Angels, Saints, Ghosts and Billy the Kid
That left turn at Albuquerque led me down three hours to a town near the Mexican border, Las Cruces. (If you're headed straight there, fly instead into El Paso, Texas, which is only an hour's drive from Las Cruces.) Money magazine rated Las Cruces as one of the "best college towns to retire," and as far as I can tell, everyone here plays golf all year round.
I checked into the Hotel Encanto, which started its existence in the 1970s as a Hilton. Now a Heritage Hotel, it's decorated in a Spanish Colonial style. A striking feature of this hotel is the proliferation of Catholic icons; a wall of crosses opposite a collection of hand-carved statues of Catholic saints; paintings of angels and saints; a huge crucifix outside the entrance to cool Azul Lounge.
My room on the "Executive Level" (which, as far as I could determine, meant "top floor") was comfortable with a king-sized bed, a large work desk (Wi-Fi was $5 for five days, not free but a relative bargain) and a coffeemaker. A homelike touch was the large armoire, which housed the TV, plus a few paperback books and some complimentary water.
Since there was no spa at the hotel, I headed nearby to Duncan Noble Day Spa. Voted two years in a row "Best Day Spa in Las Cruces," the spa has been at the same location for eighteen years. Scattered across a sprawling mix of adobe buildings, the spa has no traditional locker area. Treatment rooms double as changing rooms, and most accommodate friends or couples.
Owner Carol Duncan Brietag likes to feed guests as well as pamper them, and I started out my visit with a bowl of homemade creamy vegetable soup, a salad, and an Isagenix smoothie (there's a kitchen and smoothie bar right behind the reception desk). It's a good thing I wasn't hungry after that, because every product she used in my treatments smelled good enough to eat. From lunch to a facial and a body wrap soaked in antioxidant-rich Goji juice (plus a scalp and foot massage), Duncan Day Spa took care of me from the inside out. It was definitely a unique spa experience.
Dinner that night was at the Double Eagle Restaurant in Old Mesilla, New Mexico, a historic area worth a walk. Just down the street is the courthouse where Billy the Kid had his trial back in 1881. It's a museum and gift shop now, and he is said to haunt the building.
Speaking of hauntings, an odd thing happened at dinner. When I first walked into the old building, I had a weird feeling that the place was haunted. (If you've reading this site for a while you know I'm always on the lookout for haunted hotels.) I didn't say anything at first, but when we sat down I flipped to the back of the menu, which actually had a ghost story.
As luck would have it, we were dining in the Carlotta Salon, the haunted room. After dinner, we decided to look around this restaurant's gorgeous dining rooms. On the way out, my friend Joe noticed a picture of "the ghost" on the wall of our salon. He came up behind me to tell me about it, and according to what everyone told me later, my hair was standing straight up and in all directions. He touched my shoulder and ka-pow! shocked me. I can't say it was the work of spirits, but it sure woke me up!
Ghosts or not, dinner was fantastic. They're known for their aged beef, and the seafood was wonderful there as well. Ceviche and the shrimp sautéed tableside were my favorites. By the way, the restaurant also houses Peppers Café, which is a lower-priced option for lunch or dinner.
On the way back to Hotel Encanto, I stopped at a boutique hotel that just opened last month. Mason de Mesilla is the creation of Cali McCord, a jazz singer who has been known to perform in the hotel's cozy lounge. I didn't get to see a room, as they were already booked up, but I took a quick tour of the gorgeous outdoor deck and pool area -- a great place from which to gaze at the New Mexico night sky.
I could have stayed longer in Las Cruces and Mesilla, but I had a very important destination in mind: a town in New Mexico that renamed itself after a 1950s game show. You may know the name, but I'll bet you'll be surprised at what I found there.
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Related: Image © Las Cruces CVB; Hotel Encanto
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