The historic anchor of Santa Fe's Plaza, showcasing Spanish-Pueblo Revival architecture, Mary Colter's interior design, and hand-painted artistry.
La Fonda on the Plaza occupies a historic corner where the Santa Fe Trail once ended, carrying on a legacy of lodging on this exact site that dates back to the early seventeenth century. The current Spanish-Pueblo Revival structure, designed by architect Isaac Rapp, opened in 1922 and was acquired shortly after by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which leased it to the legendary Fred Harvey Company. In the late 1920s, the visionary architect and designer Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter redesigned and expanded the hotel's interiors, working alongside architect John Gaw Meem. Colter transformed the space into a showcase of Southwestern craftsmanship, commissioning local artisans to create hand-carved furniture, tin chandeliers, and vibrant textiles that established a regional aesthetic still preserved throughout the hotel today.
The hotel's extensive art collection, which remains with the property through changes in ownership, functions as a living museum of regional creativity. The famous hand-painted glass panes enclosing the central La Plazuela restaurant are the work of Ernest Martinez, a dedicated hotel employee who hand-painted over 480 unique panes in the early 1960s and spent decades maintaining them. Visitors wandering the corridors will encounter original paintings by Gerald Cassidy, commissioned by the railway to promote Southwestern travel, alongside a large-scale contemporary landscape by Navajo artist Tony Abeyta. Above the fireplace in the Portal, a massive terra-cotta bas-relief by Arnold Rönnebeck incorporates Hopi and Zuni symbols, underscoring the deep Indigenous roots woven into the fabric of the building.
Each of the 179 guest rooms features unique hand-painted headboards, carved wooden blanket chests, and custom tin light fixtures that echo Colter's original designs, paired with modern additions like Nespresso machines and plush robes. Dining centers around La Plazuela, a sunlit atrium restaurant where the scent of roasted green chiles and piñon pine drifts from the kitchen, led by executive outlet chef Marc Quiñones and executive chef Lane Warner. For a panoramic view of the city and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the open-air Bell Tower Rooftop Bar serves signature margaritas as the sunset paints the adobe walls in shades of terracotta and gold. Now managed under the guidance of board chairman Jenny Kimball, the property continues to preserve its century-old heritage while expanding its hospitality footprint, which recently grew to include the nearby Piñon Court motor lodge.
Head up to the Bell Tower Rooftop Bar for a sunset margarita. It is the highest public point on the Plaza, offering unobstructed views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
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