Heritage Hotels and Resorts Acquires Eldorado Hotel & Spa

By Anca Gagiuc, Associate Editor

Eldorado Hotel & Spa, Santa Fe’s 219-room hotel, has been acquired by Heritage Hotels and Resorts in partnership with several co-investors, including insurance executive Randy Talbot.

The transaction has been financed by Washington Federal and First National Bank of Santa Fe, and brokered by Stu Sherman.

“This will be the first time in its history that New Mexican families will own the property,” Heritage said in a news release. Previously the hotel had been owned by a partnership led by the Guardian Life Insurance Co.

Heritage Hotels and Resorts owns three other Santa Fe hotels – Hotel St. Francis, Hotel Chimayó de Santa Fe and The Lodge at Santa Fe – and several properties in Taos, Las Cruces, and Albuquerque. “The Eldorado Hotel & Spa is one of the premier properties in Santa Fe and New Mexico. We are excited to add this property to our collection of culturally designed New Mexico hotels,” Heritage Hotels & Resorts CEO Jim Long stated in the news release.

“Santa Fe is a world class traveler destination. We feel very fortunate for the opportunity, alongside the high quality and tenured Eldorado staff, to provide an experience at the very top of expectations during our visitors stay in this beautiful city and state,” Talbot said in the Heritage statement.

Eldorado was built in 1986 and designed by Santa Fe architect Wayne Lloyd. It offers employment to 200 people. Heritage will take on management responsibilities. The hotel is home to Santa Fe’s largest ballroom, the 4,320-square-foot Anasazi Ballroom, and two additional ones. The 6,488-square-foot Pavilion is the property’s largest event space, currently used to provide meeting and social event space. The Old House restaurant is also inside Eldorado, led by Executive Chef Anthony Smith, rated by Zagat as New Mexico’s best.

Photo courtesy of Eldorado Hotel & Spa