The Taos Villas currently consists of five of the nine luxury Villas of the Los Rosales de Taos development. Authentic and enchanting, The Taos Villas luxury vacation accommodations combine traditional adobe construction and design with old world architectural features, all done with superior attention to detail.
A bit of history about the Taos Villas:
We’ve been told that the property on which the Taos Villas vacation rental property now stands was at one time owned by Bing Crosby. Perhaps this connection with Taos is what inspired the lyrics “There’ll be old Kit Carson and Custer waiting there”, from Crosby’s song The Last Round Up. At the time the developer of the Taos Villas (New Orleans native, Jacqueline McPherson) first laid eyes on the property, it was being used as a restaurant and motel. There was one main building, and several motel rooms running down the side of the property. Impressed with the location, the view of the surrounding mountains, and the proximity to town, McPherson purchased the property with the idea to renovate the buildings. However, once work began on the motel units, two of them collapsed. It was then decided to demolish the remainder of the motel rooms and the main building, and start from scratch.
Ken Sandoval, who was born in Taos but living in Albuquerque at the time, was chosen as the architect for the new project. He was very sympathetic to how to adhere to the traditional Taos “look” when designing the new project, in its entirety named Los Rosales de Taos.
Phase 1 of the Los Rosales de Taos project consisted of Villas 1 and 2, followed by Phase 2 consisting of Villas 3, 4, 5 and 6. Finally, Phase 3 completed the project with Villas 7, 8 and 9. The project began in 2006, and was ultimately completed in 2010.
Construction
All of the Villas are constructed with authentic adobe bricks, which were made onsite by the contractor. One extremely unique feature of the Los Rosales de Taos development is that all of the second floor construction of each Villa is also done with authentic adobe bricks. It’s very expensive to construct the second floor in adobe, because of the need to reinforce the second floor to carry the weight of the adobe bricks. Typically contractors would use frame for the second floor of a structure, covering it with plaster to make it look like adobe. The Los Rosales de Taos development is undoubtedly one of the only developments in Taos with second floors constructed in true adobe.
The interior finishes and decorative embellishments (columns, doors, transoms, etc.) in all the Villas of the Los Rosales de Taos project were personally curated by Jacqueline McPherson and Taos local, Cheo Martinez. Martinez had been collecting many of these items (most of them from India) over the years, and together he and McPherson sourced the remainder from various collectors and antique shops. Martinez supervised the installation of all the decorative elements in the Villas.
Landscaping
The landscaping of the Los Rosales de Taos project was painstakingly undertaken by McPherson. Preserving many of the existing willow and apple trees, she directed the planting of an additional 65 Aspen trees, as well as a number of other types of trees. McPherson designed, sourced and personally supervised all the planting of 125 antique roses from the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, TX. She chose a variety that would be suitable for the Taos area, and they are still blooming beautifully in the gardens each year. Ceramic, stone and other whimsical touches are abundant throughout McPherson’s garden creation, and she still personally hand-prunes the rose bushes on the property several times a year.
Each of the five Taos Villas enjoys its own private entrances, with no shared amenities with other Villas. The common spaces on the grounds of the Los Rosales de Taos provide lovely walkways to gain entrance to each Villa, while the walls surrounding each Taos Villa outdoor space provide privacy.
We’re proud to introduce you to the Taos Villas, and we can’t wait to welcome you to your home-away-from-home in Taos!