Hotel heaven and not-so heavenly

After flying into Albuquerque on Saturday, we drove to Santa Fe for the night. We met my mom and her friend Sue in the lobby of our hotel, the Eldorado, a picturesque hotel with huge columns out front and grand steps leading to the entrance. The rooms were stately, but the hotel is a rip-off for $299 a night.

The valet service is slower than mud. (Actually, everything in Santa Fe and Taos is slow. No one moves with a sense of urgency, which drove me nuts.) They lost our car. They didn’t have free Internet access, and their mojitos weren’t all that. Did I mention the hotel cost $299 a night?

My mom and Sue stayed about a block away in the Inn of the Governor’s on West Alameda Street. It’s rustic, with cute little fireplaces in the rooms and free breakfast. And I’m not talking about Comfort Inn-style dry cereal and muffins -- they had eggs cooked with peppers and onions, bacon and sausage, fruit, yogurt, waffles and French toast. That’s what I’m talking about. The hotel bar, the Saloon, seemed to be the most popular hangout in all of Santa Fe.