In Santa Fe, the Eldorado Hotel & Spa is slated to get some notable updates, including a wedding chapel; a new 7,000 square foot, indoor ballroom; and new lobby bar. We hear the project will also include a refreshed room design and new artwork in the hotel's 219 guest rooms and suites.
The hotel's new wedding chapel will have a 13-foot, hand-carved altar that will be gilded in gold leaf with Spanish colonial design influences. Additionally, upon entering the lobby of the Eldorado, a rustic, Spanish ox cart and a simple, sabino wood bench signifying the arrival of the Spanish, will be contrasted with two six foot, gilded gold floor candelabras.
New Grand Ballroom
Currently offering a total of 22,000 square feet of meeting and event space, the Eldorado's existing outdoor Pavilion will be transformed into a fully enclosed 7,000-square-foot ballroom with 18-foot ceilings. The new Eldorado Grand Ballroom, named after the historical legend, will be adorned in regionally influenced shades of desert browns and greys with elements of gold, and will be divisible into two separate meeting rooms by sound proof air walls. The Eldorado Grand Ballroom will also feature beamed and coffered ceilings, large, multi-paned doors, traditional wainscoting and custom lighting fixtures. The room will also get a new LED lighting system in the ceiling to create a variety of atmospheres. The Eldorado Grand Ballroom will be able to host 900 guests reception-style and 550 banquet-style.
New Wedding Chapel
Offering a simplistic, modern design with white porcelain flooring, the Eldorado's new wedding chapel will have a 13-foot hand-carved and gilded altar, white Kartell chairs and hand carved Peruvian wooden pews to seat 150 people. Cool touch: The exclusive altar will be created by Augustin Parra, a master carver from Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico, who was selected as the artist to create the papal chair and other pieces for Pope John Paul II's visit to Mexico in 1999. Asymmetrical windows on the right side of the chapel will bring in natural lighting, and recessed candelabra shapes carved out of the wall will allow for tailored LED lighting.
Guests will enter the new chapel through a vestibule (again, with Augustin Parra gilded chairs) that also connects to a private bridal suite. The suite will use light finishes contrasted with warm gold tones and Peruvian styled, custom vanities. The bride will have her own vanity with a gilded Spanish Colonial style mirror, and bridesmaids will get separate vanities with beveled mirrors, a three-sided, full length mirror and private seating area.
The hotel also offers the city's only 2,200 square foot rooftop Presidential Patio for couples to tie the knot with panoramic views of the city and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains as a backdrop.
Heritage Hotels & Resorts, the largest, independently owned hotel chain in New Mexico, acquired the historic Eldorado Hotel in May 2014, making it the eighth hotel in the company's portfolio of New Mexico properties and their fourth hotel in Santa Fe.
The renovation plan is currently underway and slated for completion in the spring of 2015.