The Tamesis
“It’s a foreign country in America,” Angelisa Espinoza Murray, founder and CEO of Heritage Inspirations, an immersive educational travel company in New Mexico, said of the state. “It’s timeless.”
Taos is that rare ski destination that’s also a cultural experience: The historic town of Taos, 30 minutes downhill from Ski Valley, is a mix of native, Mexican and Spanish influences, home to the more than 1,000-year-old Taos Pueblo and a magnet for Georgia O’Keefe and DH Lawrence. and an artist sanctuary favored by Julia Roberts. left. As Murray said, Taos “gets into your soul.”
Read on to learn where to stay and ski, what to eat, and how to experience Taos culture.
Where to stay
Photo: Courtesy of Blake
Beyond Taos’s wild beauty, ultimate luxury lies in staying at one of its signature hotels, with high-end fireplaces next to the elevators, valet parking to store your skis and warm your boots at night, penthouses that feel like self-contained condos, and two outdoor jacuzzis for soaking in those magical moments.
Black’s name pays homage to Taos’ founder, the late Swiss hedonist Ernie Black, who discovered the steep mountain from the pilot’s seat of his Cessna in the Fifties. The Black family owned Taos for the next five years, creating an intimate ski destination Dirty Dancing Kellerman (an early pet deer owned by the Blakes). In 2014, the Black family, recognizing that Taos needed major updating, sold the resort to Louis Bacon, a hedge fund manager, conservationist and avid Taos skier.
The Blake, born three years later, continues Ernie’s legacy of European hospitality: 24/7 “hausmeisters,” like super concierges, tend to guests’ every need, including stocking the refrigerator with groceries before arrival—a perk that left my family and I dazzled after a long trip—or arranging a private art tour of the hotel’s museum-quality collection, including pieces from O’Keefe artwork and antique Navajo blankets. One from the 1800s hangs in the hall. In the spirit of Taos, The Blake manages to be luxurious without being stuffy, with vintage photos of the Blakes lining the walls.
