I’ll defer to the locals.
As a former frequent business traveler to KAFB, the closer you can stay to Sandia Heights, the less risk I would perceive.
My go to hotel / food was the area around Coronado Center off Louisiana, just N of I40; it was not a bad drive to base and had a lot of options.
Property crime has not really changed since you last came through.
The Coronado Mall/Uptown area is good for hotels/restaurants at reasonable rates with reasonably lower chances of auto break-ins.
Generally speaking - the cheaper it is, and the closer it is to Central Ave or either highway, especially the I40/I25 interchange (aka 'The Big I' ) the worse it will be for overnight security and property crime.
If you're really interested in attending mass in Old Town, Hotel Albuquerque is very nice and right down the street from Old Town proper. It's also right across the street from the Sawmill Market which is an old lumber building that was gutted and made into a lot of little restaurants and breweries. D.H. Lescombes winery and restaurant (a favorite date spot of ours) is across the street as well.
Hotel ABQ is spendy but very nice, and several friends have hosted weddings and other events there that involved overnight parking and I've never heard of anyone having an issue. If you're going to hang out a bit, might be worth the expense.
I was in town for a short visit to the Lab and stayed at the Hotel Andaluz Albuquerque Downtown. Liked it and just a bit more than the airport area hotels but less sketch. Really cool place, retro, and the location was way more convenient than I expected.
I used $20/night valet parking, ‘cause it is Albuquerque.
Thanks, all!
It's not a bad town if you know the areas to avoid. I get that info from my cousin and my brother who live there. Always enjoyed the restaurants.Originally Posted by Coyotesfan97
In the P-F basket of deplorables.
My wife and I planned to get married at Hotel Andaluz this past January, but COVID had other ideas. We ended up doing a smaller ceremony in our backyard, and stayed at Andaluz for our wedding night in one of their fanciest suites. We love that hotel, particularly their New Years' Eve parties. The valet lot is well patrolled, but Central is a MUC-athon basically 24/7.
If you're noise sensitive, ask for a room on the north side of the building, as the south side faces Central and there's lots of lowriders/etc cruising late into the night if engine noise bothers you.
Hotel Andaluz was the fanciest hotel in the city for some time, so it's not so much 'retro' as it is vintage. Conrad Hilton built it back in the glory days and IIRC he married his second or third wife there.
Congrats, dude!
Gonna need a beer in a couple of weeks...
pat
Nice background - I agree on vintage. Andulaz just oozes class and it is absolutely :throwback. I had a south facing room on Floor 3 or 4. It wasn’t too bad noise wise for me.
The elevator cars are unbelievable. I really cannot do justice to them in words. It is just an old school classy place. Staff was good, not in your stuff but handled the angles well.
The other big ABQ element has been mentioned - cuisine. Damn, the food is good, even the local fast food places. Only place I have eaten better is Ciudad de Mexico during an inflationary period.
When I was in cooking school the Chef that ran my food and beverage class came to eat in our restaurant during my production week as head chef. I adapted a family recipe for production and ran with it. He asked for the recipe. He later became the Food and Beverage Director at the Andaluz.
And yeah, New Mexican is kinda unique. Not mexican, not tex-mex, but our own thing, most of which started out as poor agrarian food. My goal fot this year is to get BBI hooked on carne adovada and posole. Lots of dairy, chile, more wheat flour, some corn, beef, chicken and pork.
For those of you desiring it, just this week in the news I saw that Bueno Foods has secured a national distributor. So you should be able to find the hot Autumn Roast green, and red chile puree for sauces, and tamales and posole should be available many more places before long. I like to open a tub of Autumn Roast, add a half a teaspoon or so of garlic powder and salt, and let it sit in the fridge as the garlic rehydrates. Leave it there to top hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, stir fries, and green chile cheese fries or tater tots. French bread pizza has seen a reurgence in my house during the Covid, and Brat the Second only likes green chile on her pizza.
Look for it in stores near you, likely big chains in the freezer section. Or there is always eCommerce. Although the prices on Amazon are outrageous! Ships frozen.
pat
Chilling at the Owl, wearing a G17 with a bygod gadget. Cheers to the town’s PFers, past and present.
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