Celebrate our Resort’s Historic Past

Located in the heart of Santa Fe, just steps from the Historic Plaza, La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa combines the upscale amenities and refined accommodations of a modern resort with authentic adobe architecture. From the property’s roots as an 1880s brick mansion to its 1930s expansion and recent renovation and refurbishment, our historic Santa Fe resort has transformed into one of the Southwest’s most unique destinations.

Multicultural Roots

La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa is located on six historically rich acres in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico. Two centuries before Columbus set sail, the residents of ancient pueblos grew crops here. The Spanish then colonized Santa Fe and many villages over a period of 250 years, before New Mexico became a U.S. territory in 1846. In the 19th century, the adobe city experienced significant growth as residents from Europe and the eastern U.S. migrated to the Southwest. Palace Avenue, once an acequia that brought water into the city, overflowed with the life source of the region and supported the new populace of what would become today’s Santa Fe.

The Staab Family

In 1882, a prosperous merchant named Abraham Staab built his three-story brick mansion – in the French Second Empire-style – on property that now belongs to La Posada. Abraham and his wife, Julia, entertained Santa Fe society in the grand residence decorated with the finest European materials. Legend has it that Mrs. Staab loved her home so much that she has never left it. In recent years, her alleged spirit has been the subject of many ghost tours, and television episodes of Unsolved Mysteries, Weird Travels and Lifetime TV’s “The Haunting of…”.

The Staab House stands today in the form of a bar, where guests at the historic Santa Fe hotel enjoy cocktails and light Southwestern fare. The resort celebrates her as our muse with the recent opening of Julia, a Spirited Restaurant & Bar. Over the years, some have even reported meeting the grand lady.

Construction of the Resting Place

In the 1930s, R.H. and Eulalia Nason constructed a series of Pueblo Revival-style adobe casitas around the existing Staab Mansion and carriage house. The Nason’s called their new business La Posada, Spanish for “inn” or “resting place.” In the following years, La Posada became a summer arts school with many long-term guests who were an important part of Santa Fe’s flourishing arts community.

Over the years, La Posada de Santa Fe has served the world of literature and cinema by accommodating writers such as Eliot Arnold, author of “The Gringo and Oliver,” and many other well-known personalities.

After an extensive renovation in the late 1990s that included the construction of additional lodging, La Posada de Santa Fe Spa, and the Conference Center, La Posada transformed into the full-service resort that it is today. La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa has retained its traditional Southwestern charm and intimate ambiance ever since.

The Ancient Pueblo People and Archaeological Sites

This Historic Plaza resort is within an hour’s drive of Bandelier National Monument, where magnificent ancient cliff dwellings full of kivas and petroglyphs remain. In addition, guests may visit the nearby Santuario de Chimayo, which is said to contain healing powers in its soil. On the Turquoise Trail, south of Santa Fe, guests can travel through the turn-of-the-century mining towns of Madrid, Cerrillos, and Golden – important sources of turquoise for ancient Indian jewelry.

Learn more about our historic resort in Santa Fe. Download the La Posada de Santa Fe History Book (PDF).