The El Rey Inn on Cerrillos is — and maybe always has been — a true Santa Fe icon. Three-quarters of a century old, it has been a classic edge-of-town “motor court” — with carports attached to the rooms — during the early Automobile Age. Through the ensuing decades, it evolved (and expanded) into a motel proper as the carports were converted into rentable quarters. The room and lobby decor, preserved in photographs, makes an illustrated encyclopedia of the evolution of Southwest Style. By the 1950s, the El Rey had a swimming pool — here in the four-season high desert hardly the de rigueur amenity it would be in Arizona or California, so all the more impressive.
Terrell White, who bought the El Rey in 1973 and thus has owned it for more than half of its long history, has in that time also transformed it into something sophisticated, eclectic and beautiful — still an icon, if you will, but one suited to a sleepy Route 66 town that in the same span of time has achieved a similar transformation (except that the El Rey is more beautiful). The El Rey is now a jewel of lush gardens and distinctive rooms furnished with European antiques freely mixed with vintage Southwest artifacts. And like that other icon of Santa Fe hospitality, La Fonda, El Rey owes its beauty and charm not just to its dedicated owner, but also to its loyal and appreciative staff. In the El Rey’s case, some have worked there longer than White has owned it and all participate in profit-sharing, giving them a proprietary and long-term interest in the place, which shows. Santa Fe salutes El Rey Inn on its diamond jubilee. Driving by its oasis-like facade, fluttering with flags from a dozen states and countries, we always ponder moving away from the City Different, just so we can come back on a visit and stay there.
