Los Poblanos is a blissful weekend escape on the outskirts of Albuquerque. Just ignore the peacocks

If you’re a light sleeper, avail yourself of the earplugs on your bedside table at Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm [4803 Rio Grande Blvd. N.W., Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, N.M.; (505) 344-9297]. They’re to keep you from waking up to the cries of the peacocks that patrol the chef’s garden, snacking on insects. My husband, Paul, and I heard the peacocks only once during our October weekend at this charming 22-room inn on the outskirts of Albuquerque. In fact, Los Poblanos is blissfully serene. It is ideal for guests who enjoy taking bucolic walks, riding bikes on the nearby 16-mile-long trail along the Rio Grande and dining on fresh field-to-fork cuisine.

The tab: $560 for two nights with breakfast (including taxes and fees), $225 for meals and pueblo tour plus taxes, car rental and airfare.

The bed

Los Poblanos is set on 25 acres of what was once a sprawling land grant dating to 1716. The buildings were designed as a home in 1932 by architect John Gaw Meem, called “the father of Santa Fe Style.� Our guest room featured a king-sized four-poster bed, antique Southwestern furnishings and a kiva-style fireplace. The inn is adding 28 guest rooms and restoring the historic dairy barn to house a new restaurant, bar, bakery and retail shop.

The meal

The inn’s friendly staff takes pride in serving cuisine made with fresh organic ingredients sourced from Los Poblanos’ fields and neighboring farms — not only eggs, honey and produce, but also succulent pork. Our meals were delectable, but if I had to choose a favorite dish it would be the creamy blue-corn breakfast polenta with pecorino cheese, ham and two poached eggs.

The find

When I booked our room, I signed up for the recommended Acoma Pueblo tour. One morning we drove an hour west to a secluded valley where Sky City, the ancient pueblo of the Acoma people, sits atop a 370-foot-tall mesa. A guide led us through the tiny village of adobe structures as he related the turbulent history of the Acoma, who trace their ancestry to 1100. I found the experience eye-opening and unexpectedly spiritual.

The lesson learned

When you think of lavender, you think of France’s Provence, right? Who knew this sweet-smelling crop flourishes in New Mexico? We visited too late in the year to see the purple haze of Los Poblanos’ lavender fields in bloom; the crop is at its zenith in June and July. Nonetheless, we savored a lavender extravaganza throughout our stay: the inn’s house-made lavender soaps, hair products and lotions in our bathroom, and the lavender-scented breakfast scones, Champagne cocktails and cheesecake in the restaurant.

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