The city loves the attention as much as we love a good pint after a warm sunny day. We are lucky to have our pick of several micro-breweries in the area, some just a few blocks (what’s up Marble?) from our downtown Albuquerque hotel.  The great part about this is we at the Hotel Andaluz get to keep our emphasis on local, by featuring local brews in our rooftop terrace, Ibiza and our lobby bar.

We are even more stoked when we get to celebrate ABQ Beer Week with our fellow bars and restaurants. ABQ Beer Week is a week full of events from beer tastings, brewery tours, tap takeovers and our event Taps & Apps on Tuesday, April 30th. We’ve invited four local breweries (Marble, Il Vicino, La Cumbre & Bosque Brewing) and paired their best brew with our tantalizing appetizers. This happy hour-style event is going to rock, and you don’t want to be left out. Make your reservations with Lauren right now 505.923.9013.

Cheers boys and girls to Albuquerque and ABQ Beer Week! Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for updates on all event at the Hotel Andaluz. We hope to see you real soon…

Since we can’t go over everything, we thought we’d focus on a couple shopping destinations that are worth a visit regardless of your shopping needs. The best part about finding these great gifts to share is that 9 times out of 10 you’ll be shopping local, and as a locally owned hotel we can’t stress just how important this is, not only in Albuquerque, but every community.

Our first stop on the list would be Old Town Albuquerque, really a community hub since 1706. Old town is now home to dozens of shops and galleries. This is the spot to be, especially if your shopping in the evening time, as old town lights up with a large Christmas tree and luminarias (or Fajarlitos) lining the walk ways and adobe rooftops. Old Town Albuqueruqe is your best bet when looking for art and handmade Navajo and Zuni Jewelry. With dozens of decades old trading posts, you’ll find a souvenir gift for just about everyone on your list. Visit http://albuquerqueoldtown.com/

For a more contemporary take on local holiday gift giving… then head just up the street from Hotel Andaluz to Albuquerque’s hip and trendy Nob Hill. Along the famed route 66 lines dozens of shops and restaurants, making it ideal for a Saturday stroll and perhaps a lunch break during your search for gifts. On Nob Hill you’ll find contemporary and local Jewelry at big names like Gertrude Zachary. Clothing for everyone at Lilly Barrack, Elsa Ross and other local boutiques. The style of Nob Hill is undoubtedly New Mexico and Nob Hill is a must see if your visiting. Visit http://rt66central.com/

Where ever you may be doing you Holiday Shopping this year be sure and think local first. This effort not only helps a local economy, it’s really about bringing identity back to communities and keeping places like Albuquerque unique. Until next week… Happy Holiday’s from New Mexico!

New Mexico’s population is largely Hispanic, and this is a contributing reason as to why New Mexico holiday season is a celebration. Perhaps the most notable sign that the holidays are approaching is the luminaria or farjalito, a small candle set inside a paper bag with sand. As Christmas approaches thousands line the streets, staircases, walkways, fences and even roofs. Visitors can best view these luminarias at Albuquerque’s historic old town or Santa Fe and Taos’ historic plaza’s. Our facebook friend Bill, mentions the small Acoma pueblo, known as Sky City as another beautiful area lit up by luminarias for Christmas Eve. On Taos’ and Santa Fe’s plazas there is often carolers and cider to celebrate the lightings.

If the soft glowing lights of our farolito doesn’t quite lure in you in. Try checking out our local ski areas that transform into a family gathering spots to enjoy sun and snow for the holiday season. Facebook friend Marie mentions the Taos Ski Valley’s torch light parade. Every year on Christmas Eve, Taos Ski Valley comes alive with a parade of skiers carrying torches ski down from the top of the mountain to the base at dusk. When all the torches make it down the run the valley is lit up by a fireworks display rivaling major city celebrations. It brings the whole mountain of skiers and lodgers together in cheers.

Another Christmas Eve tradition in Taos or the surrounding pueblos is the traditional Native American dances that occur on Christmas Eve through Christmas morning. Large bon-fires warm spectators as dances of prayer and celebration are performed. After the different events take place the feasts begin around the state. Traditional New Mexican Christmas meals consist of tamales, red chili, posole (hominy), beans and our state cookie, the biscochito (sugar cookies baked with anice, licorice spice).

Christmas in New Mexico is focused on traditions. We like to think that our style of holiday is a small getaway from the Christmas seasons that held at hostage by the department stores. How do you spend the holiday? Will you be traveling to New Mexico? Tell us your plans this season…

A fan and staff favorite around here is our Pumpkin Cheesecake Puff Pastry and Chef Andrew was kind enough to share the recipe. So if you’re looking for a last minute dessert to make for your holiday celebrations, this is a yummy twist in case your pumpkin pie is getting a little tiresome.

The following makes 16 Pumpkin Cheesecake Puff Pastries.

Combine the following in a small bowl:
• 2/3 cup of packed brown sugar
• ¾ tsp of cinnamon
• ¼ tsp of clove
• ¼ tsp of nutmeg
• 2 – 8oz packages of cream cheese (at room temperature)
Beat all together until smooth (5 min). Then, beat the following in one at a time:
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large yolk
Add and beat in until combined
• 1 can of pumpkin

Click here for a quick recipe for puff pastry. Once you’ve got that all set: roll out 2 sheets of puff pastry. Cut each sheet into 8 squares, press each square into an oiled cupcake tin. Put about 4oz of cheesecake mix in each puff pastry. Bake at 375 until puffed and golden brown (approximately 20 min). Most importantly, share and enjoy!

Let us know if you decided to make these, and how they came out. Until next week.

Did you know it’s National Recycling week?

It’s true, National Recycling Week is celebrated November 12^th through the 18^th. All of us at Hotel Andaluz are big on being as lean and green as possible. Did you know we are the only full-service LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) Certified hotel in the country? We do as much as we can to help make our little corner of the world as sustainable as possible. That warm water for your shower is heated by our rooftop solar thermal system. Live plants in the rooms and hotel are watered with captured rain water. And our amenities (shampoo & soap) are fixed in dispensable bottles throughout, so we aren’t tossing miniature plastic bottles everyday!

We enjoy being green so much, we thought it’d be fun to give a shout out to National Recycling Week and share quick tips on how you can join the fun.

We promise, it’s easy.
Water bottles, water bottles, plastic water bottles, we see them everywhere. And while the beverage companies are doing as much as they can to make sure these plastic bottles are friendlier to the planet, we can all do a little more to help out as well. First off, if you have to take a plastic water bottle, make sure and RECYCLE it, there are bins most everywhere. Easy… right?

Next… if you can, purchase an aluminum water bottle! Most fancy bottled water is just tap water from another city. You don’t need a brand new bottle every time you’re feeling parched, do you? If you do, refer to the above mentioned tip. But with a reusable water bottle you can fill it, refill it and refill it and hydrate! If after a while it needs a light cleaning, is it really that big a deal? You wash your wine glasses at home all the time… . And lastly, our favorite tip… when choosing travel accommodations in the Albuquerque area please choose Hotel Andaluz, we’ll do most of the green things for you.

We told you these tips were easy. You can reduce your waste, and save a little $$$ too. Until next week Andaluz fans… Happy National Recycling Week!

Our mezzanine has been transformed into a local artist’s gallery that has art from corner to corner. Be sure to save a little time next time you’re in to walk through and enjoy these pieces by an array of local artists.

In addition to our mezzanine being transformed, “Art in Action” allows the community to have a behind-the-scenes look at local artists creating their art in the lobby of Hotel Andaluz each month. Eliza Schmid will be featured on Nov. 13^th and J. Waid Griffin, also a painter, will be featured the following evening. Both shows will run from 5 – 8 p.m. Hotel Andaluz will donate a percentage of sales that occur during “Art in Action” to Harwood Art Center, a community outreach program of Escuela del Sol, an independent, non-profit Montessori school founded in 1968. harwoodartcenter.org

“Hotel Andaluz has always had a focus on local artists, which is evident in our mezzanine gallery,” said Howard Jacobs, General Manager of Hotel Andaluz. “This program takes it a step further and our ongoing partnerships with local organizations will give our guests a taste of Albuquerque’s thriving arts scene.” We are really excited about this new partnership and want to invite the community and guests to come experience this with us. Hope to see you on November 13 & 14!

Hotel Andaluz voted among the best hotels in the world by readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine.

We just received some exciting news and it is all because of you! Hotel Andaluz was awarded a “Reader’s Choice Award” by Conde Nast Traveler. The 2012 awards were rated by a record 46,476 readers voting on hotels, resorts, and cruise lines around the world. The Hotel Andaluz team is thrilled to receive this recognition and we are so thankful that our guests took the time to share their experiences with Conde Nast Traveler. In addition to being named among the world’s best hotels, Conde Nast Traveler recognized Hotel Andaluz as one of the Top 25 Hotels in the Southwest.

Here are a few examples of some of the guest feedback that helped us win this award:

“This was an amazing find! Beautifully redone… green, comfortable, everything you could possibly think of to make one’s stay as comfortable as possible. The lobby sitting area is magnificent and the restaurant graciously served us after a late arrival. Staff was excellent and went out of their way to be friendly.”

“Andaluz is a luxurious escape in the heart of downtown Albuquerque. Ultimate comfort near bustling nightlife, great shopping, and wonderful restaurants. I don’t ever want to stay anywhere else in this city!”

A full list of winners can be viewed here.

Started in 1972, the first Balloon Fiesta was a small gathering of 13 balloons. Forty years later, the tradition lives on with pilots representing more than 20 counties and upwards of 800,000 spectators. On weekend mornings during Fiesta, mass balloon ascensions include as many as 700 balloons filling the sky, which is one of the many reasons Balloon Fiesta is the most photographed event in the world.

In addition to the mass ascensions, other photo-worthy moments of the eight day festival include the night time Balloon Glow, where pilots fire their burners simultaneously, lighting up the night in a spectacular display. The Glow was created by Albuquerque balloonists in 1979 as a Christmas Eve thank you to local residents. It’s now one of the most popular events, second only to the Special Shapes Rodeo which showcases more than 100 balloons of interesting incarnations, like a family of bees, a pair of cowboy boots, and even pop culture icons, like Darth Vader and Mr. Peanut.

Shapes and mass launches are relatively new to hot air ballooning, which first took flight in 18th century France. The world’s first hot air balloon was made of sackcloth with three thin layers of paper inside. It was held together by 1,800 buttons with the outside of the envelope reinforced by fishnet. The envelope itself could contain nearly 28,000 cubic feet of air and weighed about 500 pounds. French papermakers, Etienne and Joseph Montgolfier publicly debuted their invention in an unmanned test flight at Annonay on June 4, 1783. The inaugural flight covered 1.2 miles and lasted 10 minutes, reaching altitudes of about 5,200-6,600 feet.

Hot air balloons and the sport of ballooning have come a long way since that famous first flight. Today, the envelope is made from nylon fabric and the mouth of the balloon, the part closest to the flame, is made from fire resistant material. While new materials have made balloons sturdier and safer, pilots still rely on good, old-fashioned wind currents to move their balloons, and this makes Albuquerque’s location in the Rio Grande Valley ideal. Our cool nights and warm October days help create what is known in balloon parlance as the “box effect.” The box effect is a predictable wind pattern that helps pilots “steer” their balloons. Low elevation winds tend to blow from the south, while higher elevation winds tend to be northerly. Balloonists use these winds to navigate in a vertical box: ascending slightly to move south, then ascending further to move north, descending again and repeating the box, or landing close to their original launch site.

Albuquerque’s box effect, as well as our 40 year love affair with ballooning make it the quintessential destination for hot air balloon culture. Our annual celebration brings out the best in the city and its people, while the crisp October air makes it the perfect time to visit the Land of Enchantment. If you haven’t been to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, my only question is: what are you waiting for? Come stay in one of our guest rooms and don’t miss your turn to get up, up, and away in Albuquerque.

Started by local artist Will Shuster in 1924, and continued today by the Santa Fe Kiwanis Club, it’s a spectacle not to be missed. As dusk descends, Zozobra is condemned by the crowd to a fiery fate. A Fire Dancer, along with 2-3 dozen children, “Glooms,” dressed in white sheets, take the stage at Zozobra’s feet. The Glooms dance and beg for Zozobra’s release, but are chased away by the Spirit Fire Dancer. Several Fire Dancers perform a riveting ritual as the Spirit Dancer teases flames closer and closer to the doomed behemoth. After much fanfare, Old Man Gloom is at last ignited. His robes ablaze, he comes alive, moaning and wailing and waving his arms, while fireworks light the sky. After a cathartic burn, he collapses in a charred heap, signaling the start of Fiestas de Santa Fe.

2012 marks the 88th annual celebration of Zozobra. For the people of Santa Fe, and pilgrims from across the state and country, it’s a chance to literally and figuratively burn the past and begin new. Come see Zozobra for yourself, and leave your cares aflame in The City Different.

Photo by Kelli R. Abeyta