Off to the High Feather Ranch
Kathy’s birthday is this weekend, and to celebrate the occasion we’re heading off to the High Feather Ranch B&B, on the other side of the Sandia Mountains from Albuquerque.
In general, we’ve decided to indulge in monthly trips to a B&B as part of our work/life/love schedule. Unfortunately, our weekend at the Hacienda Vargas last month really wasn’t all that restful — due to an uncomfortable bed and an alarm clock that was never turned off after after the previous guest had vacated.
So we spent some time driving around and looking at New Mexico B&Bs that were likely to feel more relaxing. High Feather Ranch was the best of what we have found so far.
With her birthday coming up, we decided to splurge and reserve the High Feather Suite for a couple nights.
Back on Sunday, hopefully rested and refreshed.
UPDATE (3/3/2008): I’ve been meaning to update this post with a quick post-mortem on our stay, and innkeeper Marianna’s comment below provides the perfect occasion.
Our stay was, in a word, fantastic. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d rate the High Feather Ranch about a 14.
Marianna is a wonderfully friendly soul — the kind of person born to run a bed and breakfast — while quite professional as well. (Somehow it makes perfect sense that she was very successful in the corporate world before retiring to build her dream bed & breakfast.)
Some highlights from our stay:
- Radiant heat (coming from the floor) in the tiled floors of the nicely-appointed master bathroom … wow does that feel wonderful on your feet first thing in the morning!
- Breakfast was delicious both mornings: an egg torte on Saturday morning and French toast on Sunday morning.
- Comfortable king-size bed with a beautifully-chosen southwestern bedspread
- Something about the straw-bale adobe construction of the building manages to keep the room at a very steady comfortable temperature
- We enjoyed walking around the grounds (HFR sits atop 65 acres of high-mesa terrain, with beautiful vistas in every direction) and felt rejuvenated by the fresh air, and the complete silence at night
So, in short, we had a wonderful time and can’t recommend High Feather Ranch highly enough for anyone looking for a getaway in the Santa Fe area. HFR is about a twenty-five-minute drive from Santa Fe, and a forty-five minute drive from Albuquerque.
I ran across your, very interesting!, journal and though I’d leave a Howdy note. I hosted Kathy and Joshua for Kathy’s birthday stay at High Feather Ranch. I enjoyed meeting them and having them as my guests! Wow, do we have a lot more to talk about; time was too short. I enjoyed hearing of their business and what it is they love about NM and exploring around the state. I’ve just got to make it down to the 505 factory on my next outing that direction. Happy Trails, Marianna.