A charming southwestern ambiance graces the Hilton Albuquerque. From saltillo tiles in the bright and airy hacienda-style lobby to southwestern-decorated bifold closet doors in the rooms bedecked in joyful New Mexico earth colors, the theme pervades without hitting the cheesy mark. Kachinas (Native American spirit dancer dolls) behind glass lend good vibes and beautiful viewing to many spaces. Other Native American arts are equally as enticing as time-wasters. The lobby sports a comforting adobe-style fire corner with comfy seating in blanket-print sofas and chairs nearby.

Common area rugs and carpets are in beautiful earth, plant and sky shades in a modified Kurdish pattern. They're thick and lush and contrast well with the light earth neutrals on the walls. The murals gracing the convention and restaurant halls depict common southwestern American scenes of the past such as load-bearing burros and pueblos in the sun and are charming ways to add a little extra color.

Check-in progressed efficiently and with fine manners. Even the elevators were impressive with thick wood paneling carved with the New Mexico sun symbol and nice tiles. However, the hallway where my room was located was a bit dismaying. The hotel is under renovation to bring it all to a harmonious level of southwestern loveliness, but there's a ways to go. The walls were a typical southwestern yellow, but undecorated and subjected to cut-outs every few feet for utility access. The cutouts were in place but the unfinished edges were not up to par with what I'd expect at a Hilton. Each door is decorated with a cute cutout of Acoma pottery, but it was borderline cheesy. I found the battleship grey elevator doors equally disappealing.

The room I had was roomy, with a decent entry area and an enclosed closet. The cheap plastic wall plates for the lights didn't fit the fine woods and nice bedding at all. I'm hoping they'll do something more to theme with those, or at least more decorative. The room was partially redone: a mottled beige neutrals wall covering (old), soft russet and beige swirl draperies (new), crisp white sateen-stripe linens under gold, russet and turquoise colored bedding (new) and a faintly leaf-patterened berber-like beige carpet (old). The carpet looked very clean in the main areas, but the area around the arm chair was downright grungy.

The beds, two queens, were both equipped with four marvelous pillows. They're the new stock in the Hilton line, so were supremely comfortable. The bedding was very nice, with a loft blanket between two sheets and then a weighty coverlet if needed. Traveling alone, I sprawled out, snuggled up with the pillows and slept absolutely marvelously. There wasn't a noise problem from other rooms or the nearby interstate exchange.

Absolutely pleasing to me was the presence of a narrow balcony with a sliding door. I love to be able to infuse a hotel room with fresh air. Mine overlooked the outdoor pool and patio, which were largely unused, so quiet. They could do more with the landscape, but it's understood that the climate here is a challenge.

The bathroom was a bit cramped, but nicely done in marble and limestone with Kohler fixtures. The very narrow tub seemed even more so with only a straight shower curtain bar. Curved ones are definitely needed here. Bath linens were unremarkable: simple white shower curtains, spotlessly clean and equally bright towels in a mix of fluffy and rough. The counter was a nice salt and pepper granite-look corian, elegant and splotch-hiding. One thing that could be paid better attention is the bath mat, which was worn looking. However, cleanliness is the primary concern and that was well met.

This hotel also offers a nice indoor fitness space in a separate building halfway across the property. In here is housed a decent little fitness room (there is also one in the main building), a good-sized pool, a tiled hot bubble tub and a dry sauna. All were nice and clean, providing a relaxing way to end the day.

You'll need the bubble tub if you don't rent a car. The hotel doesn't have a shuttle service and as is common in the outer limits of western cities, roads are wide and buildings are well set back. So, the few restaurants in conceivable walking distance are still good little walks and the convenience store, where the nearest ATM lives to my great consternation, is a 15-minute adventure across a very busy intersection. To me, for a Hilton to not have a shuttle service from the airport and around to the major attraction areas is incomprehensible. They do have an Avis rent a car center in the building, and taxis appear to be quick to respond. However, I would like to be able to catch a shuttle or have easy bus access to local attractions when I haven't rented or driven a car.

Dining at this hotel is a very good prospect. The Cafe Chaco offers a menu of southwestern fusion at moderate-to-high pricing. It's easy to spend $50 a person with wine and dessert at the low end of the menu. However, the dishes are creative, well prepared and well-presented tasties of good quality. I had the steak and gorgonzola salad one evening as dinner and it was certainly sufficient, but they really should bring out bread with it, especially if wine is served. Another evening I opted for the most unusual corn risotto, a creamy dreamy concoction of arborio rice, golden peppers, golden corn and spicy andouille sausage topped with Reggiano parmesan. It lacked color, but made up for it in flavor. The meal came with a soup or salad and was supposed to have bread, but I never saw it, not that I needed it. For soup I tried the green chili stew, which is green chili with potatoes. The flavor was good, except a little heavy on the black pepper. Dessert was a chocolate marble cheesecake chimichanga (a chimichanga is yummies wrapped in a flour tortilla and deep fried). It was cold in the middle and only lukewarm on the outside. I suspect it was either pre-prepped and microwaved or a convenience item microwaved. I expected better.

The Ranchers' Club is touted as the finest steakhouse in Albuquerque. I wouldn't know - the prices were prohibitive, so I didn't do any more than peek in at the delightful wood-leather-brass western ambiance.

The reason for my visit was a conference at the hotel. It was pretty well done, although the first morning continental breakfast was downright poor: bagels, cream cheese cups, tasteless fruit, bottled juice, coffee and plain yogurt topped with dry oats and a smatter of berries in tiny glasses. It improved on day two with the addition of some decent pastries. UPDATE: on day three, they upped the offering with strawberries included in the fruit plate. They and the pineapple from day one were ripe and delectable, the rest was blandly underripe. Day three break-time saw an insufficient supply of soda for the break and no more coffee.

Water service was hit and miss. Day one, pitchers were refilled during breaks, but on day two we ran dry in the morning. There was at least one additional conference in the house, so they may have oversold themselves.

The conference rooms were reasonably sound-insulated. We had an incident of roofing noise and staff in the service hallway. Both were corrected, though, so no complaints.

UPDATE: Check out was accurate and extremely efficient, requiring only a phone call if no additions or corrections were needed. Unfortunately, the conference ended at noon and my flight was at 5 p.m., so I had lots of hanging around to do. The only hospitality offered was from Ken the Bellman, who brought me a copy of the local paper. Even the water urn I'd noticed the day prior wasn't set out, so it was either slurp from the fountain or buy a beverage. They did permit free-roaming access of the patio. This wouldn't be a deal-breaker for returning, though, but certainly drives home the need to plan better.