We stayed here twice last week during a driving trip to the desert, first for one night on our way out and then two nights later in the week, over Thanksgiving, on our return. While this is a lovely property, our experiences were mixed. I would, however, stay there again.
On our first visit my Diamond status was not verbally recognized, although we were given two coupons for the breakfast buffet the next morning. The buffet was great as far as we were concerned; eggs and sausage and potatoes in chafing dishes, fruit, excellent pastries, cereals for kids (Lucky Charms, Trix), and we were able to order eggs any way from the kitchen as a part of the breakfast. On our return visit I opted to order off the menu both mornings and the Eggs Benedict was delightful with just a hint of lemon in the Hollandaise sauce, and the Breakfast burrito was also delicious.
Our first room was a standard room on the third floor above the front desk and required use of the key to access from the elevator, I am guessing as this elevator also serviced the casino. The room was good size and decorated in SW decor, including a great dresser with a flat screen tv (although analog reception). The Hilton bed was comfortable as always.
There is an honor bar fridge in the dresser with no space for personal items. The LaVazza coffee machine had paper cups, and there were no glasses in the bathroom. One of the lights over the sink was out, and the shower, very nice in tile and glass, filled with water with the drain open.
We were there barely 12 hours on our first visit as this was really a stop for us to points deeper in the desert. At checkout I mentioned the light that was out and the stopped up shower, mentioned my Diamond status and asked if we might be upgraded to a room with a fireplace on our return. The FDC took notes, apologized for the bulb and shower (no big deal, really, but useful as leverage), wrote down my name and return date and asked if my My Way preference was set to upgrade (it was), and said she would try to take care of us.
When returning later in the week I was still not verbally recognized as a Diamond member, although we were again given the buffet coupons and told we had been upgraded to a queen suite. This was accessed via the spa wing and key access on the elevator was not needed as it did not descend to the casino. Our room was on the fifth floor, had two queen beds, a fireplace, two French doors leading to an over sized balcony, and a huge, four "station" bathroom with a sink area, makeup desk with lighted mirrors, shower and finally the toilet. This time we had ceramic mugs in the LaVazza machine, but still no glasses in the bath.
We enjoyed walking around the building, taking in the native art on display from pottery to paintings to sculpture. Hilton has done a nice job of trying to make the resort fit into the environment, with the shape and style of the building resembling a pueblo. The golf course is a bit incongruous, but overall I certainly felt I was in the SW the entire time we were there, not simply in a resort plopped down.
Two other points on our visit. They advertised a Thanksgiving buffet in one of the restaurants, but in order to get in you had to have a Player's Club card from the casino. So we stopped in the casino on our first visit to get the card and got to "flip a chip" for free credits on our card. We each won $5, and waited until our return later in the week to play. Our $5 had vanished from the card and when we returned to the desk they told us we had to use that credit within 24 hours. No one had ever told us that, they would not put the $5 back and were unapologetic about the whole thing. As it was free money we couldn't complain, however we did immediately leave the casino and the episode left a bad taste in our mouths. The casino reeked of smoke anyway, so no great loss.
The Thanksgiving buffet was bottom feeding at its lowest form. The line to get in was 60 people long, and while there was a sign that said Hhonors members and hotel guests, everyone used that line. When we got to the front we saw a dozen empty tables inside. The line was so long because they were signing people up for the Player's Club card to get in, and had only one person working the line. The entrance was inefficiency at its finest. The buffet wasn't much better - just a lot of food at a cheap price.
The location is a convenient jumping point to other destinations, 15 miles north of Santa Fe, just before the turns to Los Alamos and to the high road to Taos. If you exit the hotel and turn left onto the frontage road it will lead in about a mile to Gabrielle's, a local restaurant. Although our two stays were a bit uneven, overall we had a nice experience at Buffalo Thunder and would return again.