significantly more rural Albuquerque town of South Valley with Red Horse Bed and Breakfast nestling on its oasis of farmland. Part vineyard, part organic farming, some livestock, a ceramic workshop, and an art studio sit comfortably alongside the four guest suites of accommodation.

There’s a small pool, plenty of recreational areas, a gift shop, and lots of opportunities to participate in farming life take classes on this historic smallholding, or just relax in the shade of cottonwood trees.

It’s less than 6 miles from the heart of Downtown and Old Town Albuquerque but feels like an entirely different world away from the city streets.

The suites are individually and traditionally styled with charming, homely furnishings and each has a private patio where breakfast is served each morning. Red Horse Bed and Breakfast will even provide lunch and dinner if requested, using their fresh organic produce. What’s not to love?

Bordered by the iconic Route 66 on one side and the Rio Grande on the other, the West Park neighborhood is a small green pocket in the heart of Albuquerque; home to the Country Club, BioPark, public gardens, lakes, and many hiking trails along the banks of the river. Monterey Motel is uniquely placed equidistant between the culture of the Old Town and the nature of the Rio Grande.

A smart-looking motel that retains the spirit of classic accommodation, but with an upgraded, tasteful edge. The rooms, suites, and shared spaces are impressively decorated in a modern take on simple New Mexico style, using earth tones and Native American designs to produce a welcoming feel everywhere.

There’s a lovely small pool and a good bar serving local cocktails and spirits, and it’s an easy 10-minute walk to the restaurants, bars, and museums of Old Town. Highly recommended as somewhere that will change your perception of motels forever.

Halfway between the Sandia Mountains and the city center in the small neighborhood known as Uptown is Hyatt Place Albuquerque Uptown. The district is largely composed of shopping malls and drive-thru’s only accessible by car, which is a necessity as it’s 8 miles from Downtown.

Externally the hotel is a safe replica of most out-of-town 1990s utilitarian buildings. Inside traditional Hyatt corporate design abounds with plenty of dark wood and beige carpeting. Recent refurbishment has added yards of grey bouclé to spice up the décor and create a feeling of being in a Hyatt.

Rooms and suites are similarly styled with the familiar dark wood, grey and beige, and large windows with views across the parking lots to the mountains or city beyond.

There is a fitness center, a small outdoor pool, an on-site restaurant, and plenty of meeting rooms. Everything you would expect to find at a corporate business hotel anywhere in the world.

Just across the Rio Grande in Atrisco on the famous Route 66 is the peculiar budget-range Sandia Peak Inn.

Nowhere near the peaks of Sandia, but probably visible in the distance if you stood on the roof, this odd, red-colored motel features uncomfortable painted statues and a fountain to greet you in the car park.

A traditional US two-story motel around a courtyard of car parking with laundry facilities and a sometimes-open indoor pool, all at genuinely affordable prices – because it’s not the nicest neighborhood in Albuquerque. The place was presumably furnished and decorated before the millennium in a mixed brocante style (which could not be described as eccentric or eclectic) and is hopefully due for refurbishment sometime soon.

For such good value accommodation, it’s very well located with the Old Town, Downtown, and parks along the Rio Grande, all less than 2 miles away. Probably the closest you can find to a genuine road-trip motel.