City: Albuquerque, NM

Category: Accommodations

Telephone: (505) 924-2400, (877) 878-4868

Address: 717 Central Avenue NW

Description: This good-value, friendly hotel on Downtown’s Route 66 has 140 king and double-queen rooms, each with 40-inch HDTV, Tempur-Pedic beds, and a microwave and fridge. Five suites with a separate living room and bedroom also have a kitchen area with a stove top, microwave, and fridge. Guests enjoy a complimentary continental breakfast that includes fresh fruit, waffles, cereals, and muffins. Coffee, tea, and juice are available at the breakfast bar round the clock. Hotel Blue has six floors, with external corridor entry to rooms, and there’s a pleasant courtyard with seating and a seasonal outdoor pool. Free Wi-Fi is available in the lobby, and hardwired high-speed Internet connection in the guest rooms (the front desk will loan you a wire if needed). This is not a hotel for design mavens, but accommodations are spotlessly clean, and the price for the location is hard to beat, with the bars and restaurants of Downtown’s Central Avenue on your doorstep in one direction (six blocks from Albuquerque Convention Center), and Old Town about a mile away in the other. Parking is free in the secured parking area, with 90 spaces available on a first-come, first-served basis, and a shuttle between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. takes you to the airport, convention center, and Old Town. Same-day laundry service is available. There are five smoking rooms on request. Pets are permitted at a fee of $15 per night.