I didn't want to post more pics and information on the older Santa Fe thread, but did want to answer Ida's questions and add some other pics. We spent a great weekend at the Lodge at Cloudcroft a couple of weeks ago and had a fantastic time here. It was built in 1899 and is beautiful, historic and very romantic inside and out. I would absolutely recommend it. BTW, Cloudcroft is 8,663 feet above sea level.

The rooms are being slowly renovated (for the umpteenth time), I was told. This was our just renovated room there. It was on the small side, but very comfortable.

It is a beautiful but long (about 5 1/2 hour) drive from the Albuquerque Sunport, just to give you a time frame. Much of the drive looks like this. Good interstate much of the way:

The golf course is drop-dead gorgeous. It's 18 holes, but actually 9 that you play from different pins on 10-18. You definitely need a cart here, as the elevation changes are very significant, and breathtaking! This is one side of the pro shop and the first tee. The hole is waaaaay down there!

Here's another hole on the course to give you a better idea:

I would deinitely recommend their restaurant, Rebecca's over any others. We had wonderful meals there:

The town is nice and kind of picturesque. It seemed very popular with the tourists. We didn't spend anytime there, though. Just drove around a bit looking:

We were down there for some relaxation, golf and then the Charley Pride concert, which was actually about 45 minutes away at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort, just outside Ruidoso. That resort is owned by the Mescalero Apache tribe. We've stayed there in the past several times. It's beautiful, huge, has a very nice golf course, huge casino, restaurants, cafes, shops, pools, zipline, and concert venue. We're not into gambling, but we did have a very nice dinner before the concert at Wendell's there:

We're huge Charley Pride fans and had back stage passes before the concert. What a wonderful, talented, gracious man! Photo of us chatting with him, blurred for privacy:

And, on the drive back though a looong wooded, mountainous road at 11PM after the concert, we passed 8 mature elk, 2 deer and two bobcats. All within 3-15 feet from the road, forcing us to drive a lot slower back to Cloudcroft, but the view of the wildlife was worth it!

So, would I suggest a visit to either place? Absolutely! The Lodge at Cloudcroft is more historic, romantic and beautiful, but not a whole lot there to entertain kids after a day or two. It does have a smallish, outside pool. The Inn of the Mountain Gods (isn't that a great name?) is huge, beautiful, more contemporary with much more to do there. It's also quite busy. As for restaurants, the only two I can recommend are Rebecca's at The Lodge for breakfast, lunch or dinner. BTW, they have a fabulous Egg Casserole with mild (gringo) green chiles for breakfast! And Wendell's Steak & Seafood Restaurant at the Inn of the Mountain Gods, as those were the only two that we ate at.