by Sheila O'Connor

ah-waan mah-waan or “Welcome” is a phrase you’ll hear throughout the Southwest. It’s an alluring phrase for an enchanting area and you’ll hear it often at the Hotel Santa Fe, Santa Fe’s only Native American-owned hotel. This hotel was named on Travel & Leisure’s 2004 annual list of 500 Greatest Hotels in the World.

The hotel currently offers a Romance Package with a suite for two nights, a welcome basket, fresh flowers and full breakfast each morning. There’s also a soothing one-hour massage for each of you. Among the delights you’ll experience are wandering musicians and storytellers who share the history and culture of the area. You can take a romantic stroll through the hotel’s sculpture garden or relax in the pool or Jacuzzi and admire the big sky.

“… Santa Fe’s only Native American-owned hotel.”

The hotel is located a mere seven minutes from the heart of downtown. When it comes to things to see and places to explore, a week here would barely do justice to everything America’s oldest capital has to offer.

The place to start is the historic Plaza and the Palace of the Governors, where locals vie to sell their goods and have to go through a lottery system every day to be chosen. Don’t forget to visit the museums on Museum Hill, including the beautiful Museum of International Folk Art, then wander through the picturesque art galleries on Canyon Road.

You can also visit the Loretto Chapel where the staircase has everyone gaping in wonder. Legend has it that the nuns of the chapel sent for a carpenter to build a stairway. One arrived, set to work and just as soon left, without ever being paid. What remained was a spiral staircase that circles two revolutions from beginning to end, with no central supporting column. It now has banisters all the way up, but an old photograph reveals that, unnervingly, it originally had none.

Santa Fe claims the oldest house and the oldest church in the country, along with the oldest chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Guadeloupe. When you look at the St. Francis Cathedral you’ll see it has no spires. The church was taking so long to be built, the bishop of the time instructed the spires be left off — he just wanted his church finished!

Georgia O’Keeffe was a native of this area and her museum is well worth a visit, whether it’s to see her beautiful flower paintings or her southwestern landscapes. The museum’s permanent collection of more than 132 pieces is the largest in the world.

Santa Fe also has its fair share of famous people — Ali McGraw and Gene Hackman both have homes here. It must be the beautiful wild and desolate desert landscape that attract them and capture their spirits. Don’t be surprised if it does the same for you.

Hotel Santa Fe: tel. 800/825-9876; www.hotelsantafe.com. Santa Fe Convention & Visitors Bureau: tel. 800/777-2489; www.santafe.org.

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