Albuquerque Travel Forum

Hi, I will be travelling to Albuquerque later this month with a large party. We were scheduled to stay in the Marriott uptown, however there was a big error on our booking and we found ourselves not booked in & potentially homeless. We have been very lucky now to secure accomodation in the Hilton Garden Inn, Uptown. I understand that this is a brand new hotel, therefore it has been very difficult to find any reviews, pictures ect. on the web. Can anybody please offer a review or photos? Any offering would be appreciated. How does it compare to the Marriott and is it suitable for a party which contains 20 teenagers? Is it central to malls, attractions, ect.
Thanks & regards,

It was a regular Hilton before. It looks like VT itself has five reviews of it. I doubt a whole lot has changed. If you can't find a hotel, it's best to Google its address because it's most likely not new, just that it's changed names.
The hotel isn't in the greatest area, but it seems nice in itself. It's a rather large tower in an area that doesn't get over 3 stories. You won't be able to walk to anything, but most things are a quick drive. Downtown will take you about 10 minutes without traffic and UNM and Nob Hill are right down the street. There is a mall a few miles to the east off I-40 called Coronado Center.
hth

I am confused by Colin's answer. He may be talking about one of the other Hilton Garden Inns in Albuquerque. The uptown area is the population center of Albuquerque (that is why "uptown" exists), is nicer than downtown, and is the location for two large malls (Coronado and Uptown ABQ) and many restaurants. My Lab's business visitors usually stay at one of the many hotels in the uptown area. Since I live here and don't stay in hotels, I cannot compare the two hotels; however, I believe the Hilton Garden Inn Uptown is brand new. Google Earth shows it to be ~0.5 mile from the Coronado Mall and ~0.25 mile from Uptown ABQ (Albuquerque's newer but lesser version of Old Scottsdale). The hotel basically sits on I-40, so it is an easy drive west to the Old Town area or you may head east on Menaul Blvd. and then north on Tramway Blvd. to get to base of the Sandia Peak Tramway. Santa Fe is about an hour's drive on I-40 West, then I-25 North.

Sorry, I'm totally wrong on that. I got confused with the regular Hilton down the road and this place. I guess it is new. And that is a pretty good area to stay in with lots of other hotels around.

Thank you both for your remarks, it's much appreciated.
Best regards.

Uptown is a good area with plenty to do and easy to get around the city from there. Downtown is a ok area near Old Town,Parks and Zoo. I go there on the bus all the time at night and my daughter and her friends from High School go Downtown at night for concerts and dancing. Enjoy the city.

I'm with dmac- there are shopping malls and a lot of hotels in the Uptown area, but not much culture. Hope you are able to get your kids to the zoo, botanical garden and aquarium, Tingley Beach, The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the Natural History Museum, Old Town, Downtown, the University area and the north valley to get a full view of what Albuquerque is all about. Good luck and enjoy your stay in Albuquerque!

I'm with dmac- there are shopping malls and a lot of hotels in the Uptown area, but not much culture. Hope you are able to get your kids to the zoo, botanical garden and aquarium, Tingley Beach, The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the Natural History Museum, Old Town, Downtown, the University area and the north valley to get a full view of what Albuquerque is all about. Good luck and enjoy your stay in Albuquerque!

We have just returned from our stay in Albuquerque and what a stay it was! I would like to congratulate the whole staff of the HGI Uptown on their fantastic hospitality. We were in town to compete in the Sandia Cup (soccer tournament) and stayed there for our duration. We almost took over the hotel and no request was too much, they were always doing that bit extra for us, like complimentary water for games and cookies for our players on return from competition. The hotel is brand new and offers fantastic safe and tidy facilities in a very convenient location. We cannot thank them enough for their efforts, in fact I would suggest that they played their part in us winning the Sandia Cup. They have a remarkable staff to be proud of. I think by now you can guess that I would highly recommend this hotel.

We thoroughly enjoyed the many attractions in Albuquerque and the welcome we received everywhere we went was overwhelming. Thank you for your wonderful hospitality.

Kindest regards,
Terry, Home Farm F.C.