T+L’s First In Assessment of Lodge Willa, in Taos, New Mexico

It was 9:30 p.m. after I arrived at Lodge 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 hearth was crackling in a nook fireplace 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 Sixties adobe-style motor lodge right into a sanctuary for artwork lovers and design-forward vacationers. The transformation marks Casetta Resorts’ first enterprise outdoors 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 shiny 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 residence for the following week with common 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 wished friends to really feel like they’re getting into their grandmother’s residence: 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 Lodge Willa aside is its embrace of the native artistic spirit. In collaboration with the Paseo Undertaking, the lodge hosts artist residencies and rotating installations, reworking the foyer right into a gallery house for performances and projections. “It was essential that we not take one thing from Taos, however add to its story,” LaRoche explains. “Individuals would come to dances on the previous Indian Inn, and now a few of these individuals are engaged on resurrecting that destitute house into Lodge Willa, bringing a brand new narrative to the beloved construction.”

The primary exhibition, “On Web site: The Artisans of Lodge Willa,” options items by visible artists, in addition to contractors, builders, and staff who additionally tackle the mantle of artist. A pen and ink piece, carried out 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 pictures of his ancestral land body the vignette of sculptures he created from clay sourced from that land.

Matt Thomas, government director of Paseo Undertaking, led me to what I assumed was a colourful mosaic. Nevertheless it wasn’t—it was a wall of tightly packed, discarded plastics. Thomas defined it was created by TiLT, an area nonprofit that transforms unrecyclable plastics into constructing supplies, spotlighting the waste drawback in addition to one artistic option 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 outdoors. Thomas shared that the artist Debbie Lengthy had collected bullet casings for 2 years on her hikes across the New Mexico desert. She solid 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 neighborhood and panorama. And with sweeping views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from almost each vantage level, Lodge Willa manages one thing uncommon: it’s a keep that doesn’t simply mirror its environment, however turns into a part of them.

Right here, my evaluation of Lodge 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 smooth down comforter stretched throughout the mattress, crisp in opposition to a brown leather-based headboard that regarded each modern and weathered by time. A handwoven black-and-white mattress runner in a daring Southwestern motif caught my eye. The nightstands had been strong wooden, their surfaces uncluttered aside from a small tray with a notepad and a pencil.

Earthy adobe partitions in a smooth blush echoed the Sangre de Cristo Mountains outdoors, 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 filled 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 encompassing land—quiet, heat, and grounded,” Lucia Bartholomew, principal of Electrical Bowery, says. “The setting of Taos supplied limitless inspiration, from its textured supplies to its sun-worn tones and deep artistic 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 an area artist’s arms. That authenticity carried via to the sound of KNCU taking part in softly from a vintage-style radio, a Taos radio station that crammed 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 toilet, bounced smooth gentle all through the house. Simply outdoors, my non-public patio beckoned with two spherical, woven chairs excellent for watching the celebs seem.

For these looking for additional house and seclusion, the Adobe Home, simply steps away from the principle lodge, affords a quiet sanctuary very best for households or teams. When accomplished, the restored residence will supply three suites that may be booked individually or collectively. Every contains a front room, 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 fire, and comfy velvet couches set a comforting scene, whereas glass vases of contemporary 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 substances,” 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 contemporary grated cheese and a shiny mustard seed dressing. The smashed avocado, served with aromatic herbs from the lodge backyard and a fennel pollen cracker, was a contemporary 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, made out of produce grown simply steps away within the edible backyard, supplied a tart and refreshing end.

Chef Ortiz-Concha explains: “The explanation 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.

Presently, 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 scorching tub anchor the landscaped courtyard, surrounded by loungers, hammocks, and fledgling desert vegetation. 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 gear, weights, treadmills, and yoga mats.

The two,000-square-foot on-site gallery, curated by The Paseo Undertaking, 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 one in all a number of immersive native experiences the lodge can prepare. Relying on the time of yr 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 methods.

The lodge favors eco-friendly supplies, utilizing aluminum and glass over plastic, and gives toiletries from sustainable manufacturers like Aesop and Sustayne. Lodge Willa additionally affords 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 car parking zone partitions had been constructed from 2,000 kilos of repurposed plastic waste. This mission is a part of TiLT’s Repurposing Plastic initiative, which has stored over 70,000 kilos of plastic from landfills since 2020.

Location 

Flying in from Florida, I landed at Albuquerque Worldwide Sunport (ABQ), which affords 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 gives 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. Nevertheless, you have to a automotive to discover the city.

Lodge 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, an area information and tribal member, who shared the deep historical past and ongoing lifetime of his folks. We walked via the pueblo, joined a welcome ceremony, met indigenous artists, and even danced to the Spherical Dance Drum Track, which offered an genuine and private glimpse into one of many oldest steady communities within the U.S.

Simply outdoors the pueblo, I grabbed a chew at Tiwa Kitchen, the oldest Native American restaurant in Taos, now a beloved drive-through. Their blue corn zucchini fingers and refreshing chokecherry lemonade had been like a contemporary 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 traditional.

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

The way to Get the Most Worth Out of Your Keep

For the perfect charges, guide through the off-season in Taos: late spring (mid-April to early June) and early fall (mid-September to early November). Moreover, Lodge Willa, a part of the Casetta portfolio, participates in Guestbook Rewards, an unbiased 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 inside the Guestbook community or contribute to significant causes.

Nightly charges at Lodge Willa begin from $199.

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