Historic 25-acre lavender farm and organic estate on the Rio Grande, featuring John Gaw Meem architecture, a renowned field-to-fork restaurant, and resident peacocks.
Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm occupies a 25-acre agricultural oasis in the North Valley of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, where the scent of Grosso lavender and wood smoke drifts under ancient cottonwood trees. The estate is a masterpiece of New Mexican architecture, anchored by buildings designed in 1932 by John Gaw Meem, the legendary architect who defined the Territorial Revival style. Originally built as a private ranch and dairy for congressmen Albert Simms and Ruth Hanna McCormick Simms, the property was saved from commercial development by Armin and Penny Rembe. The Rembe family purchased half the estate in 1976 and reunited it with the historic La Quinta Cultural Center in 1999, establishing a model for high-desert agricultural preservation.
The 50 guest rooms are thoughtfully divided into three distinct zones, each reflecting a different era of the property's history. The historic Meem rooms occupy the original 1930s hacienda, characterized by thick hand-plastered adobe walls, hand-carved vigas, classic kiva fireplaces, and direct access to the elegant Spanish courtyard. Nearby, the Farm and Field rooms are housed in newer structures inspired by the estate's original dairy buildings, complete with pitched tin roofs, white stucco walls, wide-plank wood floors, and private patios looking out toward the lavender fields and the Sandia Mountains. Every room is stocked with bath amenities infused with pure lavender essential oil, steam-distilled on-site in copper alembic stills from the farm's own summer harvest.
At the heart of the daily rhythm is Campo, the award-winning restaurant helmed by Head Chef Chris Bethoney, which celebrates what the kitchen calls Rio Grande Valley Cuisine. The field-to-fork menus are dictated by the daily harvest from the surrounding organic gardens, supplemented by partnerships with local herdsmen and growers. Guests can gather in the dining room, a former dairy barn, to enjoy wood-fired entrees, seasonal nosh boards featuring house-cured charcuterie and pickles, and botanical cocktails made with the farm's own distilled gin. Days here are spent walking the dusty acequia paths, watching the resident peacocks roam the formal gardens designed by pioneer landscape architect Rose Greely, or relaxing by the saltwater pool.
Book dinner reservations at Campo weeks in advance, or try to secure one of the four coveted seats at the Chef's Table for a multi-course tasting menu right at the edge of the open kitchen. In the Farm Shop, look for the signature Lavender Salve, which is still hand-poured in small batches using Penny Rembe's original five-ingredient recipe.
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