T+L’s First In Evaluation of Resort Willa, in Taos, New Mexico

It was 9:30 p.m. after I arrived at Resort Willa, road-weary and operating on fumes. However the scent of wooden smoke greeted me the second I stepped into the softly lit foyer, the place a fireplace was crackling in a nook fireside beneath hand-troweled adobe partitions.

Set on the fringe of the downtown Taos, New Mexico’s historic district, this 51-room boutique lodge reimagines a Nineteen Sixties adobe-style motor lodge right into a sanctuary for artwork lovers and design-forward vacationers. The transformation marks Casetta Motels’ first enterprise exterior of California, mixing preservation with function via a soulful redesign by Los Angeles-based Electrical Bowery. Authentic adobe bones stay, however the interiors now hum with heat clay tones, carved wooden beams, and vivid textiles woven by native artisans.

After a steaming pot of their signature tea mix and a slice of moist rhubarb cake, I got down to discover my house for the subsequent week with normal supervisor Santiago LaRoche. The visitor rooms really feel private, every styled with native artwork, handmade ceramics, and plush throws that nod to pueblo craftsmanship. “We needed friends to really feel like they’re entering into their grandmother’s house: cozy, acquainted, full of soul,” LaRoche says. Exterior, an edible backyard heavy with rhubarb and herbs feeds the on-site restaurant Juliette, whereas firepits and hammocks tuck beneath the lengthy branches of a 200-year-old willow tree.

However what actually units Resort Willa aside is its embrace of the native inventive spirit. In collaboration with the Paseo Venture, the lodge hosts artist residencies and rotating installations, remodeling the foyer right into a gallery house for performances and projections. “It was necessary that we not take one thing from Taos, however add to its story,” LaRoche explains. “Individuals would come to dances on the outdated Indian Inn, and now a few of these individuals are engaged on resurrecting that destitute house into Resort Willa, bringing a brand new narrative to the beloved construction.”

The primary exhibition, “On Web site: The Artisans of Resort Willa,” options items by visible artists, in addition to contractors, builders, and workers who additionally tackle the mantle of artist. A pen and ink piece, accomplished by a safety guard, hangs on the entrance entrance close to a twisty pipe sculpture, created by one of many plumbers. Additional alongside the wall, chef Johnny Ortiz-Concha’s black and white images of his ancestral land body the vignette of sculptures he created from clay sourced from that land.

Matt Thomas, government director of Paseo Venture, led me to what I believed was a colourful mosaic. Nevertheless it wasn’t—it was a wall of tightly packed, discarded plastics. Thomas defined it was created by TiLT, a neighborhood nonprofit that transforms unrecyclable plastics into constructing supplies, spotlighting the waste downside in addition to one inventive solution to handle it.

I used to be drawn to the again wall the place “Bullet Cities” shifted colours from purple to pink with the altering gentle exterior. Thomas shared that the artist Debbie Lengthy had collected bullet casings for 2 years on her hikes across the New Mexico desert. She forged them into molds, poured glass, and created an exhibit that jogged my memory of the great thing about this stark panorama.

Each element—from photo voltaic panels and bottle-filled insulation on the entrance wall to domestically sourced minibar treats—felt deliberate, rooted in group and panorama. And with sweeping views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from practically each vantage level, Resort Willa manages one thing uncommon: it’s a keep that doesn’t simply replicate its environment, however turns into a part of them.

Right here, my evaluate of Resort Willa in Taos, New Mexico.

The Rooms 

The desert appeared to have adopted me inside my 323-square-foot Premier King Patio room, wearing a muted colour palette and textures. A tender down comforter stretched throughout the mattress, crisp in opposition to a brown leather-based headboard that appeared each modern and weathered by time. A handwoven black-and-white mattress runner in a daring Southwestern motif caught my eye. The nightstands have been strong wooden, their surfaces uncluttered apart from a small tray with a notepad and a pencil.

Earthy adobe partitions in a tender blush echoed the Sangre de Cristo Mountains exterior, shifting in tone as the sunshine moved via the house. Hefty viga beams spanned the ceiling. Throughout from the mattress, a deep walnut foot stool served as a resting place for my mountaineering boots, an increasing canvas tote stuffed with Taos artwork and wine, and some postcards I had already began writing.

“We crafted every house to really feel like an extension of the encircling land—quiet, heat, and grounded,” Lucia Bartholomew, principal of Electrical Bowery, says. “The setting of Taos supplied countless inspiration, from its textured supplies to its sun-worn tones and deep inventive power.”

The room felt curated however not overly designed. A small shelf held a feathered horsehair bear sculpture, not a hotel-branded trinket however one thing seemingly plucked from a neighborhood artist’s fingers. That authenticity carried via to the sound of KNCU enjoying softly from a vintage-style radio, a Taos radio station that stuffed the room with native storytelling and music. Throw pillows echoed the deepest shades of the desert in plum, ochre, and slate, whereas a full-length mirror, positioned thoughtfully between the armoire and the lavatory, bounced tender gentle all through the house. Simply exterior, my non-public patio beckoned with two spherical, woven chairs excellent for watching the celebs seem.

For these looking for further house and seclusion, the Adobe Home, simply steps away from the primary lodge, provides a quiet sanctuary preferrred for households or teams. When accomplished, the restored residence will provide three suites that may be booked individually or collectively. Every encompasses a lounge, walk-in bathe, and a curated mini-bar, all anchored by a shared courtyard with a firepit, hammocks, and a seasonal edible backyard.

Meals and Drink

Eating at Juliette is like being welcomed right into a heat, ancestral kitchen. The adobe flooring, crackling hearth, and comfortable velvet couches set a comforting scene, whereas glass vases of recent purple and yellow carnations brighten the house. Chef Ortiz-Concha, who grew up in Taos Pueblo, brings a deeply private contact to each dish. “Juliette’s meant to be an on a regular basis restaurant with intentional components,” he says.

I began with a fermented blue corn daiquiri—a flamingo-pink cocktail that completely balanced tang and funk. The greens salad arrived subsequent, vibrant and crunchy, topped with a mountain of recent grated cheese and a vivid mustard seed dressing. The smashed avocado, served with aromatic herbs from the lodge backyard and a fennel pollen cracker, was a recent tackle chips and guacamole.

The inexperienced chili cheeseburger—a regional staple—featured grass-fed beef, roasted native chiles, and deeply caramelized onions. For dessert, the rhubarb sorbet, constructed from produce grown simply steps away within the edible backyard, supplied a tart and refreshing end.

Chef Ortiz-Concha explains: “The rationale we go to eating places is to really feel like we’re at grandma’s home—being totally taken care of.” Juliette delivered on that promise, mixing place, custom, and hospitality into an expertise I will not quickly overlook.

At present, solely the lounge space is open for dinner, with brunch, lunch, poolside service, and in-room eating launching mid-June.

Actions and Facilities 

A big heated pool and sizzling tub anchor the landscaped courtyard, surrounded by loungers, hammocks, and fledgling desert crops. A gravel path winds via flowering yarrow and weathered stones, resulting in a chilly plunge tub and cedar sauna. A small health room options Peloton tools, weights, treadmills, and yoga mats.

The two,000-square-foot on-site gallery, curated by The Paseo Venture, showcases rotating exhibitions by native and regional artists. A month-to-month artist-in-residence lives and works on-site, providing open studios, performances, and workshops.

As a visitor, I additionally joined a Heritage Inspirations tour via northern New Mexico’s art-filled wine nation—simply certainly one of a number of immersive native experiences the lodge can prepare. Relying on the time of 12 months you go to, if snow is on the mountains, take into account trying out Taos Valley Ski Valley, the World’s Solely Licensed B Corp Mountain.

Accessibility and Sustainability 

Accessibility options embrace 4 ADA-compliant visitor rooms with walk-in showers, wheelchair-accessible entrances, rest room handles, braille room numbers, and two rooms with audio-visual entrance programs.

The lodge favors eco-friendly supplies, utilizing aluminum and glass over plastic, and supplies toiletries from sustainable manufacturers like Aesop and Sustayne. Resort Willa additionally provides EV chargers and powers half of its gallery with photo voltaic power.

In collaboration with Taos Initiative for Life Collectively (TiLT) and architect Doug Eichelberger, the lodge’s parking zone partitions have been constructed from 2,000 kilos of repurposed plastic waste. This challenge is a part of TiLT’s Repurposing Plastic initiative, which has saved over 70,000 kilos of plastic from landfills since 2020.

Location 

Flying in from Florida, I landed at Albuquerque Worldwide Sunport (ABQ), which provides nonstop flights from over two dozen cities nationwide. From there, I rented a automotive for the scenic two-and-a-half-hour drive north to Taos. For faster entry, Taos Air by JSX supplies direct flights from Austin, Dallas, San Diego, and Los Angeles into the smaller Taos Regional Airport (SKX). As soon as in Taos, there are shuttles and buses, together with a free floor shuttle from the regional airport. Nonetheless, you have to a automotive to discover the city.

Resort Willa sits simply over three miles from Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage Web site and Nationwide Historic Landmark. I took a half-day tour with Kevin Whitefeather, a neighborhood information and tribal member, who shared the deep historical past and ongoing lifetime of his individuals. We walked via the pueblo, joined a welcome ceremony, met indigenous artists, and even danced to the Spherical Dance Drum Music, which offered an genuine and private glimpse into one of many oldest steady communities within the U.S.

Simply exterior the pueblo, I grabbed a chunk at Tiwa Kitchen, the oldest Native American restaurant in Taos, now a beloved drive-through. Their blue corn zucchini fingers and refreshing chokecherry lemonade have been like a recent style of the land after mountaineering round Whitefeather’s ancestral lands and assembly buffalo up shut. The signature Indian taco made with blue corn frybread and full of floor buffalo was a memorable, hearty native basic.

I additionally checked out Michael’s, a longtime native favourite really helpful by chef Ortiz-Concha, the place the piñon espresso was stronger than my hazelnut brew at house, and the blue corn atole-piñon pancakes arrived golden and steaming. The breakfast burrito, smothered in each purple and inexperienced chile, might remedy something. There have been stained-glass home windows, burgundy banquitos, wooden stoves, and donuts within the pastry case (Santiago really helpful the cracked cinnamon sugar, his favourite).

How one can Get the Most Worth Out of Your Keep

For one of the best charges, e-book through the off-season in Taos: late spring (mid-April to early June) and early fall (mid-September to early November). Moreover, Resort Willa, a part of the Casetta portfolio, participates in Guestbook Rewards, an impartial loyalty program that rewards friends with money again or charitable contributions for direct bookings. Visitors can earn as much as 15 % again to make use of throughout the Guestbook community or contribute to significant causes.

Nightly charges at Resort Willa begin from $199.

Each T+L lodge evaluate is written by an editor or reporter who has stayed on the property, and every lodge chosen aligns with our core values.