Come August, visitors will have another option for staying right in the heart of New Mexico's tourist capital of Santa Fe.
Drury Hotels on Friday announced plans to open the downtown area's first new hotel in nearly 20 years. The company is renovating two buildings just blocks from the historic plaza.
The Drury Plaza Hotel will have 182 rooms and take up 5 acres. It will include retail and gallery space as well as walkways and gardens. Solar panels will provide hot water for the hotel and the pool.
Before renovation and construction began, an excavation and archaeological team explored the site. The team recovered many artifacts and discovered a Spanish roadbed estimated to date to the 1610s.
Drury officials say they tried to preserve as much history as possible.
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