Andykh

We are going to family trip in NM next spring, will be visiting Santa Fe, Carlsbad and White Sands. Late arrival at and early departure from ABQ, so will need 2 separate nights at some airport hotel. However, reading the latest reviews on pretty much all ABQ airport hotels, the picture painted looks pretty dim - dated rooms, dirty carpets, thin walls, weed smell, vandalized cars, etc. Staybridge and Hampton look a little bit better but not much. Can anybody with recent experience recommend something? Or it’s a lost cause and better stay downtown (Andaluz, Casas de Suenos, Embassy suites looks promising)?

Thanks

Tanic

The Sheraton ABQ is fine. It is about 1000' walk from the front of the terminal. Otherwise, I quite like Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town.

kale73

Agree. I'm fairly sure they have a shuttle as well, but the walk is quite manageable.

It's been nearly ten years since I've stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn on Yale, but it wasn't bad. It's just a little bit farther from the terminal than the Sheraton.

OP, I'm sure you're already aware that it's over a four hour drive from Santa Fe to Carlsbad. IME, there aren't a whole lot of places to stay near Carlsbad Caverns. You might have better luck in Roswell (which has its own quirky charm). 👽

silverthief2

Of the options you mentioned, Embassy Suites is the newest, though not brand new. And it's just a 10-12 minute drive from the airport. Pretty easy choice IMO. Or you could go for the Pyramid Marriott if you want a Marriott property, a bit farther afield but still an easy drive.

AZ_MISMAN

Albuquerque is, generally, a pretty compact area. If you have a car, I would grab hotel of choice. I like the Marriot Pyramid which is a straight jaunt down I-25 to ABQ. I've been in the Hotel Albuquerque near Old Town, but never stayed there; it is fine. You could also look at Isleta or Sandia Resort and Casino, both of which are on native lands; again, just down I-25 to ABQ. I was less plussed with the Hyatt downtown mainly because the area is a ghost town on evenings and weekends.

ETA: Wherever you stay, please, please, please, do not leave anything in your car, visible or not. We regularly hear on the local news about thefts from hotel guest vehicles... including breaking into U-Haul trailers.

AMflier

We ski almost every other year at Taos and fly in through ABQ. Usually a very late arrival and an early departure with lots of stuff to schlep. We take the hotel shuttle with our gear to the hotel. Spend the night. Pick up the car at the rental center and load the gear from the hotel the next morning. Most of the hotel shuttles will go to the rental car center. For the return, we drop our stuff at the hotel, drop the car, then take the hotel shuttle in the morning. Gets us into the room quickly after arrival, saves a car rental day, and we don't worry about the security of our stuff as it's in the hotel.

We usually stay at either the Homewood Suites, or the Hyatt Place right by the airport. They're fine. Note the Homewood Suites didn't have a bar or alcohol the last time we were there. It does have multiple bedroom suites at reasonable prices. The Hyatt Place 2 bed rooms have doubles, not queens.

COSPILOT

I actually preferred the Sheraton by the airport. Knew the bartender’s well and the food is actually decent. Typically I’d return the rental car the night before and just walk to the terminal for my early morning flight.

DELee

As noted by others, depending on when you arrive and depart ABQ can affect when you might pick up your rental car as well as what time a given hotel's shuttle might stop running for the night.

As an example, our recent flight to ABQ was delayed sufficiently out of LAX that, by the time we landed after midnight so both the Hyatt Place's shuttle as well as the Car Rental Center stopped running/were closed for the night. We ended up taking a taxi that charged $15 to go one mile - which I might have walked after midnight but with the Mrs. and it being in the 30s, we took the taxi.

In the morning, the Hyatt Place shuttle driver gladly drove us over to the Car Rental Center.

If you do have your rental car, I've tended to pick off hotel properties not only for what they offer but also what, if anything, they are charging for parking. Most of the hotels in downtown/Old Town as well as along I25 charge some nominal rate per day for what is simply open air unsecure parking.

Depending on your preferred hotel chain status, Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott all are represented and, as you noted, some are lesser than others depending on what's most important to you. The hotels are not the newest in their respective chains but are serviceable and are not the reason why you're travelling to New Mexico in the first place.

TBH, for trips over the last month or two into and around ABQ's airport hotel properties, olfactory evidence of tokers and smokers has not been prominent and most hotels should be able to switch rooms for you if you detect the tell tale odor in your assigned room(s).

Keep your vehicle clear of valuables when you park at night and you should be fine.

David

Andykh

Just to close the thread, eventually we stayed at Comfort Suites at the airport when arrived and Casas de Sueños in old town on our way home. Both stays went very good, as well as all other 7 nights in New Mexico (Santa Fe, Carlsbad, Roswell, Alamogordo) except maybe Staybridge Las Cruces