Albuquerque, NM

[disfan07]

My mom and I are going to Albuquerque for one night (Nov 13-14) to go on a tour of UNM.
We have never to Albuquerque before and I was wondering if anyone who ha been or who live there could recommend a good hotel. (we want to stay in the UNM or downtown area if possible)

We are arriving from LA at like 11:30 AM on friday and we want to explore that day but we are not sure exactly where to go. The only 2 things that we know we are going to do when we get there is to go to the Jewish Community Center and to one of the synagogues there b/c those are two things that I know are important for me to see.
Other than that, does anyone have any recommendation for what to do and where to eat friday afternoon/night and saturday afternoon?

 

[NMAmy]

I haven't stayed in Albuquerque for awhile so I'll let someone with more up to date knowledge comment on that. You might check with the school and ask for hotel recommendations.

However, I always like to recommend the Albuquerque Zoo to visitors. And eat at Garduno's. (There's even a good one in the airport.) Have a great trip!

 

[RNMOM]

My sister lives just north of there and we visit every couple years. I would go for a higher end chain hotel and if you check Expedia or Orbitz they have customer ratings that seem to be pretty accurate.

As for seeing the city, we love Old Town. It is small, just a city square actually and has a couple nice restaurants and shops with a beautiful old church. The zoo and museums are great and the casinos are lots of fun and you can play slots for really cheap.

If the weather is good, which it often is, the Sandia Crest is great and taking the tramway up is fun.

We love the laid back feeling of Abq. and I think you will enjoy it there.

 

[Zerosinthecloset]

Personally, I would stay at a hotel in the airport area rather than downtown. It would be a straight shot down Yale right to the university, and more safe than downtown. The Courtyard by Marriott is a decent place, and there are a few others that people have won via Priceline. Usually Marriotts web rate is pretty reasonable, so booking conventionally is an option.

The Nob Hill area has a large concentration of restaurants with the Flying Star as one of the most popular. Plan a stop at Frontier restaurant on Central right across from the University. It's a large self serve diner type place where a lot of the students meet and start their day.

Garduno's at the airport lost their lease and is no longer open, but the one near Winrock Mall is still open.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[cuterlt]

If you want to stay downtown, the Doubletree and the Hyatt are good choices, although likely pricey. Staying by the airport may be a better option, although both of those hotels seem to be fairly safe. I wouldn't walk around downtown at night.
I agree about going to Old Town, and the Frontier. If you go to UNM, you will likely spend many hours at the Frontier.

What kind of food do you like? Do you want local food?
There are lots of great local places that are fun and give you some Albuquerque atmosphere. I'd be happy to recommend something. Do you want fancy, cheap, something college kids go to?

 

[LindaR]

Well I live in the southern part of the state and DD20 lives in ABQ and attends UNM. Consequently, I am in ABQ alot!!!

What kind of budget do you have for your hotel? That is an important factor!

Albuquerque is a "spread out" city. Before my daughter moved into an apartment, every time I visited I stayed in a hotel. Personally, I prefer hotels in the Uptown area. There is a Marriott on Louisiana Ave. And there is a Sheraton at Louisiana and Menaul (my favorite).

Since you are planning on checking out synagogues, you will be driving around anyway (and you want to see the city a bit). I don't know the names, but there is one further down Louisiana (going north) and another one on Wyoming (a few blocks east and a bit north). Get a map of the city! Albuquerque is VERY easy to negotiate!!!! The mountains should always be your point of reference.....you may not be on the correct street, but as long as you know where you are in relation to the mountains, then you will find yourself!

Restaurants.........well there are SO many great places!! I LOVE Flying Star Cafes (which are all over the city). They are owned by the people who have all the Satellite Coffee shops all over the city.

PM me if you have specific questions! Enjoy your visit!

 

[LindaR]

Oh......pack accordingly! The high desert gets very cold once the sun goes down (need a jacket) and warms up quickly (70's, maybe low 80's) during the day (when the sun comes up!).

If you attend UNM, will you be living on campus or in an apartment?

 

[Carriemel]

One word for dinner. Tucano's. It's one of those places where they bring you meats on skewers until you fall over cause you're so full. It's in downtown Albuquerque. It was the best meal I ate that entire week. Of course, scratch the idea if you're a vegetarian.

 

[Thumper_Man]

I live in Rio Rancho which is just outside of Albuquerque. Before DW and I moved to RR, we used to live in Santa Fe, which is a city to the north of Albuquerque. We used to stay in Albuquerque on occassion and we usually stay at the Residence Inn. Can be a little pricey, but we never experienced any problems when we've stayed there. UNM is about a mile or 2 down the road from there.

As far a restaurants and things to do. What type of food are you looking for? PM and I will give you my recommendations. I have many favorites there. Being I live close by, I go to Albuquerque a lot.

 

[disfan07]

Thanks!!

To answer a couple of questions:

The budget for the hotel: We're pretty flexible with that. Ideally less than $130 for the night would be best.

If I go to UNM I'm not sure where I would be living. I'd be going in as a junior transfer student so i'm not sure what i would want to do yet.

Food: I like pretty much anything. The only issue is that I am severely allergic to peanuts and allergic to eggs so anytime we go out to eat that is a concern for us.

The synagogue we are planning on seeing is Congregation B'Nai Israel on Indian School Rd.

What would you recommend doing at night? Where are the safest/best place to be at night. Thats when we will have the majority of our time on friday

 

[LindaR]

Hey! My daughter is a junior too. Well, hotel rates are typically lower on weekends. I would start checking hotel sites and plugging in those dates to see how much the room is going for.

Food is SUCH a difficult subject. There are just SO many places to choose from. Mom&Pop places, ethnic, chains, expensive, budget, beef, seafood, mexican/ethnic, etc.

I still suggest Flying Star. Such a varied menu (not expensive) that covers vegetarian, fantastic salads, blue plate specials. Do a search for that name and you can read their menu.

 

[cuterlt]

For night time on Friday, a couple suggestions:
Old town which is right below (away from the mountains) downtown.
Take the tram and have dinner up top. If you make reservations at the restaurant up top (High Finance), you get a discount on the tram trip. They also have a AAA discount if I remember correctly. It's a great way to see the whole city. If you like to gamble there are three casinos within a short distance from downtown.

Albuquerque is a pretty easy city to negotiate - except for the freeway construction which can add to your drive time, although I bet most of that will be complete next month. The city streets themselves are pretty easy to negotiate with a map.

I don't know that I would do Tucanos on a Friday night - it can be pretty crowded and loud on a Friday night. It is good if you like lots of meat. lol. It's also across from the bus and train station, so it can be a little sketchy in the evening.

Near the university, there are lots of nice places to try to eat:
In Nob Hill, flying star (as several mentioned), Scalos (nice Italian place), Yannis (upscale greek place), Bumble Bee (upscale tacos, make your own, really good), Il Vicino and Vivaci (upscale pizza places). Nob Hill is kind of a fun place to walk around in the evening, so that would be a good option for your Friday night, dinner and then a walk. It is just above (east of) the university.
Closer to downtown, between downtown and UNM is Artichoke Cafe (pretty good), Farina (pizza place). By UNM, you have Olympia Cafe (Greek), Frontier, Saggios (good pizza place), Sahara. So there are a ton of options. You just have to figure out where you want to go. The city has every variety of chain restaurant you could want as well.

The Synagogue you are going to is near the malls, which is what is near the hotels LindaR mentioned. The Sheraton uptown is one of my favorites too. They used to be in the entertainment book, so you might look there. Or try priceline after checking out the bidding websites.

If it were me, I'd stick with the Nob Hill area for sight seeing, or go up the tram. Probably would not do downtown Friday night or Saturday. I work downtown and it's pretty empty Saturday during the day, except for the homeless. Old Town would be a nice option on Saturday. It is close to museums, and has several nice food options, New Mexican food if you desire.

Let me know if there is any other info you want.
I've lived in ABQ since 1979....except for a 3 year period away for law school.
I really enjoyed UNM undergrad. Lots of housing options.

 

[cuterlt]

Also, one of my employees goes to that Congregation, so if you need any more info about that, feel free to PM and I can get you a connection to it, if you need it.

 

[LindaR]

And

WELCOME, to the Land of Enchantment! Hope you like the university!!!

 

[disfan07]

Out of these hotels, If we are going to Nob Hill Friday night and UNM and Old town saturday, which would be the best:

The Residence Inn at the Airport (International Ave)
The Residence Inn (Prospect Ave NE)
The Courtyard at the Airport (Yale Blvd)
Sheraton