La Fonda on the Plaza

It may be one of Santa Fe’s oldest hotels, but it has a host of modern amenities: a state-of-the-art fitness center, an outdoor pool, luxurious suites and rooms built around a private rooftop terrace, and a contemporary New Mexican menu at beautiful La Plazuela restaurant. Plus there’s the rooftop Bell Tower Bar (open May–Oct), where you can peer over at the narrow, adobe-lined streets of downtown and watch the sun set over the Jemez Mountains. Get there early if you want a table, and be sure to order the Silver Coin Margarita on the rocks, with salt, of course.