The Inn at Halona (Zuni Pueblo NM)

Sunset view towards mesa at Zuni Pueblo

The Inn at Halona is a nest of a lodge in the midst of an ancient village. Of the couple of dozen pueblo communities in New Mexico, as far as I found, Zuni is the only one with guest accommodation in the village itself. (The proper name for Zuni people is Ashiwi but our guide explained that Zuni is still kinda their nickname and it's used extensively on their websites.)

A beautiful Zuni vessel at MNA

One of the ways in which Anglos have colonised native peoples is by an especially objectifying and intrusive brand of ethnography, whether it was welcome or not. Mostly it was not. And that's Not Cool. (This isn't just me being a bleeding heart liberal - though guilty, obviously - or looking at historical actions through modern lenses. Read the story of how two of their sculptures were stolen from the mission church in the dead of night by an ethnographer whose diary and midnight theft show that he knew better even back in the 1880s. Shameful. Happily, the Zuni have it back now.)

I can understand the temptation and the curiosity, because Ashiwi culture and language is richly unique even in a region of amazing and intricate societies. (The stories ... pottery ...  jewellery ... cooking, oh my!) But I don't want to do more of the same - so I won't write much about the pueblo itself. (It's wonderful! Go there if you ever can!) Or even about its amazing museum, an institution by and for the Zuni people themselves (ditto, if you're at Zuni Pueblo, don't miss it.) I won't publish my photos of the centre of the world, either.

But the inn ... maybe that's another story? Because it is the part of Zuni where outsiders can come and stay. One thing it has in common with its surrounding community - it is a rich and unique experience, not to be missed if you get the chance. Certainly not an ordinary hotel or motel. For one thing, the kitchen and lounge are recognisably homey, so it felt like visiting somebody's house. In fact, like visiting some alternate universe of our house, because wow they got all the things piled up all over the place. (We have more rocks and fewer empty animals.)

Light well in Room 5, Inn at Halona

And each room has its own personality. One aspect of ours that I hadn't picked up on - pretty sure this was not on the website! - was its low ceiling. Neither of the tall guys could stand up straight without either thinking about it first or else hitting their heads.

However it was laterally spacious, had plenty of comfortable furniture, was rich with wool blankets, and I really enjoyed the still life light wells at the edges.

Breakfast is a custom-cooked feast of whatever you please from the menu - blue corn pancakes, waffles, huevos rancheros, fruit, etc. It's included in the very reasonable rates. There's veranda and patio space outside to enjoy the weather if the weather is cooperative. (The local cats are extremely friendly.)

So over all not only is it the only choice in town, but also just a lovely place to visit. And sits figuratively as literally right in and by the pueblo itself and the museum: go there there if you can.