The Best New Hotels in the World: 2019 Hot List
"The historic roadside motel is a particularly definitive piece of Americana, a challenging romantic notion to mess with. Take the modern makeover too far, and you lose the impromptu, drive-up magic of a time when maps—and arguments in the car—unfolded like cozy blankets for weary navigators. Not enough, and there’s the risk of it bordering on seedy. Motels are having a massive moment right now, and El Rey is the gold standard for how to do them right. Here, Santa Fe lands an 86-room update to the ‘30s El Rey Inn on Route 66 that’s true to its one-of-a-kind kiva fireplace and pine-scented sense of place. Like the sun-dried mud and straw architecture under the whitewashed walls, Santa Fe-style earthiness underlines everything here. For their redesign, Jay and Alison Carroll spent a year collecting pieces reflecting the elemental, tactile aesthetic of a prehistoric desert landscape that inspired modernists such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Alexander Girard. The New Mexico palette plays out in organic and geometric forms: ceramic lamps by Wannamaker Pottery in Arroyo Seco; hand-woven tapestry headboards by Centinela Traditional Arts in Chimayo. It says a lot that the revamped El Rey also attracts locals—and at night, in a town where most food and drink is scarce after 8 p.m. This motor lodge is a thoughtful reimagination of classic American cool, in a southwestern city, that should never only be seen as a drive-through. FLASH POINT The new La Reina mezcal and tequila bar is the place to gather around the fire every night of the week. (505) 982-1931; elreycourt.com. Doubles from $110." - CNT Editors
