FUN in SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
the
505 Dial in your golf game in NEW MEXICO.
Sandia
ALBUQUERQUE Sandia Resort & Casino “The 505,” Albuquerque’s area code, not only brands a line of tasty Hatch Green Chile products, but the city’s distinctive Southwestern culture. Albuquerque is strolling Old Town, Central Avenue and Nob Hill. It’s taking in the International Balloon Fiesta, Sandia Peak Tramway, Breaking Bad RV Tours, Isotopes baseball games and the Museum of Art and History. It’s inhaling a Blake’s Lotaburger and dining at El Pinto, Frontier, MÁS Tapas and Scalo. And it’s playing golf. The Duke City and surrounding area boast such highly regarded layouts of Paa-Ko Ridge, Twin Warriors, COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2018
Santa Ana, Isleta Eagle and the University of New Mexico Championship Course. You’ll find Albuquerque’s top golf offering on the north side of town at the Sandia Resort & Casino. The Sandia Puebloowned resort—which takes its name from the beautiful watermelon-colored Sandia Mountains that dominate the resort’s eastern views—continues to set the standard for luxury in Albuquerque. The resort’s Sandia Golf Club boasts a challenging Scott Miller-designed layout that stretches from 5,112 to 7,755 yards and rolls through the rugged high desert landscape, incorporating 48 bunkers, water features, washes and multi-tiered green complexes. The facility sports an ample putting and short-game practice area, and this September Sandia will again sponsor and host the $85,000 New Mexico Open. The club operates from the stunning Sandia Golf Event Center, a sprawling facility appointed with modern New Mexican décor and high end finishes. Its 5,300-squarefoot ballroom divides into as many as four separate spaces, with an all-glass north wall facing the Sandias. Another collapsible glass
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wall erases the boundary between indoor and outdoor patios. The Event Center spills onto a dramatic private lawn, making for an especially memorable tournament or wedding venue. The building connects through the Bridal Suite/Dressing Room to the equally magnificent Green Reed Spa and its 14 new treatment rooms and salon. Green Reed’s encyclopedic menu of natural treatments and therapies means guests get pampered and coloradoavidgolfer.com
It’s Time.
GOLF PACKAGES STARTING AT $109*
30 Rainbow Road NE || Albuquerque, NM || 505.798.3990 || sandiagolf.com *Price is per night per person/double occupancy staying Sunday - Wednesday night. Minimum two (2) night stay required. Price is subject to availability and/or blackout dates. Not applicable to groups (17 or more), conventions, or other discounts or specials.
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Bien Shur
rejuvenated in luxury. All 228 of Sandia’s lavishly decorated rooms and suites showcase views of the city skyline or the Sandias. The resort’s plush, 140,000-square-foot casino features myriad gaming options, and the 4,000-seat outdoor Amphitheater has scheduled a hopping summer lineup featuring the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Buddy Guy, The Charlie Daniels Band and Trace Adkins. On May 27, Sandia will also kick off the 7th Annual ABQ Beer Week with the ABQ Blues & Brews festival, featuring four blues bands and pours from more than 70 breweries. Other outdoor pleasures await at Sandia’s fabulous pool and, nine stories above, at the lively rooftop patio and lounge connected to the resort’s five-star restaurant, Bien Shur. Specializing in steaks, chops and glorious views, Bien Shur also makes a number of savory appetizers—including the New Mexico Lobster Roll and Tequila Spiked Shrimp Cocktail—available in the lounge. Order up a signature watermelon-mint martini—which matches the magical color of the mountains viewed from the patio during happy hour—or choose from a selection of 20 wines at only $20 per bottle. SANDIA RESORT & CASINO 30 Rainbow Rd. NE, Albuquerque sandiacasino.com; 800-526-9366
SANTA FE Hilton Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino An hour’s drive northeast from Albuquerque lies the 505’s cultural and historic capital of Santa Fe, an adobe wonderland of restaurants worthy of San Francisco, culture on par with New York’s, stores with Dallas prices and a population comparable to Loveland’s. Santa Fe has world-class credentials, and thanks to Hilton Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino, golf has entered that conversation. Named “New Mexico’s Best Golf Hotel” in 2017 by the World Golf Awards, COLORADO AVIDGOLFER | May 2018
Hilton Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino also earned the organization’s 2015 honor as “North America’s Best Golf Hotel.” One visit to the property, located 14 miles north of Santa Fe’s bustling plaza and framed by the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez mountains, will tell you why. The resort’s Towa Golf Club boasts one of the most picturesque golf facilities anywhere. It sports three nines—Boulder, Piñon and Valley—that undulate dramatically through surreal rock formations and vegetation, affording expansive vistas combined with separation between holes. The Boulder nine, designed by William Phillips in 2001, features a 10,000-square-foot island green—the only one in New Mexico— on the par-3 4th, and closes with another one-shotter that plunges 100 feet from tee to green. “It’s all carry and it can be a four-club difference depending on the wind,” says PGA Director of Golf David Johnson. He also loves the opening hole on Piñon, a Hale Irwin-designed nine of the same 2001 vintage. A canyon yawns across the 631-yard
Red Sage
par 5, dictating your tee shot and setting the tone for the eight scenic holes that follow. And speaking of scenic, Irwin also designed the newest nine, Valley, which presents magical panoramas of the Jemez mountains from every hole. As Santa Fe’s only golf resort—and a AAA Four Diamond one at that—The Hilton Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder brings the art and cuisine of Santa Fe into a place far from the crowded Plaza. Owned by the Pojoanque pueblo, the resort proudly displays more than 400 works—including pottery, paintings, sculpture, mosaics and weavings— representing every Tribe within New Mexico. Pueblo pride radiates from the resort’s traditional architecture to the detailed, handmade valences and headboards in the 395 lushly furnished rooms and suites—all of which have keyless smartphone entry. Swirls,
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so predominant in New Mexican Pueblo culture, manifest themselves in the curving lobby that brings you to the 70,000-squarefoot casino, the décor of which echoes the curvilinear forms. They also appear in the swirling staircase leading to Wo’ P’in Spa, a sanctuary of indigenous healing, serenity, health and balance. Featuring mouthwatering meals by newly appointed Executive Chef Klaus Happel and a wine list worthy of Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, Red Sage tops the list of Buffalo Thunder’s six restaurants. A more casual option—as well as a fabulous breakfast buffet and Iggy’s killer margarita—awaits at the Iguana Café. The Wine Buff at Buffalo Thunder offers a wide selection of liquor, beer, cigars and, of course, wine by the bottle or glass. From the golf to the native gallery to the gastronomy to the gaming, Buffalo Thunder specializes in deliciously authentic, luxurious and memorable New Mexico experiences. HILTON SANTA FE BUFFALO THUNDER RESORT AND CASINO 30 Buffalo Thunder Trail, Santa Fe buffalothunderresort.com 877-455-7775
Buffalo Thunder
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