Hotel Review: The Stables At Tamaya, Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort

This is a tale of three canyons.  Chances are you haven’t heard of at least one and maybe two.

Here’s what I plan to cover in this trip report, mostly in order:

• Planning The Trip
• Hyatt Pinon Pointe
• Where To Go For Dinner In Sedona
• Grand Canyon Railway
• A Brief Stop At The Grand Canyon, How To Spend 5 Hours
• Slip Sliding At Slide Rock!
• Everyone Should Visit Antelope Canyon At Least Once!
• Glen Canyon Dam
• Quick Stop At Four Corners
• Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort And Spa, Guest Rooms And Dining
• Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort And Spa, Pools And Recreation
• Bear Canyon Ranch

If you missed the earlier parts of the review, Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa is a wonderful resort located just north of Albuquerque, NM.  We loved the guest rooms and dining.  The pools and recreation facilities were great.  But, the horses were what made this memorable. Beyond a doubt.t

This will be my favorite part of the Hyatt Regency Tamaya review.  And, I never saw it coming.  Our son has shown a keen interest in horses as he’s gotten order.  My wife saw that there were horse riding activities at the resort.  She definitely wanted to make sure we set aside time for Charlie to participate.

We scheduled a short lead-around for him.  His age meant he couldn’t do a full-blown lesson or ride, but that really worked to our advantage.  One of the stable employees picked us up in a bus early in the morning.  It was a 5 to 10-minute ride down a dirt road to the stables.  We were secluded even further without the resort in view.  The setting was perfect for our excursion.  It quickly became apparent that Charlie hopping on a horse, while fantastic, would be the least meaningful part of our morning.

Our guide introduced Charlie to the horse he would be riding.  Then, she started telling us more about the stables.  With the exception of a few of the horses, all had been rescued by the owner of the stables.  Most of the horses had been neglected or abused by owners.  You could see visible scars on some.  The Stables at Tamaya (aka Tamaya Horse Rehab) had taken each of them in and nursed them back to health.  During our visit there were over 60 horses in their care.

Our guide knew the names and mannerisms of each horse.  It was very clear she had an amazing connection with these beautiful animals.  She lead Charlie around for much longer than we anticipated.  Afterwards, she spent time introducing us to many of the horses and allowing the kids plenty of time to interact with them.

The stables are home to a handful of other animals as well, which the kids enjoyed getting to meet.

While we spent much more time at the stables than expected, we were sad when it was time to go.  The people at the stables were knowledgable and great caretakers for the animals.  The work they’re doing saving horses is noble.  Thankfully, we weren’t quite done spending time with them.

Rodeo, Anyone?

As you can imagine, I didn’t attend a lot of rodeos growing up in New York.  Up until our stay at Hyatt Regency Tamaya, the number of rodeos attended was firmly stuck at zero.  One of the activities you can partake in is a weekly rodeo.  We had timed our stay to be part of the evening rodeo before heading on to our next stop.  There’s a nominal fee to participate with the proceeds going to help the stables rescue and care for the horses.

We loaded up near the Corn Maiden restaurant on to wagons for the short ride back to the stables.  There were a few dozen guests total.  Once there, we were greeted by some light snacks and drinks as well as a bar.  We got to hang out in the shade while employees, helpers and friends of the stables took turns roping cattle and performing barrel races.  For a city boy, it was all new to me, but about what I’d expect.  The kids were having a great time watching.

Once all the contests were done, they involved the kids.  The kids each got a chance to run the barrels with a wooden horse.  Then, the handlers all loaded the kids on different ponies and horses for another lead-around.  Our kids were in heaven!

We wrapped up with a perch on the wooden wagon before heading back to the hotel.  Along the way, we bought some t-shirts and hats to support the effort the stables are undertaking.  The kids want to adopt one of the horses as well (you can, too through their virtual adoption process).

The Final Two Pennies

I really feel like I didn’t do this part of our trip the right amount of justice.  The people were so kind and considerate to us.  You could also see the level of care they took with the animals.  They genuinely love those animals. We expected to find a relaxing luxury retreat at Hyatt Regency Tamaya.  We did find that.  Along the way, we also discovered an unexpected experience.

We try to tell our kids that life should be more about experiences than possessions or “things”.  A few hours at the stables helped reinforce that message.  We’ll be back to check on those horses.

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