4 Stars - A High-Desert Blackjack Fever Dream…read more There are casinos, and then there are casinos that feel like a mildly hallucinogenic roadside poem written at 7,500 feet above sea level. This is the latter. The blackjack tables here are loose in that beautiful way that makes a gambler feel briefly chosen by the gods. Chips slide, cards slap the felt, and the dealers and pit bosses carry a refreshing lack of casino stiffness. Nobody's breathing down your neck like a tax auditor of sin. The vibe is relaxed, almost conspiratorial--like the whole room knows we're all here for the same ridiculous dance with probability. Two dealers deserve special mention. Makaila runs a table like a jazz drummer--smooth, quick, unflustered. June, meanwhile, is a delightful menace. She enjoys tricking players into thinking she's pulled a blackjack. She'll pause, squint, grin, and for a brief moment the table collectively experiences a small existential crisis before she reveals the truth. It's performance art disguised as card dealing. The hotel itself sits out in Mescalero, right beside Ruidoso, overlooking the calm waters of Mescalero Lake--a high-desert lake that looks especially poetic when the mountain air hits your lungs like cold champagne. At 7,500 feet elevation, the place has that crisp alpine quiet that makes you feel like you've wandered into some strange mountain monastery... except the monks are holding blackjack chips. Inside, the casino is modern, comfortable, and easy to navigate. Outside? The parking lot is a bit ugly--like a sun-baked asphalt lizard. But it's shaded, which in the high desert counts as a civic virtue. The crowd is mostly reasonable. Sure, every casino has a few characters who appear to have been assembled from spare parts and bad decisions--but overall the patrons were friendly. I even noticed quite a few young women comfortably playing at the tables, which usually means the atmosphere hasn't drifted too far into creep territory. The rooms are spacious and many have great views of the lake, which adds a peaceful counterpoint to the card-table chaos downstairs. And if you're the adventurous type, there's a disc golf course nearby plus plenty of walking trails along the lake. It's a nice way to clear your head after battling the dealer and the laws of mathematics. One practical note: Hydrate like a camel preparing for a desert opera. The air here is dry enough to turn a raisin back into a grape. Would I come back? Absolutely. Between the mountain air, the laid-back blackjack, and the occasional theatrical dealer mind-game, it's a wonderfully strange little high-desert gambling outpost. Four stars. Bring water. Bring luck. And keep an eye on June's face when she peeks at that second card.

The hotel and room were very nice. Far exceeded our expectations. The views were lovely…read more The "blond haired witch" that evidently is the manager for the very upscale restaurant and bar was rude, condescending, and over the top. We were unaware of a private event being held in the bar. The bartenders fixed our drinks and she let us all know that a private event was starting. Why wasn't this advertised? Why was she screaming at everyone to leave. "Go outside!" "Finish your drinks there." Well, several of us did attempt that. Not only was there a LARGE oversized DOG on the patio (I'm extremely allergic and I doubt it was a service animal) but someone else was also SMOKING out there. Did she address either of those issues? So we took our pricey drinks to our room. When we came back down at 7 the area was packed, Smokey (?) and chaotic. The bars in the rest of the hotel/casino don't compare with this one. Why wasn't the extremely over priced restaurant opened to the private party instead of the bar which many of us wanted to utilize yet couldn't. The restaurant was nearly empty. The night prior when I inquired about reservations she told me to go to Open Table. "Do you utilize Open Table? Just go there." OK. I do. But why couldn't she take our reservation? What a piece of work. Our breakfasts and bar tenders in the Broken Arrow were fabulous! It was obvious they were locals and took pride in their job. Was interested in the spa but there were no price sheets available. Was told to "look online" but still couldn't access the information. So I didn't "spa it." We don't gamble but came for the ambience, the food and drinks, and the scenery. We will come back. Hopefully Blondie will be GONE! Y'all can do so much better. ###

We were seated almost immediately. Our server took our order as soon as we were seated. The food…read morecame out within minutes. It was nothing to write home about but I didn't have to cook or clean! ‍ Decor a little outdated. Everyone was friendly...

This review is for Red Hat Grille. The first time my wife and I had breakfast at this restaurant we…read morewere sure we had found our new favorite restaurant in Ruidoso. Not so fast. We went back for breakfast and had the absolute worst chicken fried steak breakfast ever. She convinced me to try lunch there. We both ordered the Cobb Salad. Instead of lettuce as described we each got a bowl of spinach leaves. They left out the avocado and bacon altogether. When I pointed it out they came back with "the chef says we are out of avocados!" "Would you like some guacamole?" I honestly couldn't believe that was their response. I asked if they were out of bacon too. I suggested if they didn't have the ingredients for an advertised menu item we should have been told so. They blew it iff and brought us some bacon. There are no less than 5 items on their menu offering avocado as a side or component of the meal. Their chef is lazy and incompetent. Avoid this one!

Great meal at the sports grill. Wish I had gone there for our 50th wedding anniversary instead of…read morespending hundreds of dollars on the mediocre meal we had the night before at another unnamed casino. The grill offered the best and for a fantastic price. (Just thinking how many ponies I could have betted on for what I spend the night before) The staff was great and personable. We will return

Skip The Cantina. It was terrible, and the food was bland. First, they changed the menu and there…read morewas zero brisket options as featured in a previous menu (on this site). Instead, there were very few options.

Ehhh this place has a lot of missed opportunities, their food was alright. Asked for a Guinness and…read morehad none and recommended another of their own brand, then had left hand stout one of my favorites but refused to switch my beer choice and force me pay theirs. Could be better this is the second time there, nothing that wowed me.

This is the second time we've tried this restaurant. We did not really plan to go back after the…read morefirst time. Since it was 4th of July and we were waiting for the fireworks we had a lot of time to hang out. The wait here is always extremely long so we got on the list. Luckily we did not have to wait too long for a table and we were sat down and greeted by a very nice server. We ordered drinks and wings and the carnitas fries. The food was very good this time!! The wings were crispy and fresh and the sauce was very good; peach habanero. The carnitas fries were loaded and the meat was tender. The jalapeño was quite spicy. Our drinks were good, very strong but good. I can recommend this place as long as you are patient and okay with a wait to sit, so if you're not in a hurry and are staying for a while at the Inn.

Two years ago, 2021, the depths of COVID, things were grim…read more Much has been improved! Nice new bright casino, Anejo restaurant, and the horses are running!

Total waste of $ . I've never seen anybody win at that casino. They close early on weekends and…read moreeven earlier on weekdays. Save your money, just drive the extra few minutes to Inn of the mountain gods or Casino Apache