What do you say when you find a place where your resort experience starts as soon as you turn off the main road? The Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa near Albuquerque, New Mexico, is just like that.
- Weather
- Three-story tunnel waterslide
- Getting there is easy
- Heated pools open all year
- A suite time with a fireplace
Making that turn off Rio Rancho Road onto Tyuna Trail in the Santa Ana Pueblo, I know that an enchanting weekend is around the next bend. Passing the lone scraggly juniper tree, it feels like traveling in a time tunnel. Nearly a mile and a quarter (2 km) across the beautiful landscape before I finally see the resort; by that time, that mile plus turns into 500 years.
“It’s supposed to make you feel that way,” said the guest services attendant as welcoming me to the resort. “When Coronado was exploring the Rio Grande Valley, the Spanish would have followed a meandering route and suddenly discovered our Pueblo.”
Editor’s Note: The writer was hosted.
The Experience
That’s one of the things I really like about the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa: its location on the gently rolling terrace where the land slips into the Rio Grande Valley. The resort is within the lands of the Santa Ana Pueblo. The hotel is a joint venture of the Tamayan Indians and Hyatt Regency.
Comparing the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa
I’ve been in many hotels and resorts over my 15 years of travel writing, and one thing I’ve noticed about the Hyatt Regency hotels where I’ve stayed over the past few years is that the reception areas reflect their location. The Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa is designed with the flavor of the historic Santa Ana Pueblo. That was just the beginning of my immersive experience.
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For me, spending a weekend at a resort is for rest and recharge. This fit very comfortably within one of the hotel’s experiential missions: wellness and recreation, and also includes activities such as making an adobe brick from scratch or pottery with traditional clays and methods.
Activity-Packed Days at the Resort
- Wellness and recreation
- Outdoor and adventure
- Family and seasonal
- Cultural and Pueblo experiences
Whether it’s a girlfriend getaway, romantic weekend or a family vacation, I say that the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa offers exceptional experiences. Other experiences include outdoor and recreation, family and seasonal, and cultural and Pueblo experiences.
What I enjoy is picking and choosing activities that span all of the hotel’s theme experiences.
In addition to the exciting variety of activities, the resort offers beautifully appointed, newly remodeled rooms with balconies, several restaurant options and an exceptionally peaceful setting.
The Pueblo Indians have great respect for the landscape. When the resort was designed, they incorporated the elevation changes from the terrace above the Rio Grande Valley. Checking in, I walk from the ground-level entrance on the west, through the foyer to reception and learn my second-floor room is downstairs from the lobby.
OMG! The rooms: Safe, comfortable, luxurious
- Luxurious, newly remodeled rooms with private balconies
- Spacious, comfortable, well-lit public areas to meet and connect with others
- Excellent food quality; rated among the best restaurants in the Santa Fe area
- Well-trained, dedicated staff of the Tamayame people and their neighbors
The newly remodeled rooms, most with balconies, are a result of the Pueblo and Hyatt investing more than $30 million in renovations across the resort. I love it.
The rooms are spacious and designed to allow plenty of space to move around. A large flatscreen television hangs on one wall while all the others are decorated with Pueblo art. The bathroom is large and thoroughly modern, with lots of vanity space.
A cold drink in hand, I step onto my balcony and look at the Sandia Mountains alpenglow across the Rio Grande River and the lower valley. It was a view of complete peaceful comfort.
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A Suite Trip
The hotel offers suites that are ideal for families or a group getaway. Some suites connect to a separate bedroom, while others offer a sitting room between the sleeping areas. There are one-bedroom suites and, for the ultimate experience, the Presidential or Governor’s suites.
The Romance of a Fireplace
Several of the one-bedroom and all of the presidential and governor’s suites have gas fireplaces to add a pleasant, romantic warmth to the end of an event-filled day.
I didn’t spend much time in my room; there is too much to do around the resort.
Sunshine and Rainbows
After a very comfortable sleep, the morning’s weather is the start of a beautiful New Mexico August day—a coolness in the morning and warmth in the afternoon. North central New Mexico can get toasty in the summer and quite cold in mid-winter, but most of the year it’s a comfortable moderate temperature range.
On the first morning, wearing long sleeves, I join a group for a nature walk through the preserve between the hotel and the Rio Grande River.
The Fantastic Nature Walks
Alicia Ortiz, the Tamayame Pueblo native and the resort’s Recreation and Cultural Director, walks our group along a paved path into the cottonwood bosque separating the lusciously landscaped resort \from the river.
On the quarter-mile (0.4km) stroll to the river, Ortiz shares how her family traveled almost this same path to cross the river, when it was running low, to get to the east side of the Pueblo’s lands. Much of their agriculture takes place across the Rio Grande.
Although there were none to see this morning, the bosque is alive with deer, turkeys, rabbits, and coyotes. The turkeys are often found in trees, looking down at visitors — multiple paths and a parcours meander through the thick woods and small sunlit clearings. We saw various colorful “horndahs” (hummingbirds, in the Tamayame language), zipping in and out of our group, checking us out.
Those nature trails serve many purposes of the resort. I could ride a complimentary bicycle along the trails in the Rio Grande; there are geocaching activities, and the trails provide access to birdwatching and fishing.
The Special Place for Weddings and Events
As we return from the river to the resort, we pass the Cottonwood Events Center, a facility deep in the woods used for weddings and private gatherings. Its rustic location belies the updated interior space. At the edge of a clearing, looking towards the flowing Rio Grande River, stands an open-air, covered gazebo used for outdoor weddings.
Three Heated Pools
I particularly like the three heated pools, each intended for a different group. The Plaza pool has a three-story tunnel waterslide open the same hours as the pool, currently from 8:00 in the morning until 9:00 or 10:00 at night, depending on the pool. That slide is dark and fast, dropping into the Plaza pool.
The quiet Kiva Pool is intended for adults only. The Oxbow, a river-style pool adjoining the whirlpool spa, is available for all ages.
With heated water, the three pools and waterslide are open year-round, even in winter.
A Pueblo Flavor to Every Activity
Nearly every activity at the resort is flavored by Tamayame Pueblo traditions and culture, which is an aspect of staying here that I really enjoyed.
Since the 17th century, indigenous tribes of the now American Southwest have raised and cared for horses. The Pueblo of Santa Ana – Tamaya welcome ill, abused, neglected and abandoned horses to the resort for rehabilitation. Once healthy and trained, the horses are used for trail rides.
Making an Adobe Brick
A highlight for me finds me deep in mud making an adobe brick from scratch using the same techniques perfected over thousands of years by the Tamayame. Hands slathered in native clay, I mix the mush with straw and more clay to form a cookie-dough red-mud ball in the massive, traditional Pueblo bowls.
Pushing and shaping the concoction into a mold and leaving it in the sun all day, I had a fine adobe brick to take with me the next morning.
A Hotel Designed by History and Culture
Keeping with Pueblo culture, the hotel is designed in a “U” configuration, similar to the historic pueblos. The design provides privacy as a nod to the recognition that pueblos were built for protection and defense. Inside that “U” there are three swimming pools. I enjoyed the choices that were offered by the resort.
Challenging the Desert for 18 Holes
Just to the west of the main resort, snuggled into the rolling terrain is the Twin Warriors Golf Club, an 18-hole championship course designed by Gary Panks. Carved gently into the contours of the high desert, the 7,736-yard, par-72 course flows around arroyos and shifting elevations, its bunkers and tee boxes shaped by the land itself—a setting hosting PGA and collegiate championships. The Twin Warriors are mythic characters featured in many southwestern indigenous traditional stories.
Spa Time: A New Meaning to “Mist”
Connecting with the natural elements of Tamayame culture and traditions, the Tamaya Mist Spa and Salon offers an à la carte or a long, luxurious experience. The quiet, secluded area offers spa and salon services for men and women.
Then, drawing on Puebloan traditions and healing practices, the spa offers massages infused with local aromatics and oils, blending Tamayame and modern therapies. As with massage, I learned that facials also combine today’s serums and lotions with desert botanicals and locally sourced products.
Farm-to-Table-to-Tummy Dining
I found the food exceptional and enjoyed four of its seven restaurants. Six offer dining styles ranging from grab-and-go to bar-and-grill. The crown jewel is the Corn Maiden, the fine dining restaurant. The restaurant incorporates farm-to-table freshness. Between the farmers of the Santa Ana Pueblo and the resort’s own gardens, I could taste and smell the freshness.
Starting with a cup of Roasted Corn Bisque and its rich, smoky flavor, I delve into the traditionally flavored dinner. For the entrée, I chose something local and ordered the New Mexico Buffalo Tenderloin. Marble potatoes, asparagus and green chili butter complement the perfectly flavored crust. The portions were perfectly sized. I ended the meal with a key lime tart. Yum.
The Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa is a fantastic destination with enough options to make it a lifetime memory for anyone’s “get-me-away-from-home” vacation goals.
Getting There
The resort is about 35 minutes north of Albuquerque’s Sunport International Airport, and it’s easy to explore the area. The historic and artsy city of Santa Fe is less than an hour jaunt to the north. It’s an easy run from the airport up Interstate 25 to Rio Rancho and the Santa Ana Pueblo in a rented vehicle.
Shuttle service (2025: from $90 one-way) and taxi or ride-share service (2025: from $70 one-way) are also available. All three require advanced booking.
You can also take the ABQ Ride bus into Albuquerque and transfer to the Rail Runner train (2025: $10-$15) if you’re not in a big hurry to get to the resort and are comfortable with changing buses and trains and connecting with a taxi or ride-share in Bernalillo.
For a group or wedding event, the resort will arrange charter vans or group transfers. This is arranged through the Hyatt’s concierge.
Best Tip for the Trip
Check out the activities on the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa website and book in advance. That way, you’re assured of being able to make your own adobe brick, learn to bake Puebloan breads, craft a pot using traditional methods or ride the trails along the Rio Grande.
The Very Reason for Staying at a Pueblo-Run Resort
I believe there’s something special about staying on the lands of a Pueblo community. Every moment gives an opportunity to learn more about the different Native American cultures in the area. The Tamayame Indians greeted me at the reception, treating me as a welcome guest. The Hyatt Regency Tayama-trained staff is professional, warm and helpful.
Getting away by coming here, just like me, you’ll feel like all the weights of mundane life are gone.
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