Jenny's View
Friends,
At La Fonda on the Plaza, we pride ourselves on being the go-to Santa Fe hotel for romantic weekends, engagements, weddings and anniversaries. And it seems the hotel is even responsible for more than a handful of passionate couplings among the staff over the years.
Because there are several couples who met here and still continue to work together. Some met here, like Peter Vigil in banquets. He found Maria, the love of his life, at La Fonda when she was a housekeeper. Peter remembers telling his brother-in-law Irenio, who also works here, that he was going to marry Irenio's sister. “I definitely had my eye on her. It was exciting because I could see her every day. Then I heard that she liked me, too. Word gets around at the hotel.” He and Maria worked together two years before they got hitched and Maria left when they started having children. They now have two children and have been married 15 years!
Peter and Maria Vigil (upper right) with their extended family
Another La Fonda couple, John and Mary Nuanez, have been married for 35 years. They were both in housekeeping (she is now the executive housekeeper and manages the department) when they first met, but didn’t start courting until after John moved to our maintenance department. He’s also now the chief engineer of his department. Both are going on 4 decades with the hotel, and we’d like to think the romantic spirit of La Fonda has kept them together so long.
John and Mary Nuanez - La Fonda 50's Themed Christmas Party
Melissa Tapia says that without La Fonda, she never would have met her husband Victor Serna. She was only 14 years old and would occasionally come to work with her mother in housekeeping when she first met him. She’s quick to point out that they were only friends and remained so after she left high school. She returned in 2007 as an adult, quickly moving up to become reservations manager. She and Victor, who is a stalwart of the maintenance department, connected as more than friends in late 2015, and tied the knot in 2016.
Victor and Melissa Serna
And, we want to throw a special air-kiss to Bill Hearne, who has been playing in La Fiesta for more than 25 years, many of them with his beloved, late wife Bonnie. The recent one-year anniversary of Bonnie’s passing reminded me that the pair was so entwined for more than 47 years that it is hard to even today to think of one without the other.
Bill & Bonnie Hearne
We’re not saying that you or someone you know will find your life partner at La Fonda. But we’re not NOT saying that, either. So book your romantic getaway today!
Here’s to romance new and enduring.
Jenny
