Love Thy Neighbor: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Why we are lucky share a border with New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Made famous as the setting for television’s Breaking Bad, New Mexico’s largest city revolves around much more than visiting the real-life location of the fictional Los Pollos Hermanos—or sipping a real-life Breaking Blue cocktail at O’Niell’s Irish Pub or inhaling a blue rockcandy sprinkled Rebel Donut.

The show spawned a rise in tourism, but New Mexico’s most populous and ethnically diverse city bustles with beauty, energy, authenticity— and celebrities. It’s become a moviemaking mecca, thanks to incentives, studios and locations.

Popular also for the International Balloon Fiesta, Sandia Peak Tramway and the inimitable salsas of El Pinto, Albuquerque enjoys a strong golf pedigree. It produced PGA Tour player Notah Begay, and Phil Mickelson captured the 1992 NCAA title at the University of New Mexico’s Championship Golf Course. Paa- Ko Ridge rates 5 stars from Golf Digest, and the Twin Warriors and Santa Ana clubs hosted the 2009 PGA Professional National Championship.

Pictured Above: Paa-ko Ridge

For the Duke City’s foremost golf resort, however, head to the Sandia Resort & Casino. Owned and operated by the Sandia Pueblo—one of New Mexico’s 19 Native Sovereign Nations—the spectacular Southwestern haven showcases views of the sacred Sandia Mountains or the city’s skyline from all 228 of its lavishly decorated rooms and suites. The mountain views also take in the picturesque Scott Miller layout, which stretches 7,755 yards from the tips, making it the state’s longest course. But distances from the “Club” and “Resort” tees (6,841 and 6,402 yards, respectively) bring the game closer. Friendly, expansive fairways make tee shots less of a concern than approaches, where 48 strategically placed bunkers and challenging green complexes come into play. Impeccable conditioning and a solicitous staff complete the Sandia golf experience.

People also come to experience Sandia’s plush, 140,000-square-foot casino, which features everything from slots, craps and blackjack to pai-gow poker. The Resort’s Ba Shie Sports Bar and Tlur Pa Lounge regularly welcome live entertainment, as does Sandia’s 4,000-seat outdoor Amphitheater, where this summer you can catch Reba McIntyre, James Taylor, Boston and Cheap Trick. Other outdoor pleasures await at the resort pool and nine stories above it at the newly expanded rooftop lounge. The perfect spot to savor the watermelon-colored Sandias at sunset, the lounge serves up such delectable as Wings with Watermelon BBQ sauce and Currasco skirt steak with chimichurri. The wine list offers 20 different bottles for $20.

The lounge spills from Sandia’s signature restaurant, Bien Shur. Award-winning chef Marc Quinones’ sous-vide preparations of Kurobuta pork chop and elk tenderloin highlight a varied, indigenously inspired menu. Bien Shur closes Sundays and Mondays, but you’ll find Sandia’s less upscale dining options (Council Room Restaurant, Thur Shan Buffet) no less delectable.

Also delectable are the treatments at Sandia’s Green Reed Spa. Occupying 12,000 square feet of tranquility, this full-service oasis pampers and rejuvenates with myriad types of massages, scrubs, wraps, facials, waxing, nail and scalp treatments, and manscaping. Guests can de-stress in the men’s and women’s steam rooms, saunas and exhilarating cold and hot plunges.

About the only thing Sandia doesn’t offer is a Breaking Bad connection. But all those fans need to stay and play somewhere.

Sandia Resort & Casino, 30 Rainbow NE, Albuquerque;
800-526-9366; sandiacasino.com

Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via www.coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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