Historic Taos Inn

The Historic Taos Inn was built in 1936 around a 1800s adobe well house at the corner of what's now Paseo del Pueblo Norte. The well's original tin-roofed cupola — Taos's "town well" before the inn went up — is still in the lobby, with a fireplace built into the surrounding stonework. Forty-four rooms across the inn's interconnected adobe buildings. Doc Martin's restaurant on the property. The Adobe Bar's red-or-green-chile margaritas, which have been a Taos institution since approximately the moment they were invented.

It's a New Mexico landmark in the proper sense. Most repeat Taos visitors have a story about the Adobe Bar.

The setting

On Paseo del Pueblo Norte, two blocks from Taos Plaza, in the heart of the historic district. The walk to the Plaza for galleries and shops is short. The Taos Pueblo (the UNESCO-listed continuously inhabited Native American settlement) is fifteen minutes by car. Taos Ski Valley is twenty-five minutes north. The Rio Grande Gorge bridge is twenty minutes northwest.

The drive from Santa Fe is ninety minutes north on the High Road or the Low Road. Taos sits at 7,000 feet; the elevation matters.

The building

Multiple interconnected adobe structures built around the original 1800s well house, with later additions and renovations layered over the original bones. The aesthetic is upscale-bohemian with rustic Americana overlays — adobe walls, viga-and-latilla ceilings, kiva fireplaces, vintage Mexican and New Mexican furniture, a dense and theatrical interior register. Public spaces include the lobby (with the original well cupola and fireplace), the Adobe Bar, and Doc Martin's dining room.

The renovation work has been gradual. The 1936 character (and the older bones underneath) is intact and well-maintained.

The rooms

Forty-four rooms across the interconnected buildings. Categories climb from compact rooms (around $245) up through suites with kiva fireplaces, viga ceilings, and the better adobe period bones. Beds are queens and kings, linens are heavy, bathrooms are updated within historical-preservation constraints. Several rooms have working kiva fireplaces.

The room categories vary widely in character — the building's ad-hoc construction means each room has its own identity. Confirm specifics at booking.

Food & drink

Doc Martin's is the on-site dining room — contemporary Northern New Mexican with the regional staples (chile, posole, regional meats, Christmas-style chile preparations). Open to non-guests by reservation; the dining room books out on weekends. The Adobe Bar runs through the evening, with live music several nights a week and the chile margaritas as the regional ritual.

On the property

A small landmark inn with serious dining and bar credentials.

• Doc Martin's restaurant
• The Adobe Bar with live music
• Working kiva fireplaces in select rooms
• Walking distance to Taos Plaza
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Travelers doing a Taos long weekend who want the historic landmark anchor
• Couples on anniversaries
• Music and bar travelers — the Adobe Bar is the property's other major draw
• Repeat New Mexico visitors who want the contrasting register to Santa Fe

Who it's not for

• Travelers who want a contemporary boutique aesthetic
• Light sleepers in front-facing rooms when the Adobe Bar runs busy on weekends
• Families with very young children — the inn allows children but the format is adult-leaning

Nearby

Walk two minutes to Taos Plaza — the Harwood Museum of Art is at the corner. Drive fifteen minutes for the Taos Pueblo. Drive twenty minutes for the Rio Grande Gorge bridge — the second-highest cantilever truss bridge in the US highway system. Drive twenty-five minutes north for Taos Ski Valley. The Mabel Dodge Luhan House (the literary salonkeeper's hacienda) is a few minutes' walk for a tour. The High Road back to Santa Fe (Truchas, Las Trampas, Chimayó) is the long Northern New Mexico day-drive. The D.H. Lawrence Ranch is north of Taos and worth the visit for literary travelers.