The Sage Hotel — Hotel in Santa Fe

Well, I will just share my letter to the management, and to the corporate owners---so disappointed by no response. The rooms are a dilapidated--big problem and I tried to be helpful and sincere with my letter. But, seems they don't care about their customers or their business--so sad.

To: Sage Management and Ownership From: Kurt Neugebauer Re: Recent Stay – June 27–28, Room 130

Dear Sage Team, My partner and I recently stayed at The Sage for two nights (June 27 and 28), under my name, Kurt Neugebauer. I was in Santa Fe for business and chose your property based on the boutique aesthetic represented on your website and the convenient location near my meetings.

While we enjoyed some aspects of the stay—particularly the patio atmosphere with drinks and live music—I’m writing to share several concerns that significantly detracted from the overall experience.

Concerns with the “Xperience Xclusive” Fee Upon reviewing my final invoice, I was surprised by the daily “Xperience Xclusive” fee. Most of the services listed—Wi-Fi, lobby coffee/tea, fitness center, business center, basic parking, and continental breakfast—are typically included in the base rate at boutique and even mid-range hotels. While the shuttle service is a nice offering, it would make more sense as an optional, paid service.

Frankly, this fee comes across as a way to advertise a lower nightly rate while charging guests separately for basic amenities, which feels misleading. In fact, our university’s finance department questioned the fee, mistakenly interpreting the name as something inappropriate (e.g., adult content), which was both awkward and embarrassing. Once I explained, they too felt the fee was unjustified.

Room 130: Issues and Observations

-The HVAC unit rattled loudly throughout our stay. -The bedside electrical outlet on the window side was nonfunctional. -Bathroom fixtures appeared worn, and there was debris in the floor corners. -The shower water fluctuated dramatically between hot and cold. -We heard significant noise from the room above, including creaking and footsteps. -The bathroom mirror distorted reflections, like a “fun house” mirror. -Housekeeping knocked on our door three times before the 11:00 a.m. checkout—starting as early as 8:30 a.m.—which disrupted our morning and felt intrusive.

Final Thoughts Your patio experience and the hotel’s exterior vibe show real promise, but unfortunately, the quality and comfort of the room did not reflect what your website suggests. I hope this feedback is received in the constructive spirit intended.

Given the various issues encountered, particularly with the room and the mandatory amenity fee, I would appreciate it if you would consider refunding the “Xperience Xclusive” charges. Doing so would be a meaningful gesture that shows you value honest guest feedback and are committed to improving the guest experience.

Please let me know if you’d like photos or audio recordings documenting the concerns mentioned...

Location: 5 stars Staff: 5 stars Rooms: 3.5 stars only bc you can hear everything someone does upstairs above you. Otherwise it was clean and decent. The thin ceilings really ruined my sleep. I woke up whenever the upstairs guest woke up, which was at 5am! :( not cool. You can opt for an upstairs room, as there's only 2 floors, but you'll have to walk all of you luggage up the stairs. I liked the accessibility of the 1st floor but I didn't get enough sleep being down there.

Wi-Fi was strong and constant. Room TVs are basic and not smart TVs.

Three of us decided to stay here and having never been to Santa Fe before we wanted some place affordable, close to town and with parking.

Sage has the best desk staff! Leroy the concierge/driver is top notch and the desk crew was SO FRIENDLY and everyone was so accommodating!

Leroy especially made sure we were well taken care of in terms of getting to and from town and having a good time.

The one and only downside was that the ceiling upstairs was creaking from the upstairs guest walking around. But we seemed to fall asleep the same time they did so it wasn't too disruptive except when that guest showered and exercises at 5am it would wake me up and I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. The water is super loud and you hear it loud and clear downstairs.

The upstairs floors need sound insulation and need to be tightened in a big way.

The room itself was clean and had everything you needed, and I liked being on the ground floor with our car parked right outside the door, which made for easy loading/unloading. The layout looks more like a motel but with the lobby/restaurant/bar/shuttle of a hotel. It's owned privately and not by a major hotel chain which is also nice.

Breakfast was great! It's a $15 resort fee upon making your reservation and it's really worth it. Hot items and all you can eat.

The fitness room did me some good as well. It has a treadmill, Peloton bike, weights, towels, yoga mats and a bench. I really needed it one evening so I was happy to see a clean space open 24/7. The pool was undergoing maintenance and was closed which was funds bc it was cold when we were there.

Getting into the downtown plaza area was only a 3-5 minute ride in the hotel shuttle van. It's so awesome that they take you to and from town! They won't take you to the airport but they WILL take you to the train which is less than 5 minutes away.

We are having dinner at the on-site restaurant and the menu looks really good with local ingredients. They have $4 pints and karaoke on Sundays if that tickles your fancy, and they have huge beer tap towers. (The Tower photo was taken off the table next to us, they seemed to really have fun with it!)

Oh and the jalapeño poppers are homemade with big peppers and are delicious!

We would stay here again but only if the room above...

Booked third party. Guy working the front desk was working alone, said it was only his third day, so I gave him patience and grace. He had no issue finding my reservation but was having issues charging fees and incidentals. While he was having issues, a line formed and he asked me if I could wait while he took care of other people first. Annoying and unprofessional, but not the biggest deal in the world. He called me back up, I gave him my license for the third time, he still could not figure out how to charge for fees and incidentals. He asked me if my employer would reimburse me for the room if I book again through the hotel itself. Seriously? Then he suggested booking directly through the hotel and calling my bank? No. He said he didnt want to call and wake up his manager, but finally he did. The manager looked at it on his end, called back and told the front desk to just waive it and issue my keys. The guy working the desk was much less friendly afterwards, giving me short responses and a slight attitude. I opened the door to room we were issued to find a family of 5-7 in their beds, looking absolutely horrified that somebody just walked right into their room at 11:00 PM on a Friday night. People get shot for that kind of thing, a lot, not happy at all. I go back, front desk dude assumes I'm only there to collect my driver's license he failed to hand back to me. I informed him that I just walked into an occupied room and he didnt make too big of a deal about that part of it, no real apology, he was just very excited that he figured out how to charge me the $20 pet fee, $15 resort fee and $50 incidentals that his manager told him to waive. Good job, bud!

Finally get to the correct room.

The Good: Decent TV with clear picture and a ton of channels, refrigerator, microwave, comfortable beds, seems clean enough overall with maybe a few details missed, but not bad by any means.

The Bad: Do not stay on the first floor here. If you stay here with a pet, the only pet friendly rooms are on the first floor. The person staying in the room above us kept us up and woke us up multiple times throughout the night, constantly pacing back and forth through the room. This is not your typical sound of footsteps above your head in a hotel or apartment, you hear stomping and creaking as if a door is being swung back and forth.

Felt the room was priced okay for the area, but not for what it was. Pretty much, the extra you are paying to stay here is only to be able to say you didnt stay at a Motel 6 or Red Roof Inn.. I honestly got better and longer sleep in the driver's seat the night before in a fully packed Nissan Rogue in a brightly lit West Texas...