A Chic Hotel Just Opened in Taos, New Mexico, With an Edible Garden and a Stargazing Deck—and T+L Was the First to Stay

It was 9:30 p.m. when I arrived at Hotel Willa, road-weary and running on fumes. But the scent of wood smoke greeted me the moment I stepped into the softly lit lobby, where a fire was crackling in a corner hearth beneath hand-troweled adobe walls.

Set at the edge of the downtown Taos, New Mexico’s historic district, this 51-room boutique hotel reimagines a 1960s adobe-style motor lodge into a sanctuary for art lovers and design-forward travelers. The transformation marks Casetta Hotels’ first venture outside of California, blending preservation with purpose through a soulful redesign by Los Angeles-based Electric Bowery. Original adobe bones remain, but the interiors now hum with warm clay tones, carved wood beams, and bright textiles woven by local artisans.

After a steaming pot of their signature tea blend and a slice of moist rhubarb cake, I set out to explore my home for the next week with general manager Santiago LaRoche. The guest rooms feel personal, each styled with local art, handmade ceramics, and plush throws that nod to pueblo craftsmanship. “We wanted guests to feel like they’re stepping into their grandmother’s home: cozy, familiar, filled with soul,” LaRoche says. Outside, an edible garden heavy with rhubarb and herbs feeds the on-site restaurant Juliette, while firepits and hammocks tuck beneath the long branches of a 200-year-old willow tree.

But what really sets Hotel Willa apart is its embrace of the local creative spirit. In collaboration with the Paseo Project, the hotel hosts artist residencies and rotating installations, transforming the lobby into a gallery space for performances and projections. “It was important that we not take something from Taos, but add to its story,” LaRoche explains. “People would come to dances at the old Indian Inn, and now some of those people are working on resurrecting that destitute space into Hotel Willa, bringing a new narrative to the beloved structure.”

The first exhibition, “On Site: The Artisans of Hotel Willa,” features pieces by visual artists, as well as contractors, builders, and employees who also take on the mantle of artist. A pen and ink piece, done by a security guard, hangs at the front entrance near a twisty pipe sculpture, created by one of the plumbers. Further along the wall, chef Johnny Ortiz-Concha’s black and white photos of his ancestral land frame the vignette of sculptures he created from clay sourced from that land.

Matt Thomas, executive director of Paseo Project, led me to what I thought was a colorful mosaic. But it wasn’t—it was a wall of tightly packed, discarded plastics. Thomas explained it was created by TiLT, a local nonprofit that transforms unrecyclable plastics into building materials, spotlighting the waste problem as well as one creative way to address it.

I was drawn to the back wall where “Bullet Cities” shifted colors from purple to pink with the changing light outside. Thomas shared that the artist Debbie Long had collected bullet casings for two years on her hikes around the New Mexico desert. She cast them into molds, poured glass, and created an exhibit that reminded me of the beauty of this stark landscape.

Every detail—from solar panels and bottle-filled insulation on the front wall to locally sourced minibar treats—felt deliberate, rooted in community and landscape. And with sweeping views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from nearly every vantage point, Hotel Willa manages something rare: it’s a stay that doesn’t just reflect its surroundings, but becomes part of them.

Here, my review of Hotel Willa in Taos, New Mexico.

The Rooms 

The desert seemed to have followed me inside my 323-square-foot Premier King Patio room, dressed in a muted color palette and textures. A soft down comforter stretched across the bed, crisp against a brown leather headboard that looked both contemporary and weathered by time. A handwoven black-and-white bed runner in a bold Southwestern motif caught my eye. The nightstands were solid wood, their surfaces uncluttered except for a small tray with a notepad and a pencil.

Earthy adobe walls in a soft blush echoed the Sangre de Cristo Mountains outside, shifting in tone as the light moved through the space. Hefty viga beams spanned the ceiling. Across from the bed, a deep walnut foot stool served as a resting place for my hiking boots, an expanding canvas tote full of Taos art and wine, and a few postcards I had already started writing.

“We crafted each space to feel like an extension of the surrounding land—quiet, warm, and grounded,” Lucia Bartholomew, principal of Electric Bowery, says. “The setting of Taos offered endless inspiration, from its textured materials to its sun-worn tones and deep creative energy.”

The room felt curated but not overly designed. A small shelf held a feathered horsehair bear sculpture, not a hotel-branded trinket but something seemingly plucked from a local artist’s hands. That authenticity carried through to the sound of KNCU playing softly from a vintage-style radio, a Taos radio station that filled the room with local storytelling and music. Throw pillows echoed the deepest shades of the desert in plum, ochre, and slate, while a full-length mirror, placed thoughtfully between the armoire and the bathroom, bounced soft light throughout the space. Just outside, my private patio beckoned with two round, woven chairs perfect for watching the stars appear.

For those seeking extra space and seclusion, the Adobe House, just steps away from the main hotel, offers a quiet sanctuary ideal for families or groups. When completed, the restored residence will offer three suites that can be booked individually or together. Each features a living room, walk-in shower, and a curated mini-bar, all anchored by a shared courtyard with a firepit, hammocks, and a seasonal edible garden.

Food and Drink

Dining at Juliette is like being welcomed into a warm, ancestral kitchen. The adobe floors, crackling fireplace, and cozy velvet couches set a comforting scene, while glass vases of fresh red and yellow carnations brighten the space. Chef Ortiz-Concha, who grew up in Taos Pueblo, brings a deeply personal touch to every dish. “Juliette’s meant to be an everyday restaurant with intentional ingredients,” he says.

I started with a fermented blue corn daiquiri—a flamingo-pink cocktail that perfectly balanced tang and funk. The greens salad arrived next, vibrant and crunchy, topped with a mountain of fresh grated cheese and a bright mustard seed dressing. The smashed avocado, served with fragrant herbs from the hotel garden and a fennel pollen cracker, was a fresh take on chips and guacamole.

The green chili cheeseburger—a regional staple—featured grass-fed beef, roasted local chiles, and deeply caramelized onions. For dessert, the rhubarb sorbet, made from produce grown just steps away in the edible garden, offered a tart and refreshing finish.

Chef Ortiz-Concha explains: “The reason we go to restaurants is to feel like we’re at grandma’s house—being fully taken care of.” Juliette delivered on that promise, blending place, tradition, and hospitality into an experience I won’t soon forget.

Currently, only the lounge area is open for dinner, with brunch, lunch, poolside service, and in-room dining launching mid-June.

Activities and Amenities 

A large heated pool and hot tub anchor the landscaped courtyard, surrounded by loungers, hammocks, and fledgling desert plants. A gravel path winds through flowering yarrow and weathered stones, leading to a cold plunge tub and cedar sauna. A small fitness room features Peloton equipment, weights, treadmills, and yoga mats.

The 2,000-square-foot on-site gallery, curated by The Paseo Project, showcases rotating exhibitions by local and regional artists. A monthly artist-in-residence lives and works on-site, offering open studios, performances, and workshops.

As a guest, I also joined a Heritage Inspirations tour through northern New Mexico’s art-filled wine country—just one of several immersive local experiences the hotel can arrange. Depending on the time of year you visit, if snow is on the mountains, consider checking out Taos Valley Ski Valley, the World’s Only Certified B Corp Mountain.

Accessibility and Sustainability 

Accessibility features include four ADA-compliant guest rooms with walk-in showers, wheelchair-accessible entrances, bathroom handles, braille room numbers, and two rooms with audio-visual entrance systems.

The hotel favors eco-friendly materials, using aluminum and glass over plastic, and provides toiletries from sustainable brands like Aesop and Sustayne. Hotel Willa also offers EV chargers and powers half of its gallery with solar energy.

In collaboration with Taos Initiative for Life Together (TiLT) and architect Doug Eichelberger, the hotel’s parking lot walls were built from 2,000 pounds of repurposed plastic waste. This project is part of TiLT’s Repurposing Plastic initiative, which has kept over 70,000 pounds of plastic from landfills since 2020.

Location 

Flying in from Florida, I landed at Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ), which offers nonstop flights from over two dozen cities nationwide. From there, I rented a car for the scenic two-and-a-half-hour drive north to Taos. For quicker access, Taos Air by JSX provides direct flights from Austin, Dallas, San Diego, and Los Angeles into the smaller Taos Regional Airport (SKX). Once in Taos, there are shuttles and buses, including a free ground shuttle from the regional airport. However, you will need a car to explore the town.

Hotel Willa sits just over three miles from Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Historic Landmark. I took a half-day tour with Kevin Whitefeather, a local guide and tribal member, who shared the deep history and ongoing life of his people. We walked through the pueblo, joined a welcome ceremony, met indigenous artists, and even danced to the Round Dance Drum Song, which provided an authentic and personal glimpse into one of the oldest continuous communities in the U.S.

Just outside the pueblo, I grabbed a bite at Tiwa Kitchen, the oldest Native American restaurant in Taos, now a beloved drive-through. Their blue corn zucchini fingers and refreshing chokecherry lemonade were like a fresh taste of the land after hiking around Whitefeather’s ancestral lands and meeting buffalo up close. The signature Indian taco made with blue corn frybread and filled with ground buffalo was a memorable, hearty local classic.

I also checked out Michael’s, a longtime local favorite recommended by chef Ortiz-Concha, where the piñon coffee was stronger than my hazelnut brew at home, and the blue corn atole-piñon pancakes arrived golden and steaming. The breakfast burrito, smothered in both red and green chile, could cure anything. There were stained-glass windows, burgundy banquitos, wood stoves, and donuts in the pastry case (Santiago recommended the cracked cinnamon sugar, his favorite).

How to Get the Most Value Out of Your Stay

For the best rates, book during the low season in Taos: late spring (mid-April to early June) and early fall (mid-September to early November). Additionally, Hotel Willa, part of the Casetta portfolio, participates in Guestbook Rewards, an independent loyalty program that rewards guests with cash back or charitable contributions for direct bookings. Guests can earn up to 15 percent back to use within the Guestbook network or contribute to meaningful causes.

Nightly rates at Hotel Willa start from $199.

Every T+L hotel review is written by an editor or reporter who has stayed at the property, and each hotel selected aligns with our core values.