Santa Fe Destinations welcomes the participants of the
SCSECS Annual Meeting to Santa Fe!

 
Santa Fe Destinations is the in-house Destination Management Company of the Eldorado Hotel. We know the area better than anyone so we are pleased to help you take advantage of the great variety of special tours and activities that Santa Fe has to offer.

To register for any of the following activities, please print out and fill in the Activity / Tour Registration Form found on this website. You can then send this form to the fax number or address found at the bottom of that form. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at:

Santa Fe Destinations
309 West San Francisco Street
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Phone (505) 995-4509 / Fax (505) 988-7261
sfdestinations@eldoradohotel.com

Important Information:

Arrivals & Departures

  • Guests can call and book their own public shuttle transfers or private transportation from the Albuquerque International (60 miles) or Santa Fe Municipal (10 miles) Airports to Santa Fe. Please have your flight itinerary with you when you call.
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  • Public shuttles currently offered:
  • For private transportation (towncars, limos, vans, SUV’s), please call Santa Fe Destinations at (505) 995-4509 for a quote. Please identify yourself as an attendee of the SCSECS Annual Meeting.
     

    Concierge Desk

    Our excellent concierges welcome you to Santa Fe with knowledgeable local staff to assist you with everything from maps to movies, directions to dining options! Adaptable, proficient, courteous and attentive, our staff knows what’s happening in Santa Fe! The desk is located in the hotel lobby and is staffed from 8am to 7pm every day to serve your needs.

    Santa Fe Destinations is on-site at the Eldorado Hotel, and we are available at any time should you have any questions regarding your activity. Dial extension 109 or 0 for the hotel operator to direct your call.


     

    ACTIVITY SCHEDULE - Thursday | Friday | Saturday

    Thursday, February 26


    1. Literary Walking Tour
    Local writer and bibliophile Barbara Harrelson will guide you on a literary walking tour exploring Southwest history, personalities, legends and lore—through stories and literary landmarks. The tour traces the storytelling roots of the three dominant cultures of the Southwest: from the Anasazi and the Aztecs to the encounter with Europeans (initially the Spanish) and next, the books, journals and letters written by the Anglo-Americans (and others) who moved west across the Santa Fe Trail during the era of Manifest Destiny. You will visit several of the best known bookstores, learn about some of the traditional “haunts” of writers and artists, and be directed to the former homes of old Santa Fe’s prominent authors. Price includes guide, entrance fees and gratuities.

    2. Historic Walking Tour
    This is a leisurely one and a half-hour stroll through more than 400 years of history, art, and culture. The walking tour presents an extraordinary introduction to Santa Fe and provides an entertaining, humorous, andaccurate portrayal of the "City Different." Your experienced guide willlead you to the historic Plaza and to the Palace of the Governors (whoseoccupants have included government and military leaders from Spain, Mexico, the Confederacy, the U.S. and Indian nations). You will learn about theSt. Francis Cathedral, and explore the Loretto Chapel and its miraculous staircase, the oldest church, the capitol, and other major Santa Fe historical sites. Price includes guide, entrance fees and gratuities.

     
    Friday, February 27


    1. The Great Authors of New Mexico – tour to Taos with lunch
    Depart Santa Fe for a full day tour to Taos. The beginning of the "long" 18th century virtually coincides with the Great Pueblo Revolt of 1680, when the Indians expelled the Spanish from NM. Following the Reconquest in 1693, the Spanish began colonizing the upper Rio Grande valley in earnest. Most all of the villages and towns visited in the valley date from, and have remnants of, the 18th century. For example, the original settlement of Chimayo, the Plaza del Cerro, founded in 1704, remains the only intact fortified town in the US. This is one of the great architectural treasures of America and rarely visited by tourists. Preserved there almost exactly as it was built in 1706 is the Oratorio of the plaza. Likewise, the village of Trampas, founded in 1754, has one of the most beautiful churches in the Southwest and its history would make any 18th century scholar salivate. Finally, New Mexico’s "long" century ends in the 1830s, just a few years before the capture and annexation of New Mexico by the US. All in all, the history of the valley north of Santa Fe perfectly reflects the era. Along the way your guide will also talk about, and explore, older and more recent history, along with discussion of the well-known authors of the area.

    Pricing includes transportation, guide, entrance fees, lunch, bottled water on board, donations to churches and driver and guide gratuities. (Lunch is on your own in Taos.)

    2. Historic Walking Tour
    This is a leisurely one and a half-hour stroll through more than 400 years of history, art, and culture. The walking tour presents an extra­ordinary introduction to Santa Fe and provides an enter­taining, humorous, and accurate portrayal of the "City Different." Your experienced guide will lead you to the historic Plaza and to the Palace of the Governors (whose occupants have included government and military leaders from Spain, Mexico, the Confeder­acy, the U.S. and Indian nations). You will learn about the St. Francis Cathedral, and will explore the Loretto Chapel and its miracu­lous staircase, the oldest church, the capitol, and other major Santa Fe historical sites. Price includes guide, entrance fees and gratuities. 3. La Casa Sena Cantina

    Housed in the circa-1860 Major Jose Sena home, with its own patio courtyard and beautiful gardens, La Casa Sena Chef, Kelly Rogers, serves “innovative American Southwestern cuisine.” Also offering Santa Fe’s largest wine cellar, with a “Wine Spectator” award winning list of over 1000 selections. Tonight we dine in the Cantina, where you will be entertained by the waiters in a Broadway Review of such great musicals as Grease, Rent, and Cabaret! Price includes entertainment, appetizer, entrée, dessert, non-alcoholic beverage and gratuity. The restaurant is a 5-minute walk from the Eldorado Hotel.

     
    Saturday, February 28

    1. Bandelier and San Ildefonso Pueblo Tour

    Travel northwest out of Santa Fe to Bandelier National Monument and descend into a canyon filled with the ruins of the Anasazi Indians, colloquially "the Ancient Ones." Located on the Pajarito Plateau of the Jemez Mountains, Bandelier was the home of the Anasazi from the eleventh to fourteenth centuries. Excavated over 90 years ago, these ruins were once home to over 200 people, ancestors of today's Pueblo Indians. Walk along easy paths beyond the remains of ancient Pueblo dwellings, to the cliff where you can climb ladders to peer inside. If time permits, take a walk further up the path that leads to the Cere­monial Cave, where the Anasazi and later descendants held spiritual rites and celebra­tions. On the return trip to Santa Fe, stop at San Ildefonso Pueblo, along the banks of the Rio Grande. San Ildefonso is famous for its "black on black" pottery. Maria Martinez, perhaps the most famous of all pueblo potters, was from this village and many of her descendants still reside and make pottery here. More than any other single artist, Maria was responsible for generating western interest in American Indian pottery. She and her husband Julian rediscovered - and perfected - the method of creating her famous black pottery. Her work is revered and collected worldwide. Stops can include pottery studios and the Maria Martinez Museum. Pricing includes transportation, entry to monument and pueblo, guide, boxed lunch, cooler with bottled water, and driver and guide gratuities.

    2. Cooking School
    Our local cooking school, located just off the plaza, provides professional chefs demonstrating and serving delicious Southwestern, New Mexican or Traditional Mexican cuisine. Founded in 1989, our cooking school is the perfect introduction to Santa Fe’s local cuisine. It is also a great way to learn to understand the menus at the restaurants you’ll be visiting during your stay. Today’s class is “Contemporary Southwest” including Smoked Pork Tenderloin with Red Chile Cider Glaze, Apple Pinon Chutney, Tumbleweed of Sweet Potato, Braised Swiss Chard, Corn Flan and Mexican Chocolate Bistro Cake. Pricing includes recipes, instruction and lunch. 3. “Museum Hill” Tour
    This tour provides an overview of the best of Santa Fe’s Museums. The tour starts with what is perhaps Santa Fe’s most unique museum, the Museum of International Folk Art, one of the highlights of a visit to Santa Fe. Celebrating folk art from around the world, including work from over 100 countries, the museum displays elaborate dioramas from 19th century Germany, New Mexican quilts, Mexican masks, South American and African puppets, amulets, talismans, and an endless array of figurines and ceremonial clothing. The “Neutrogena Wing” displays fabulous textiles from around the world. The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture is also atop “Museum Hill”, and will introduce the group to the historical and contemporary lives of the Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache cultures. The museum opened in 1987 and features rotating displays from its collection of Southwestern Indian artifacts, as well as many other interpretive artifacts, arts, crafts and photographs. After lunch on your own at the charming Museum Hill Café, we continue on to the newly opened Museum of Spanish Colonial Arts. Includes museum pass, transportation, guide and gratuities.

    4. Literary Walking Tour
    Local writer and bibliophile Barbara Harrelson will guide you on a literary walking tour exploring Southwest history, personalities, legends and lore—through stories and literary landmarks. The tour traces the storytelling roots of the three dominant cultures of the Southwest: from the Anasazi and the Aztecs to the encounter with Europeans (initially the Spanish) and next, the books, journals and letters written by the Anglo-Americans (and others) who moved west across the Santa Fe Trail during the era of Manifest Destiny. You will visit several of the best known bookstores, learn about some of the traditional “haunts” of writers and artists, and be directed to the former homes of old Santa Fe’s prominent authors. Price includes guide, entrance fees and gratuities.

    Please click here to access the registration form.

    Feel free to contact us at Santa Fe Destinations if you have questions on any of the above.

    We look forward to welcoming you in February!