La Fonda Owners Close on Surprise Purchase of Old Santa Fe Inn
Owners of La Fonda on the Plaza closed on the purchase of Old Santa Fe Inn for an undisclosed price Monday.
The sale includes the former Albuquerque Journal North bureau office the newspaper recently vacated. That space will be converted into five new rooms for the 58-room hotel that the local Barker real estate family created in 2003.
The selling of Old Santa Fe Inn at 201 Montezuma Ave. includes 18 Barker family members in two generations, including brothers John Barker, who heads Barker Management; David Barker, who heads Barker Realty; and Suzanne Barker, who managed the hotel and handles the family’s real estate investments across New Mexico.
“Our core business model is real estate investment,” Suzanne Barker said. “The hotel doesn’t fit with our investment business. Every so many years we gather the owners together about our plans. At the last meeting, the members said, ‘We want to focus on real estate investment.’ ”
The hotel was sold off-market with a broker approaching the La Fonda ownership, principally Cienda Partners and Bentley Legacy Holdings, said Rik Blyth, vice president and general manager at La Fonda.
“Old Santa Fe Inn and La Fonda on the Plaza embrace a similar culture and operating philosophy that will complement each other very well,” Blyth said.
La Fonda had quietly shopped around for another downtown hotel for a couple years and had dealt with four properties, but all needed either millions in renovations, a new roof or had other issues. Old Santa Fe Inn was well maintained, Blyth said.
Old Santa Fe Inn will play a perfect role for weddings and other groups that book at La Fonda, he said.
“It gives us a little more options and versatility,” Blyth said. “We sometimes don’t have room for whole groups. Or there are guests in a wedding group that don’t want to pay higher rates and stay somewhere else. Not every city, town and county [attending conferences] is in the same financial situation. The Old Santa Fe Inn is just a really good fit.”
Blyth said he will keep the Old Santa Fe Inn name but will probably add a peak rate structure for the high demand months similar to La Fonda. The purchase comes just as La Fonda celebrates its 100th anniversary.
The Barker family acquired the property in 1991 when it was an office complex and converted it into a hotel in 2003.
Cienda Partners and Bentley Legacy Holdings own other hotels in Sedona, Ariz., Dallas and Florida.
“They were not just willing to take it,” Barker said. “They were all excited about acquiring it.”
