Now you're talking

The International Herald Tribune has an article by Louise Tutelian about Santa Fe:

Santa Fe, New Mexico has an international art scene, year-round celebrities, and hotel rooms that go for up to $450 a night, so "affordable" may not be the first word that comes to mind in describing it. But with some creative choices and a willingness to stray from the plaza of postcard fame, it can be surprisingly easy on a budget. A couple on a three-day weekend can stay at immaculate adobe-style hotels, browse at world-class art galleries, tour historic churches, eat flavorful Southwestern cuisine, hike, ski, and even soak in a private Japanese hot tub, all for under $500.
After New Year's, the holiday crowds are gone and prices drop before their summer ascent, making the cool months a delightful time to visit. Yes, at an elevation of 7,000 feet, Santa Fe gets cold on winter nights, and the average winter high is forty degrees, but it's almost always sunny, and the blue sky overhead intensifies the brightness of the ubiquitous turquoise and terra-cotta palette. Start your visit by getting settled in a quiet place away from Santa Fe Plaza. The Santa Fe Motel & Inn on Cerrillos Road is only about half a mile away, close enough for easy plaza strolling. But with rates beginning at $79 ($99 for an individual casita), it costs a small fraction of what hotels directly on the Plaza charge. The rooms feature Southwestern-style fabrics and tiles. A full complimentary breakfast, including eggs with beans, salsa verde and other toppings, fuels guests for the stroll into town.
If you want a touch of quirkiness, consider the El Rey Inn farther out on Cerrillos Road, a ten-minute drive from the Plaza. The El Rey first opened in 1936 as a twelve-room motor court. It now has 86 rooms decorated with Southwestern-style furniture, textiles and artwork. Amenities include a basket piled with fluffy bath sheets for use in the small outdoor, tiled hot pool and sauna. Rates start at $99, continental breakfast included.
It's worth your while (and easy on your wallet) to start your visit on a Friday evening. That's when Santa Fe's art galleries hold openings, great for soaking up local flavor and chatting with Santa Feans. Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m. are also free at several museums, including the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, on Johnson Street right off the Plaza, which holds over 1,000 of O'Keeffe's works, and the New Mexico Museum of Art on West Palace Avenue, which emphasizes art produced in or related to New Mexico. The museums' stores offer an alternative to Santa Fe's generally costly shopping.
When you've had your fill of art, seek out a green chili cheeseburger, essential to any visit to Santa Fe. At the handsome Blue Corn Café on Water Street, which is also a microbrewery, for $14 you can get a delectable burger with jicama-lime slaw and a lager from an ever-changing list. Fajitas, tamales and other Southwestern choices are also popular.
Come Saturday morning, drive to the Santa Fe Farmers Market in the revitalized Railyard District. More than fifty vendors sell cheese, meat, hothouse-grown produce, juices, jams, and baked goods, as well as crafts, textiles, soaps, and skin care products. Hundreds of shoppers tasted samples as a quintet of string players from the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Orchestra serenaded them one recent Saturday. Pick up a breakfast burrito or assemble a picnic lunch. For less than $15 for two people, you can buy a round of pesto goat cheese, a fresh baguette, a few just-picked organic apples and a pain au chocolat— all of it made or grown in New Mexico.
Back at the plaza, a pilgrimage to the Native American jewelry and crafts vendors is a must. Every day, rain or shine, members of various pueblos and tribes sell handmade goods along the portal of the Palace of the Governors on the plaza's north side. Much of it is quite affordable.
The Gothic Revival Loretto Chapel, two blocks east of the Plaza on Old Santa Fe Trail, is famous for its spiral staircase, with two 360-degree turns and no visible means of support. The Plaza district could keep you entertained as long as you want to stay. But if the weather is accommodating and you want to see some of Santa Fe's natural beauty, get out of town. The Randall Davey Audubon Center at the end of Upper Canyon Road offers two trails, one of them an easy half-mile loop.
On the way back, save time for a stop at Ten Thousand Waves, a Japanese-style mountain spa where guests can reserve time in a private teak hot tub. The Waves, as it's called, offers lodging as well as spa services but the hot baths, at $29 for an hour, are an affordable luxury. With its waterfalls and complimentary teas, the spa has a spare, serene elegance, and at night, astonishing views of the stars (it is open until 10:30 p.m.). You'll need to book ahead.
A suitable ending to your trip is a visit to the San Miguel Mission, a humble adobe church on Old Santa Fe Trail. The mission is best known for its soaring reredos, or altar screen, fashioned of solid pine; its nine painted panels rise two stories behind the altar. Built in the early 1600s, the mission is one of the oldest churches in North America. Admission is $1, but you may be inspired to give more. The mission provides an apt example of how Santa Fe continues to honor its 400-year history in the 21st century.

Rico says he and his then-wife used to go to Santa Fe on vacation, especially Apple's week-long winter vacation between Xmas and New Years'; highly recommended, as the snow there is extremely dry, so it doesn't feel cold and nasty like winter elsewhere... (There's a list of places to stay and eat at the end of the article; click the post title to go there. Rico used to eat at the Blue Corn Cafe, and can recommend it.)