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The new hotel occupies 8,000 square feet in a building that also houses The Mud Hut by Agapao Coffee, Izmi Sushi Bar and Seth Anderson Studio Gallery, which is based in the hotel’s lobby and sells artwork similar to what can be found in its guest rooms. The group also has plans to open a restaurant and tasting room in the building.

Seth Anderson, who in addition to being an artist is a designer and builder of custom homes in ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe, designed the space and the guest rooms of The Palace Modern. Each room has a contemporary Mexican and South American art motif, but it also has a ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe and New Mexican feel.

“It’s got wooden floors; white linens that are very comfortable, sort of fluffy; antique wood but in a more contemporary shape and configuration; some glass,� Seth Anderson said. “There [are] some handmade Moroccan tiles that looks very Spanish and earthy, but it has a contemporary feel.�

As the name suggests, the hotel harkens back to ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe’s past, but it seeks to do so in a contemporary way. Jay Heneghan said the goal is for The Palace Modern to “truly to be a place that expresses the traditions of ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe and its hospitality and to do that in a way that is modern and contemporary and moving us forward.â€�

Rates for the rooms may fluctuate, but Heneghan said the average range of nightly rates is between $300 and $600. One unique aspect of the hotel is its “invisible service model� where, unlike a traditional hotel, there is no front desk and no daily housekeeping, unless requested. Keycodes, not keys, are provided to anyone staying at the Modern, and a virtual concierge is available through a smartphone app if a customer needs anything.

“It’s sort of this emerging model of just a very private, sort of self-serve experience,� Jay Heneghan said.

She said this model provides an experience akin to that of short-term rentals such as Airbnb, while still offering the structure, comfort and luxury of a hotel.

“Think of [it] as a hybrid between a vacation rental and a traditional hotel,� she said.

The Modern’s name pays homage to the Tudor-style Palace Hotel built in 1881. Seth Anderson said he came up with the name.

“We tied into the Palace name just with the location — we wanted to bring back the history. That was a huge hotel, probably the largest and main hotel in town for years, and so we just thought that was a great story,� he said.

The Palace Modern sits on a portion of what used to be the massive Palace Hotel, which stretched from what is now the Wells Fargo branch on Paseo de Peralta to the current Palace Modern location.

In its heyday, the Palace was the height of luxury. It had an electric elevator, hot water on all three floors and a billiards table. Celebrities, heads of state, bishops, athletes and even international spies frequented the establishment until it burned down in 1922.

In the coming months, the hotel expects to add a new restaurant to the ground floor and a tasting room to the second-floor terrace. The restaurant, to be called Versos, will feature modern Mexican food, drinks and recipes in a casual dining atmosphere. ¡Salud!, an intimate tasting room, will offer local craft beverages.

The owners are elated about the opening and the new additions to come.

“It is so exciting; a little terrifying, you know. For so long, it just felt like it was never going to happen,� Heneghan said. “And now that we’re there, the response that we have gotten from early guests has been just so encouraging. They’re just gushing about their experience and about their rooms, and that is just like jet fuel for us.�