While other hotels have put a hip gloss on their history, La Fonda (100 E. San Francisco St., 505/982-5511, www.lafondasantafe.com, $269 d), just off the plaza, remains pleasantly unchanged and still family owned, its lobby of waxed saltillo tile floors and heavy Spanish-style wood decorated as it has been for decades, its bar populated by a mix of cowboys, layabouts, and lunchtime schmoozers. Despite the high price tag, this is not really a luxury hotel—you’re paying for the feel of Santa Fe before it was a trendy spa-and-shopping destination. The cozy rooms are done up with the occasional New Mexican antique, and some have their original kiva fireplaces and latilla ceilings; open-plan deluxe rooms are actually a bit more comfortable than the subdivided suites. If you do want some modern trappings, spring for the Terraza-level penthouse suites done in chic earth tones.

From the outside, The Inn of the Five Graces (150 E. De Vargas St., 505/992-0957, www.fivegraces.com, $450 per suite) looks like a typical historic Southwestern lodge, a collection of interconnected adobe casitas. But inside, there’s a certain air of opium dream—the sumptuous suites are done entirely in stock from Mideast exotica purveyor Seret & Sons, from the antique Turkish kilims on the walls to the pottery that was broken to make the elaborate mosaic details around the deep tubs. The result is certainly not typical “Santa Fe style,” but it perfectly captures the Santa Fe aesthetic: decadent international bohemian. A member of the exclusive Garrett Hotel Group, Five Graces offers all the luxuries that make these properties so nice to visit: a minibar stocked with free freshly made margaritas, daily walking tours and wine (also available in the small on-site tapas restaurant), and a no-tipping policy.