Santa Claran Hotel Casino

Hotels
Independent
8 (40 reviews)
464 N Riverside Dr, Espanola, New Mexico, 87532 , Espanola , US

Pets allowed

Facilities

Sportsbook
Express check-out
Fireplace in lobby
Clubhouse
Free WiFi
Swimming pool
24-hour front desk
Terrace
Express check-in/check-out
Casino
See all facilities

Review Highlights

Cons:
Limited parking
Expensive breakfast
No spa services

Categories

Cleanliness
2.3
Guests expressed concerns about cleanliness, mentioning the high number of people staying and the presence of individuals near the shared facilities.
Service
3
Guests were dissatisfied with the service, particularly regarding the crowded casino space and the lack of payouts on slot machines.
Location
4
The location was not favored due to ongoing renovations at the casino and the negative experience with the facilities.
Room Quality
5
Room quality received average feedback, with no specific positive or negative mentions.
Amenities
5
No specific feedback was provided about amenities in the reviews.
Value for Money
5
No specific feedback was provided about the value for money in the reviews.
Food and Beverage
5
No specific feedback was provided about food and beverage services in the reviews.
Overall Experience
5
Guests expressed strong reservations about returning to the hotel due to the current state of the casino.
* This sentiment is summarized by AI based on user reviews.
Updated at: 2025-08-04 22:14

Property Description

Exciting Casino and Recreational Options
Indulge your competitive spirit at the casino or explore other recreational activities like the sportsbook.

Dining and Entertainment
Savor delicious meals at The Grill or grab a quick bite at the hotel's coffee shop. Unwind with a drink at the bar/lounge after a day of excitement.

Convenient Amenities and Comfortable Accommodations
Benefit from amenities like complimentary Wi-Fi, a computer station, and free self-parking. Relax in one of the 124 air-conditioned rooms with LED TVs and comfortable bedding.

Plan your stay at Santa Claran Hotel Casino for a memorable experience!

Important information:

  • Only registered guests are allowed in the guestrooms.
  • This property allows pets in specific rooms only (surcharges apply and can be found in the Fees section). Guests can request one of these rooms by contacting the property directly, using the contact information on the booking confirmation.

Check-in and check-out hours:
Check-out: 10:00 AM

Property Policies

  • Pets

    Maximum number of pets per room 2

  • Pets

    Service animals are exempt from fees/restrictions

  • Pets

    Pets allowed

  • General

    Social distancing measures are in place

  • General

    Professional property host/manager

See all policies

Location

Guest Reviews

8
Based on 40 reviews
Cleanliness: 2.3
Service: 3
Location: 4
Room Quality: 5
Amenities: 5
Value for Money: 5
Food and Beverage: 5
Overall Experience: 5
M
maraV5607IF Friends getaway
2
No thank you - even with the free night stays
Pros:

Don't stay here! Because this place offers free night stays through the Casino's players card, and I can only imagine how many people stay here! This cannot not be that sanitary with that many people staying here! I also noticed what look like homeless coming to the coke/coffee machines.

Casino is going through renovations and the slot machines are so close together its hard to walk through the casino floor. Slot machines do not pay, free spins are far and few and in between and when you do get them, they pay nothing! Guess were paying for the renovations!

Not coming to this casino until they have completed the renovations!. Only because I am curious as to what its going to look like! Maybe then the slots will pay!

2025-04-25 via Tripadvisor
A
Annomynous47025 Business us
2
Stay away from this dump
Pros:

This place has always given us issues, this was the last straw for us. With zero warning the hotel shut off power to several floors early in the morning.

I couldn't shower, get ready for work, and when I went to find out what happened the one staff member blamed the day crew, never apologized or emphathized, didn't offer any solutions, and then threatened to remove me from the hotel for veing upset at the situation and he had to deal with it. Place always has an issue, this was just blatant stupidity on the part of the hotel. Who

2024-02-07 via Tripadvisor
T
Tour10235687165 Solo travel
10
Great Customer Service
Pros:

I had issues with my water heater and decided to stay at this hotel for the night. It was busy but Paul Martinez was super helpful and was able to get me into a very clean nice room. Mr. Martinez was very accommodating and very nice. I will continue to stay here due to the Customer Service and Cleanliness. Thank you Paul.

2023-08-30 via Tripadvisor
A
ABP1943 Family us
8
Pleasantly Surprised
Pros:

We were pleasantly surprised by our accommodation. The price was very reasonable, the resort was well run, and the room was very clean. Our only complaint was that there was no coffee maker in the room and you couldn't go downstairs to get coffee until 8 am. We played golf at Black Mesa, a resort course, and it was beautiful but perhaps the hardest course we have ever played.

2023-06-10 via Tripadvisor
Z
zengolfer8 Couples us
2
Never again.
Pros:

Really disappointing and frustrating experience. Would not recommend. No simple amenities like coffee in the room, no complimentary breakfast , water etc. Rooms were 75 degrees and blazing hot . Maintenance called and they would have to get in the ceiling and try to fix . Tiny room refrigerators did not cool. Light in one of the 2 rooms did not work with light switch. Oh, we could go to casino to get coffee the night before and heat it up the next morning in our tiny room microwave. Frustrating to say the least, A couple nice staff but otherwise we recommend you try somewhere else.

2023-05-20 via Tripadvisor
Y
Y8503EKyvonnem Couples us
10
Mini Vacay
Pros:

I really must say that I do like everything about the hotel and casino Espanola Santa Clarita. the employees well trained in the good old fashion sense of guests are number one priority.. The top-of-the-line mattresses to the top-of-the-line linens. Perfect pillows , love the bathroom, I must say high quality everything. Especially the employees treat the guests every single time like kings and queens !
(and they don’t come bugging you in the morning ! that is so annoying. ) I want to thank everyone that sent Karen for truly feeling Brand New woman after my mini Vacay.

2022-12-27 via Tripadvisor
W
williambS4516SU Couples us
10
Roadtrip 2022-Phase 1
Pros:

We had a fantastic stay at this hotel. We found it to be
super clean, comfortable, and quiet. The staff was
friendly and accommodating. Check-in and check-out were both a breeze. Marcella and Paul both had a number of excellent suggestions for dining and things to do in the area. Thanks, again, for a great visit.

2022-09-10 via Tripadvisor
O
Okiedevildog Couples us
8
Pleasant stay clean
Pros:

The hotel is 5 star, rooms are spacious and nice and we had a wonderful view of the west mountains with a small balcony. The bathroom is quite spacious and not cramped. Hotel staff is super friendly and engaging. The hotel has a nice large pool, hot tub and workout center. Overall a pleasant stay.
The casino floor is clean but it’s relatively small compared to our casinos in Oklahoma. The complimentary drink center is nice and clean, also has bar area and sports bar with good and snack shop within the casino gaming area.

2022-08-01 via Tripadvisor
S
shelbek NONE us
6
One reason only 4-stars....no coffee
Pros:

And really, I wish I could do 3.5 because it was good...better than average...but not very good.

At first sight, it's a beautiful hotel. It's very clean so no issues there. The rooms are big but strangely dark, especially the bathrooms. Putting on make-up was challenging and I hope I wasn't walking around looking like Bozo the Clown. The staff was nice, but not overly helpful. I was stuck at the door with hands full of take-out coffee struggling to manage the hot containers, swiping my room key, and opening the door. No one came to help until I hit the button. Note: the door was locked and it was about 7:30 am well after the posted "doors lock between 10 pm and 6 am" sign. When the employee opened the door, I commented that my room key did not open the doors, she shrugged her shoulders and said, "oh, sorry". So yeah...that did not sit well with me.
However, the biggest issue is that THERE IS NO COFFEE until 8 am when the casino opens. Nope. Nothing. No independent coffee bar charging $4 for coffee, nothing. There are no coffee makers in the rooms. Santa Claran missed the mark on this one. When you are coming from the mid-west and east coast (our fellow travelers) 8 am is really 9 am and 10 am respectively. We had to leave the hotel to get coffee and/or breakfast. It irritated me so much that we only had one meal at the hotel the night we got there (which was pretty good btw). Santa Claran....you don't want your guests to leave and go patronize somewhere else because you aren't providing a simple service like making coffee and tea available! For you non-coffee drinkers, this may seem like no big deal, but for coffee drinkers, it became a huge issue as well as a huge topic of conversation. We were there for a wedding. When the venue owners told me they were also opening a hotel for wedding guests to stay in, I specifically told them to have coffee available. The look on their faces when I told them we did not and were forced to go spend our money elsewhere was priceless.

That's it. No coffee and bad lighting will get you only 3 stars.

2022-04-27 via Tripadvisor
W
Walter family
8
Pros:

Stayed one night, in town for personal business. Room was nice, bed a little hard. Air conditioning quiet, same for hallways. No noise problems from adjoining rooms either. Dining choices are all in casino, food was good, but there was a lot of noise from the action on casino floor. Would have preferred one restaurant located somewhere else on property. Overall perceptions were good, have been back to this property several times and would do so again.

2022-04-22 via Nuitee
B
Bertha Isabelle
4
Pros:

Deli staff rude and can use customer relation training. Notified manager who said he would talk to employee. Room was clean. Take your own food and drinks. The snack bar/ deli is expensive and out of everything.

2022-03-20 via Nuitee
M
Michelle
10
March stay
Pros:

It was a nice stay. Room was clean and neat. I was only there for a short overnight stay for work.

2022-03-08 via Nuitee
C
Cornelia
4
Pros:

The decor and Santa Clara art was amazing. Check in was good. I realize and understand about Covid restrictions. But not having coffee available in the morning is not really acceptable. I was told I could get coffee in the casino but it wasn’t open even by 8 am. Also the walls are paper thin at least in my room. I could clearly hear everything that was said. For temperature controls I was not able to change the settings so it was uncomfortable. There was no room service even if there was a “Five Star@ restaurant in the casino. Staff could use some training on ways to phrase responses so it sounds like better customer service. I am a tribal member from Oklahoma.This is the first tribally owned hotel that I have not had a good experience. For these reasons, it’s unlikely I’ll stay again.

2022-03-03 via Nuitee
V
Verified traveler
10
Pros:

Everything is great!

2022-02-02 via Nuitee
S
Steve
10
Pros:

The room was clean and nice the only complaint I would say I had is I like for my room to be o the cooler side, I turned the cooling on but I couldn't get my room below 72 degrees so I had to sleep with the window open to help.

2022-01-27 via Nuitee
A
April
8
Pros:

Very clean

2022-01-22 via Nuitee
M
Michael. family
2
Pros:

Unsafe

2022-01-20 via Nuitee
V
Verified traveler
6
Pros:

Upon check into the rooms (2) both rooms were not cleaned. Took half hour to get new rooms. Clerks were helpful.

2022-01-20 via Nuitee
N
Nick partner
2
Pros:

CHeck in desk staff unknowledgable

2022-01-17 via Nuitee
L
Larryssa family
8
Pros:

.

2022-01-01 via Nuitee