Casa Esencia, the event space and night club for the Hotel Albuquerque is a large sprawling former hacienda dating back to1783. Heritage Hotels and Resorts which owns the Hotel Albuquerque, bought the building at the end of 2008 and turned the 8,000 square feet into an inviting maze of cozy nooks, rooms, patios, and a long sophisticated bar. Today the decor is a quirky fusion of art, sofas, chairs and tables of varying heights and sizes.
Although the Hotel Albuquerque hosts weddings in their main building, the elegant wandering spaces (and high tech sound system) of Casa Ensencia is available for weddings and events.
They charge no facility rental fee, only a minimum requirement spent on food and drink based on the number of people attending. Although the costs are not inexpensive, the drink prices are clearly more retail than wholesale, the package comes with the use of Casa Ensencia until midnight. Plus, the resources of the hotel are available for staffing. There’s a champagne or sparking cider toast (with chocolate dipped strawberry) on-site concierge, cake-cutting service. There’s plenty of parking, and they are happy to reserve a block of rooms at a reduced rate for out-of-state guests, and they provide a deluxe room for the bride and groom the night of the wedding and breakfast the next morning.
The Hotel Albuquerque is located at Old Town, making it easy for guests to explore our beloved historic center.
Alcohol is certainly not a problem here. Casa Esencia takes great (and justifiable) pride in their deliciously innovative cocktails with premium ingredients. However, there are no plated dinners. Instead serving stations dot the area - a bit like a buffet, but segmented into separate locations. Seating can be a bit haphazard, at both dining and living room type tables, inside as well as outside.
We decided not to have a standard hotel wedding. If we had, there would be even more choices, especially the new and upscale Parc Central, or the completely renovated and Moorish confection of the Hotel Andaluz. Then, there are the restaurants that offer wedding services.
So, which did we choose?
Was our choice Casa Esencia? Did we go for the garden wedding at Downtown Historic B&B Or, perhaps Casa de Suenos? Did we opt for the romance of Casa Rondena Winery? The Spanish New Mexican heritage of Los Poblanos?
Actually, it turned out the decision was easy. We fell in love with ... Casa Ensencia. In May, 2012, Jim and I will be married in one of their intimate garden patios and party with our guests in the sophisticated coziness of the old hacienda. Everyone can then stagger back smiling and a bit tipsy to their welcoming rooms at the Hotel Albuquerque.
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