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Albuquerque has been a center of commerce for hundreds of years. Five hundred years ago it was a trade hub for pre-Pueblo and later Pueblo Indians. After the settlement of the region by the Spanish, this village sat on the Camino Real, or Royal Road. As the railroad crossed the nation, it chose Albuquerque as a major terminus. Following The First World War came Route 66, a paved highway that connected Chicago to Los Angeles. Through the years this town that sits at the crossroads of the southwestern United States has been known worldwide for its hospitality and welcoming accommodations.
Old Town and Downtown
The historic heart of the city offers the epitome of luxury accommodations. Modern high-rise hotels stretch into the New Mexico sky while historic bed and breakfasts remind visitors of the city's rich history. Old Town is a magnet for tourists with its shops offering the best of Southwest arts and crafts. For the business traveler, the recently renovated Albuquerque Convention Center sprawls across the east edge of the downtown area. As a result, lodging with a variety of room rates is available within walking distance to the Downtown and Old Town areas.
One of the most famous hotel tycoons, Conrad Hilton, is a native of New Mexico. Among his first hotel projects was La Posada de Albuquerque. Built in 1939, it was the pinnacle of elegance in its day, and this dignity is now enhanced by its historical significance. Southwestern influence is carried throughout the hotel's design with massive beams, known locally as vigas, exposed across the atrium's two-story ceiling. The visitor who wants more personal accommodations can find them at the nearby Bottger-Koch Mansion bed and breakfast.
For luxury accommodations a short walk from Old Town, the Sheraton Old Town is an old favorite. Many repeat visitors to the city refuse to stay anywhere else because of the hotel's reputation for anticipating and catering to the needs of its guests.
One of Albuquerque's newest hotels is the luxury high-rise of the Hyatt Regency. Located in Downtown, across Civic Plaza from the Galleria, there is no finer place to stay in town.
Midtown
This part of the city was the original staging area for balloon pilots during the Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta due to an abundance of quality, moderately priced rooms. The showpiece of the midtown hotels is the Albuquerque Hilton. Once Conrad Hilton had mastered the art of building hotels, he built this masterpiece. While Hilton's La Posada was designed around Spanish Colonial architecture, the Albuquerque Hilton is Pueblo to the core. Massive adobe walls inside and out curve and flow into each other like molded clay. East facing rooms at the Hilton offer breath-taking views of the Sandia Mountains.
Golf enthusiasts who find themselves working all day need not despair. The Holiday Inn Mountain View has a club with two state-of-the art golf simulators. Guests can attend conferences until dark and still get in eighteen holes at the Banff Championship Golf Course, via virtual reality. The Albuquerque Marriott, a 17-story luxury hotel, offers business accommodations that rival any Albuquerque hotel. Located just off Interstate-40, the hotel has 120 rooms specifically geared at the business traveler.
Northeast Heights
As Albuquerque grew, it spread across the valley toward the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. The Northeast Heights is the ultimate in baby boomer communities with little strip malls, local markets and hole-in-the-wall eateries. Although these are primarily moderate to economy lodgings targeted at the tourist trade, the service and amenities are high quality.
East on Interstate 40 is a collection of hotels and motels known around town as hotel circle. Here you will find rooms at places like the Holiday Express, the GuestHouse International, and the Days Inn, which offer panoramic views of the city, as well as the Sandia and Manzano Mountains.
Southeast
This district of the city is strictly business, with the Albuquerque International Airport (known as the Sunport), Kirtland Air Force Base, Sandia National Laboratories and a large number of tech-related enterprises.
If airport proximity is a deciding factor in accommodations, you need not sacrifice quality. The Wyndham Albuquerque Hotel, located adjacent to the Sunport is famous for deluxe service. Let Chef Steve Crenin at the Rojo Bar and Grill delight your taste buds with his Trout Crenin, a fresh trout prepared with pecan, corn salsa and chile sage.
In the event you want to do your own cooking in your own suite, the Amerisuites Airport may be more to your liking. This all-suite hotel caters to business travelers with its 800 square-foot meeting room and complimentary podium, flip chart and easel.
An assortment of moderately-priced hotels like the Holiday Inn Express, Radisson Limited, and the Sleep Inn, cluster around the entrance and exits to the Sunport. Most offer shuttles to and from your gates, and some offer shuttles to downtown business locations.
South Valley and North Valley
Albuquerque grew outward from the Rio Grande as an outpost on the Camino Real. Fourth Street through the South and North Valleys follows that historic route. Scattered along the adobe-lined streets that flank this ancient route are a series of beautiful bed and breakfast inns. Some of these inns are historic haciendas built by Spanish colonists when Albuquerque was on the northern frontier of Spanish territory in the New World. Hacienda Antigua was originally built as a trading post along the Camino Real. Now this sprawling inn welcomes guests from all over the world. For a trip even further back in history try Casita Chamisa where the owner works an active archeological dig right on the premises. Closer to the newer parts of town, the Ramada Limited provides luxury accommodations for a small price. One of Albuquerque's landmark buildings is the Crowne Plaza Pyramid. Built to resemble a Mayan temple, this palace includes a 10-story waterfall inside and is one of the most popular hotels among visiting balloonists during the Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
West Mesa
One of the fastest growing regions in the United States, this area of town has tripled in size in the past few years. Rio Rancho, once a suburb of Albuquerque, has incorporated and become a town in its own right. This growth was spurred on when Intel chose to build one of the country's largest microchip manufacturing plants here in the late 1980s. Some of Albuquerque area's nicest new motels have been built on the hill directly across from Intel to provide convenient accommodations for business travelers. Most of the rooms in these establishments even provide two phones with two lines and data ports. The Hilton Garden Inn is the newest hotel in Rio Rancho and even offers a complimentary shuttle to and from the distant Sunport. The Best Western Rio Rancho is an established facility that features the largest full service conference center on the West Mesa. For those looking to avoid the convention, The Inn at Paradise is a bed and breakfast just a few steps away from the first tee at Paradise Hills Golf Course.
Corrales
This village was founded when Coronado wintered his horses here in the 1500s. Corrales, a quaint village that is slowly being surrounded by the Albuquerque metro area, has been able to avoid big city blemishes like towering chain hotels. In their place, Corrales harbors a number of homey bed and breakfast inns. Some are housed in historic adobe haciendas, while others are newer structures that maintain the pueblo style of this laid back community.
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