El Monte Sagrado

We absolutely loved our stay here! The resort was perfect for a relaxing weekend with thoughtful touches - the lavender for to put inside the pillows and the bath salts for the soaking tub in the room were a luxurious touch at check in. The salt water pool inside the greenhouse was so fun and grounding, and the food was incredible. I also went to the spa and had the best facial of my life with Cierra! The spa itself is so relaxing with so much greenery and little lounge areas and water features. It was wonderful to sit after my service with a hot tea and just enjoy the greenhouse vibe. Cierra was incredibly knowledgeable throughout my service - it was the perfect blend of relaxing and helpful. She provided recommendations on products for some of my specific concerns as well so it was nice to take a piece of the exceptional service home with me. I highly recommend her and already can’t wait to visit again just for the spa experience with Cierra! If you’re looking for a relaxing resort style stay in Taos, this is definitely it.

Customer service in the bar was interesting, there was a bartender, who was working hard to keep up the customers at the bar, and then there was a bar back(?) who was running food, clearning the bar, getting beer for other customers and when I asked if he could take my order, he said I had to wait for the bartender???? The room itself was ok, the shower drain had hair in it, we did not have enough towels and for a four star hotel to not have a spare blanket in the room, during the winter was odd. The hotel needs an update, the ice machine in the 500 building looked like a breeding ground for bacteria.

El Monte Sagrado is a nice place to stay, with mostly friendly staff here, but one receptionist was a bit too friendly (we prefer sincerity). When we arrived, we asked to see one of the available rooms and were shown the Native American suite adjacent to reception. The room looked amazing, but we wanted something slightly more humble. We got a good deal on a room with a king bed and an in-room jacuzzi-style tub, although the jacuzzi part didn't work. The gas fireplace was turned down quite low and not adjustable. My wife, a self-proclaimed perfectionist, noticed a small tear in the bed sheets, and the curtains had a few rather large tears. So... we weanted to switch rooms the second night we figured we'd splurge and asked for a Native American suite, but the room we were given lacked the in-room tub, and wasn't nearly as nice as the one we were shown originally, so we asked to change back to a king-bed room. We also decided to add on the breakfast deal ($30 for breakfast for two, up to $60 value) at their restaurant. We had to request bathrobes, which they sent over to the room, but for me, at 6'3" 240 lbs, the one-size-fits-all didn't. It would've been nice if they included slippers, as we noticed the only other couple at the pool had. Oh, and the hot tub at the pool didn't seem to have working jets either. But the (saltwater) pool was nice. The receptionist assured us that she adjusted the price of the room from the NA suite to the standard King room and added the $30 breakfast fee. The breakfast was good and a good bargain. Service was good, although we were the only people in the restaurant. All was well until I saw my emailed invoice after we got home from our vacation. For some reason, the room was almost $100 more the second night, even though it was the same room type as the first night, and the place was mostly deserted. When I inquired by phone, I was told the pricing was based on occupancy. This was the beginning of February, and there appeared to be more staff than guests, which was fine by us, but to tell us that the room charge increased from a Sunday night to a Monday night because of "occupancy" was not just. We were never told the room charge, only that the second night was adjusted from the NA suite rate back to the King rate, so I assumed it was the same both nights, especially with the apparent sparse clientele at the time. I called to clarify the invoice, but was transferred to the same receptionist (Amy), who took my # and told me management would call (they didn't). And I'm not going to waste more time over sixty bucks. I'd stay again, if I were in the area, only this time I'd be sure that all costs were spelled out up front, and I'd want to look over the room beforehand.

We checked into the El Monte on Jan 9th. I have both good things to say and also some things that need improvement. Upon arrival we were greeted by the valet. I asked if by chance we could check in early if our room was ready. I was told that yes, it was ready and that we were all set. On check in we were told that we were being upgraded to a room different than what was booked. We booked a Casita. I really wanted the Southwest Vibe, whether that was something Native American, Old West, etc. With the "upgrade" we got the Bali Suite. Somehow Bali, Indonesia and the Southwest of the USA don't even come close. I appreciated the larger space but truly missed the Vibe I was going for. The rooms are adobe with timber beams. The clash in the two cultures was weird to say the least. I wish I had declined the upgrade. Also, the pool area was closed for "maintenence" and looked like there was some "significant" work happening in that area. It would have been nice to know that the pool was going to be closed when the reservation was booked. This didn't look like something that was not planned. We had booked massages prior to our arrival. They called to see if we wanted to move our appointments up due to cancelations. We agreed. The check in process was seamless. Locker rooms and waiting area was nice. The massage rooms themselves were nice. There was an atrium area that was quite cold on the way to the massage rooms. All areas of the resort were clean and neat. It didn't seem like there were very many guests present while we were there so there were absolutely no noise issues during our stay. Those are the high points. Some things that definitely need worked on are the price for value aspect. I was disappointed in the overall service for price. The El Monte needs to work on customer service. Due to a significant amount of snow, we decided to eat at the restaurant on property instead of venturing out. Would not do that again. There was only 1 other couple in the restaurant at the time we showed up. I peeked around the corner and stated something like "we don't have a reservation, but it doesn't look like that will be a problem." She had to go ask someone if it would be ok for us to dine since they had another reservation for someone in like another 10 minutes. Mind you there was only one other couple. One waitress working but only 3 tables for a total of 6 people seemed to be too much. We were advised that since it "could be busy on Saturday nights, that we would need reservations in the future." There were only 6 people the whole time we were there! I ordered the lamb shank, $54. My husband had the Steak Frites, $48. His fries and steak were good. My lamb and mashed potatoes were cold. Did not send back. Didn't need them just sticking my plate in a microwave. I had seen others mention the fish tank in the bar area on previous reviews; all pointing out issues. So, I decided to check it out. Water was cloudy and there was a fairly large dead plecostomus in the tank. Looked like it might have been there for a bit. Consistent with previous reviews. Overall, it was an average experience in a hotel that seems to be trying to be a high-end destination (based on price). Very much underwhelmed in value for price for this stay.

We already wrote a TA review last spring. Why is TA asking us to write another review in an email received today? This was probably once a nice resort, but it was being run terribly by a new owner last spring.