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. ###

I totally enjoyed my three plates I had. I had 2 plates of the items that were on the buffet along…read morewith rice, egg roll and cream cheese tastiest, next plate was more main dish items, just trying a bit of each and then pudding and banana crisp. All were tasty and very delish.

What you expect from this type of buffet. They do have some solid menu items to choose from. Food…read morequality is not the best which is what's expected for the price. It might be a hit or miss depending on what time of the day you come by. I'll come back to try their shumai when it's fresh.

Honestly, what we loved about this experience was the company we were with. Unfortunately, the…read moreexecution didn't live up to the hype of a place that is trying to position itself as an upscale venue. To be clear, our server, Summer, was a real standout in how she handled our group of ten. The food was the let down here. While the presentation was visually pleasing; my pork was not seasoned whatsoever. My Wife's chicken was very dry and also unseasoned. There is potential here, we just didn't see what we might have expected in the food.

The service at this location was absolutely terrible. One of the worst experiences at a fine dining…read morerestaurant of my entire life. Our server in addition to being incredibly slow and barely checking on us throughout the night deposited a near empty dining room brought us the wrong orders and overcharged every single person at the table for items they did not order. It was either incompetence or a deliberate scam but it took so long to get our cheques that we decided just to pay and cut our losses (fitting for a casino restaurant). He also struggled to do basic math when we asked to split a menus item cost between two people. The food was extremely overpriced for what was served to us. The steak was fine but not at the value of the cost. The one redeeming factor was the Green Chili's Lobster bisque. One of the best things I'd ever eaten. Just wish the rest of the food and service had been to the same level. Only thing saving this from being a 1 star review.

this is the most authentic Jalisco Mexican food I have had since moving from Mexico. I had the…read morefajitas with beef, chicken, shrimp and choriz, it was outstanding! my partner had the barbacoa smothered burrito and the plate was licked clean. Valerie our waitress was very kind and on top of making sure we were taken care of. highly recommend giving this place a try!

Very rude costumer service would not service us because they were under staff. Would not service…read moreover a party of 5.

AMAZING Spot to eat... Clean with country vibe…read more Service was on point and courteous. Food was fantastic. Tender steak cooked right, and great salad bar. Prices were decent too :)

Green Chili Cheese Burger Celebration! Back in New Mexico! Delicious perfectly medium black angus…read morefrom the local Flying W Diamond Ranch in Capitan. With AYCE salad bar $17.00 a steal! Fantastic service from Raven and her shadow, Bianca, who is so lucky to have a wonderful trainer!

Great salad bar and great selections of steaks and appetizers. Love the homemade soups!!read more

Just had Mother's Day Dinner here and it was terrible. Neither steak was cooked to order. Manager…read morebrought out the re-cook, no apologies and no sides. Apparently if you ask them to cook your order the way you order it you lose the sides. Didnt remove the used plates and the ice and water tastes like dirt. On top of that the creme brule was ice cold. Upon leaving smelled and saw the bus boy smoking weed on his break. Keep it classy Cattle Baron

First of all, I am from Washington and was just visiting the place, but I've always seen and heard…read moreof those speculations on how Texas Bbq is always the best. I came to this place with high expectations and it definitely did not dissapoint. The food was bussin' and the brisket was one of the best I've ever had. It was very juicy and flavorful and did not really have the need to put sauce in it. Their creamed corn is also one of my favorite for sides and I still dream of it up until this night. The prices were a little bit on the higher side considering that Ruidoso average salary is on the lower side, but it's still kind of affordable. Parking was also easy. However, the 2nd time I went here which was just a week ago, I ordered pretty much the same thing that I got the last time, but a lot of things has changed. The menu has increased 2 dollars per item, considering I visited just last 6 months ago, that is a heft increase. The meat also was not as juicy or seasoned anymore. The service was still great but the food has changed and I think that quality control is something that needs to be prioritized. Other than that, would still recommend this place, maybe just go on an early morning or late evening when they are not in a rush.

I'm not sure why all the bad reviews. Usually yelp ratings are pretty spot on. This is definitely…read morethe exception to the rule. Let me start out by saying I consider myself a barbecue snob. Born and raised in the Carolinas, Barbecue is Part of my DNA. My wife got sausage and pulled pork along with a nice side of beans and potato salad. I ordered pulled pork ribs along with potato salad and macaroni and cheese. Everything was absolutely fantastic. The macaroni and potato salad were made from scratch and absolutely delicious. The meat was very moist and had an awesome flavor they really didn't require sauce unless that's your thing. The portions were plentiful and the service excellent. My only needs improvement area would be the sweet tea. It definitely wasn't made in house but the food more than made up for that part. Try it out you won't be disappointed!

Mostly slot machines and limited table games during weeknights. Tables were crowded. Otherwise…read morenothing spectacular or bad. It was just ok but we all wished we went to Sandia instead.

I'm actually in the middle of a stay right now and it is AWFUL. Checked in around 8 last night…read more After dinner, we realized the toilet in our room didn't work. The front desk doesn't answer the phone, at all, so after my husband went down to ask for maintenance, the guy showed up around 10:30. He was super friendly and fixed the toilet quickly, and he was probably the best bit of the whole experience. The room is shabby, all of the fixtures on the walls are loose, the front desk staff doesn't know how to answer a phone, room service doesn't answer (so you can't order, which means they effectively don't have room service on the weekends like they claim), the bathroom fan doesn't work, the windows don't open (which means there is NO WAY to circulate the stale, nasty air in the room), and the only way to contact customer service is by CALLING?!? No, thanks. We already know you jokers don't possess the intellectual acumen required to answer a phone. Go stay literally ANYWHERE else. You'll get better service setting up a tent in downtown.

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.

If you're staying at the casino or visiting the casino- I'd recommend, but not necessarily to go…read moreout of your way to eat there. The food was surprisingly good for it being a casino in New Mexico. A bit pricey, but expected since it's a casino. We ordered the Carnita Fries- I'd recommend, BYOB Burger with brisket on top, tasted great and the Po boy shrimp, wife said it was ok. All three were fresh, came out hot and tasty. The service was ok- our server took our order quickly, was ok on the refills and ok on checking in on us. Could've been better, but maybe we just came in too late on a Sunday. We sat by the bar, which had TVs playing an NFL game. Lots of family eating there, but it wasn't an issue since the entire casino is loud.

Service quick and friendly. Food hot, savory, and too much to finish. I had the seafood special and…read moremy husband had the beef fajitas. He said his was the best he'd had ever. Mine had white fish, shrimp, crab, squid, and lots of veggies. Definitely a place to revisit

Service was not good, the waitress wrote down the wrong topping, ice tea arrived with no ice and…read morewas very warm. The online menu stated and showed sea bass on the menu. was advised that they no longer offer seabass on the menu. The owners need to update their menu online. Bathrooms were not clean, and cooks came in and did not wash their hands after using the toilet.