The El Rey Court (formerly known as the El Rey Inn) is located at 1862 Cerrillos Road in
Santa Fe, New Mexico. This campus spans 5 acres and is located near what used to be
Route 66. The property includes traditional
adobe style buildings surrounded by gardens.
History
When El Rey Court was opened in 1936, it only had 12 rooms.
[ The hotel was built in traditional ]Northern New Mexico
Northern New Mexico in cultural terms usually refers to the area of heavy-Spanish settlement in the north-central part of New Mexico. However, New Mexico state government also uses the term to mean the northwest and north central, but to exclude ...
adobe style. The hotel's developer was also responsible for constructing another hotel named El Vado which is located an hour south in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Although these two hotels were built by the same developer, they have never shared the same owner.[
In 1936, both of these properties were located on the original ]U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...
. In 1937 the New Mexico State Legislature
The New Mexico Legislature ( es, Legislatura de Nuevo México) is the legislative branch of the state government of New Mexico. It is a bicameral body made up of the New Mexico House of Representatives and the New Mexico Senate.
History
The Ne ...
removed the US 66 designation from the original 1926 road through Santa Fe, sending traffic onto a bypass road (constructed in Arthur T. Hannett
Arthur Thomas Hannett (February 17, 1884 – March 18, 1966) was an American lawyer and politician who rose to become the List of governors of New Mexico, seventh Governor of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico.
Biography
He was born on Febr ...
's final days as state governor) which ran as a straight line from Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose.
Santa Rosa may also refer to:
Places Argentina
*Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city
* Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca
* Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca
* Santa Rosa, La Pampa
* S ...
to Albuquerque. This would shorten US 66 by ninety miles but removed the state capital from the route entirely. Ultimately, Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
construction would also bypass Santa Fe.
During the 1950s, El Rey began a planned expansion in which the owner added rooms and enclosed the carport
A carport is a covered structure used to offer limited protection to vehicles, primarily cars, from rain and snow. The structure can either be free standing or attached to a wall. Unlike most structures, a carport does not have four walls, and us ...
s to become rooms for guests.[ A swimming pool was constructed in the 1950s which helped El Rey compete with newer hotels that were being constructed in Santa Fe.
In 1973, Terrell White purchased El Rey Inn, then 38 rooms on three dusty acres, for $550,000.] He faced the tourism and travel challenges posed by the 1973 oil crisis. White also renovated the hotel by replacing all of the hotel's old gas and sewer pipes.
New rooms were added to the hotel in 1977, 1980 and 1983[ A profit-sharing plan made investments on behalf of the inn's longtime workers.][ In 1993, White constructed the two-story, 10-room Spanish Colonial courtyard. This addition was influenced by the style and architecture of inns in ]France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. In the 1990s the hotel became known as El Rey Inn rather than El Rey Court.[
Another round of expansion began in 1994 when the Whites purchased a neighboring property (the Alamo Lodge). This expansion resulted in the construction of 21 new rooms. This latest addition to the hotel includes walkways flanked by gardens, a ]sauna
A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...
, and a whirlpool with a handcrafted fireplace (add reference). During 2005, one of these courtyards became "El Agua" which functioned as a fitness room for guests of the hotel.
In 2016, the current owning partners, Jeff Burns, Matt Comfort, and Jay & Alison Carroll purchased the property. They renamed it The El Rey Court, and renovated the property in 2018 by adding hot tubs, changing the breakfast area to a mezcal bar, and other improvements.
El Rey Court currently has 86 rooms and suites. According to Fodor's
Fodor's is a publisher of English language travel and tourism information. Fodor's Travel and Fodors.com are divisions of Internet Brands.
History
Founder Eugene Fodor was a keen traveler, but felt that the guidebooks of his time were borin ...
, each room is unique, and is decorated with Southwestern furniture and antiques.
See also
* List of hotels
This is a list of hotel-related list articles.
By type
* List of casino hotels
* List of chained-brand hotels
* List of largest hotels
* List of tallest hotels
By country
*Hotels are indexed by country in alphabetical order and are mainly f ...
* List of motels
This is a list of motels. A motel is lodging designed for driving, motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles. Entering dictionary, dictionaries after World War II, the word motel, coined in 1925 as a portmanteau of ''motor'' and ...
*
References
External links
New York Times Travel Pages - El Rey Inn
https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/el-rey-court-santa-fe-hotel/,
{{Coord, 35, 39, 51, N, 105, 58, 25, W, display=title
Hotels in New Mexico
Hotels established in 1936
Buildings and structures in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Buildings and structures on U.S. Route 66
Motels
1936 establishments in New Mexico