El Prado, New Mexico
----- 2 Master Bedroom Suites / 2 Full Kitchens / Courtyard, Patio, Deck, Covered Portal -----
Bright Star Casa & Casita is in the Arroyo Seco/Des Montes area on a high mesa with wrap-around mountain views.
Located half way between Taos Plaza and Taos Ski Valley, it is 9 miles to the plaza and 11 miles to the lifts, making it ideal for a vacation at any time of the year.
This property has spectacular 360 degree views of the Taos area mountain ranges and the desert plains to the west. In the distance, one can see the Rio Grande rift.
Bright Star includes a Casa (sleeps 14) and a Casita (sleeps 4) and both are under one roof.
To rent the Casa without the Casita, search for HomeAway #4628225.
A 7- person, 16-jet hot tub has a great view of the mountains to the East, and there is ample parking for 12 or more cars. There are 2 covered car ports under the 440 square foot partially covered Casita deck. It has a kiva fireplace and offers spectacular 360 degree views of the entire Taos county mountains and plains.
The property occupies two and a half acres of land, and has a lovely acequia (irrigation watercourse) which winds through the property. When the acequia is running, which is early spring into late summer, there is a small pond on the south end that is separately fenced for the benefit of the horses which frequently graze there.
The observatory on the property is operated remotely over the internet and images from the observatory are on the walls. High definition digital copies of these images are free to guests. This is a perfect location with very dark skies for you to bring your own telescope.
Bright Star Casa is a southwestern-style stucco, one story home with traditional Taos blue-trimmed windows. Arroyo Seco and neighboring Arroyo Hondo are charming ranching communities with historic roots in the Spanish Land Grant system. The Casa is within walking distance to Arroyo Seco on a rural road which passes an old Penitente cemetery and the back of Julia Roberts’ 50-acre ranch.
This spacious adobe hacienda was built in the mid ‘90s of hand-made adobe blocks covered with stucco. The resulting 12” thick adobe walls provide excellent insulation summer and winter, and keep inside temperatures relatively cool in the summer. (Summer temperatures in Arroyo Seco average 4 degrees cooler than temps in Taos.) The house features Spanish colonial corbels and lintels, romantic arches, flagstone, brick and timber. The ceilings are roughhewn logs, called vigas, layered with pine slats, called latillas. The radiant-heated floors are Saltillo tile.
On the exterior, the 3000 square foot house features a 500 square foot courtyard off the long hall, portals (covered entrances), and a kitchen patio with a kiva fireplace and a dining table for 6.
Bright Star Casa sleeps up to 14, with 2 king bedrooms and a bedroom with 2 twin beds which can also be made up as a king. An additional 8 folding mattresses (4” thick) with cots sleep up to 8 adults or children. Adults usually find them comfortable too. The cots that hold the mattresses are a spacious 30" x 76" x18" and are rated for a 330 pound person. The picture gallery includes an image of a cot with mattress. These are amazingly comfortable to sleep on. Three bedrooms have an ensuite bathroom. The fourth bathroom is accessed from the hall for the convenience of all the guests.
Bright Star Casita is a recently constructed 1200 square foot Casita with great room and full-kitchen on the first floor, and a double-sink bathroom, large master bedroom, and laundry/closet on the second floor. The great room includes an island with 4 stools and a wood burning kiva fireplace. Both floors have viga/latilla ceilings. The 400 square foot bedroom has French doors to a large, partially-covered deck which features a wood burning kiva fireplace. The deck has spectacular mountain views. Bright cushions for the deck chairs can be found in the bedroom.
The Casita sleeps up to 4 with a king-bed in the bedroom, and a queen fold-out bed in the great room’s leather sofa. The fold-out has a comfortable memory foam mattress.
Other Amenities (available in both the Casa and Casita):
3 HD flat screen televisions, two in the Casa, a 60” in the spacious living room and a 50” in the Master Bedroom. The Casita has a 60” in the living room/kitchen. 23 local channels and 110 internet channels are available over the high-speed fiber optic internet service. Programs include YouTube TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Peacock, providing a wide range of live sports, news, movies, TV Series, music and other entertainment.
The fiber optic 100mbit (up and down) internet also provides excellent WIFI connectivity throughout the Casa and Casita.
The Casa and Casita each have their own internet phone providing land-line quality phone service with unlimited free incoming and outgoing calls throughout the US. The cell phone coverage from most of the providers in the Arroyo Seco/Des Montes area is usable but not always reliable.
At night, guests enjoy starry skies over the Sangre de Christo Mountain Range. Bright Star is ideal for families and groups desiring to be together under one very Southwest roof for a true Taos experience!
Option for live music entertainment:
Billy Archuleta - Soloist Extraordinaire!
Music styles - Country Rock, Spanish, Blues, Gospel, Bolero, Reggee
Music for any occasion, Wedding, Birthday, Anniversary, Social Gathering, etc
Contract rate: $150/Hr.for first two hours, $100/hr after that.
Contact Info: [email protected] (email) or 575-779-0109 (call or text) jj
Please contact at least 2 weeks in advance, thank you
1
A fabulous house with great views and spotless when you arrive. Host is very friendly and helpful.
The house was comfortable and well equipped. The lighting in the house is lacking! Thank goodness there were the floor lamps to help with that situation! The location was not what I expected. It was a little difficult to find, but once we did it was easy to navigate to Taos. Part of our group golfed at Angel Fire and it took them about an hour to get there. Just keep that in mind if you plan to golf or ski there. Overall, the house itself was just what we needed! We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the house.
Great house, great location between Taos and Taos Ski Valley. Would come back!
Loved the adobe construction and the spacious New Mexico flavor of the house. We had ample room and everything in the house worked well. The house lacked only air-conditioning for hot July days. It would cool down at night though. We would come back again for sure but perhaps during cooler months.
Jerry's place was beautiful! Nicest place in Taos by far! Lots of space, clean and nicely decorated. The stars were amazing at night. The beds were super comfy. No air conditioning, but that is common in Taos and having the windows open at night was really nice. We were not able to use the hot tub but Jerry said a new cover had been ordered, so hope to come back and use that on our next stay. Jerry's communication was great! Location was easy to get too, not too far from town, but enough out of the way for great star gazing. Great views of the mountains too. We hope to be back soon! Kids had a blast too!
Overall, great place. Amazing location. Good amenities. Great communication with the host. It would have been nice if there was some information for things to do around Arroyo Seco such as Taos cow, Soul cafe, etc. Also, we lost power for a couple of hours. some information on that might also be helpful as a heads up, to avoid getting candles and matchboxes in the dark. We really had a blast. Thank you to Jerry for such a wonderful trip.
We loved our time at Brightstar and will definitely return! This spacious home is beautifully decorated and well-stocked with everything we needed. The amazing photos of space were taken by the host and hung throughout the home. They were stunning! There’s plenty of places to gather together, and also areas for quiet retreat…A perfect combination!
Wonderful property! The kitchen was fully stocked and there was not anything that we needed that we couldn’t find! Would definitely recommend this property if you are visiting Taos
This house was wonderful for our two families (4 adults and 5 kids) with plenty of space and comfortable furniture and amenities. The location is perfect for heading to the ski hill or town, and we enjoyed spending most evenings cooking at the house and stargazing. We would love to make this an annual trip and hope to stay here again.
Bright star compound was delightful. Jerry, the property owner was very accommodating. Since he didn’t have guests before he gave me an early check-in, which help me considerably get my children ready to go ski Taos ski Valley. The views from the home are lovely the owners artwork With the celestial photos were lovely. If I could give him a 10 out of five I would. Our state was fantastic. Would definitely stay there again thanks, Jerry.
The sunsets were stunning, the house was one of a kind beautiful
Just when you think Bright Star couldn't be any better, it is. The master bathroom is gorgeous even though it was pretty wonderful before it was remodeled. This house is my favorite place to stay in Taos. It is elegant and comfortable and about as perfect as it can get for friends and family.
Exceeded expectations in every respect.
We love BrightStar‼️ It’s our second time to stay at this property.
This property is lovely and comfortable. The home and is well maintained and provides the comfort you desire when skiing, enjoying the beauty of the mountains, and visiting Taos. The kitchen is very well equipped for dining in. The management is available and wants guests to be comfortable. We look forward to gathering next Christmas for another family get together in Bright Star Compound.
This property was lovely with great views. It’s a wonderful place for larger family gatherings, summer or winter. Plenty of space.
There is lots of room, comfortable and very well equipped. The beds are comfortable and there are two patios for sunning and eating. We will be back next year.
We had a wonderful time at this grand house. Plenty of space for the 8 of us and wonderful amenities.
Property is very clean, a must for me and I was so happy! The furnishings are wonderful, full of color. Kitchen is well equipped for meal planning. Outdoor space was great. Overall I can't think of one negative.
Stayed here for a fly fishing / disc golf trip with a bunch of friends and it was great.
Everything was really nice but yard was knee deep in grass and a few places could have been cleaner in the house but overall a nice place
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Total
Includes taxes and fees