Concert Schedule at Riverbend

We have 1-3 free concerts a month all Summer long on our patio! keep up with our schedule below.

Introducing Our New Mural!

We are pleased to unveil our newest addition at Riverbend. Muralist Bill Galbreath of Tucson, AZ, painted this wonderful showpiece for us in just one week! After discovering and staying at Riverbend this Spring, Bill collaborated with us for weeks and we came up with this concept: a 3-d hole in the wall, revealing our springs and famous view within. The pictures show the one week transformation, from tracing the outlines from a projected image, to the final mural. Man, this guy can work! If I had his work ethic, imagine what Riverbend would already look like. Come see the mural in person, but for liability reasons, we ask that you don't try jumping though the hole!

New deluxe bedding at Riverbend!

We've been busy the past few weeks. Not only because we have been completely full for nearly two months, but because we have been upgrading our bedding in every single room. It started with a few mattress replacements with new Serta Pillow-Tops. Then we replaced all of our wheeled bed frames with new solid metal bed bases (our housekeepers' backs thank us). When our new custom made and fitted coverlets (bedspreads) finally were delivered, we decided to go all out and upgrade everything!

All of the pillows were replaced with soft and fluffy new ones and each bed now gets 4 pillows (instead of two). All of the old vellux blankets were replaced with new soft and warm fleece ones and new matching color microfiber bedskirts followed.

The biggest change was to move to all white sheets. If you are thinking "that is boring, sterile and so unlike Riverbend," you would normally be right. But these sheets are 300 thread count microfiber ones, which make them feel softer than 600 thread count sheets. Plus they don't shrink, they stay gleaming white, and they release stains like no other sheets we've ever seen.

So now "THE place to soak" is also THE place to stay! With affordable rooms, starting at $70 including tax, and a new deluxe 3 bedroom suite on the way, we can suit several budgets and group sizes. See you soon!

Pictured below, a sample of our current options: La Casita, #2 King Suite, #8 Budget Double, and #6 Budget Single

New Promo Video

Photojournalist, Eric Alfredo, has produced this wonderful video for our use as a promotional tool. Enjoy!

Go to YouTube

Riverbend in Around 505 Magazine

Riverbend is in the press again, as we were listed as the choice for pet-friendly lodging in Truth or Consequences, in the Spring issue of Around 505 Magazine. The magazine is distributed throughout Albuquerque and Santa Fe and it "celebrates our unique lifestyle in the metropolitan Southwest." The article was written by Jill Lane and her sidekick, Travelin' Jack, her bulldog reporter. Jack has his own blog and helps Jill find all of the best pet-friendly destinations throughout New Mexico.

Riverbend is proud to consider ourselves one of the most pet (dog) friendly spas in T or C. At Riverbend, your furry friend can lounge on your private pool deck while you soak, or at a comfortable reserved space next to the public pools, just for our canine customers. All of our rooms are dog friendly (with a nightly fee), and we are just 1-4 blocks from two riverside parks, a river trail, and a fish pond. See you at the springs!

click to download the article.

Riverbend Featured in New Mexico Magazine

Riverbend was just featured in this month's issue of New Mexico Magazine. The article "Spring Loaded" showcases 4 hot springs destinations from around the state. Riverbend is highlighted in the Truth or Consequences section and is among destinations such as Ojo Caliente, Jemez Springs, and Gila Hot Springs.

Our section was written by NM Magazine's Editor herself, Tricia Ware, and was inspired by a magical weekend spent with her friends here, nearly a year ago. Tricia describes us as "Budget and Bohemian" and as a "relaxing oasis," and it is clear from her write up that she and her "tribe" thoroughly enjoyed their stay here. What is really cool, is that they were here on a personal vacation (anonymously), not a press assignment, so the experience they got was the same one that all of our guests get.

Surely this article will make our already busy Springtime, one to remember and will likely give the whole town of T or C a tourism boost. We are certainly always happy to share the spotlight with the other wonderful spas of T or C, but to be highlighted like this isn't so bad either!

For the full article, download here.

Happy Birthday Riverbend! 20 years in the making.

Riverbend Hot Springs celebrates 20 years in business this year! It's hard to believe that in 20 years we have gone from a bait shop to a youth hostel and now into an internationally known resort. Enjoy a few pics from our early days as a hostel. I don't think that we ever had bait and baths at the same time, but my folks always had a good sense of humor about our history. Hence the "hot minnow baths" sign above the pools. Curious WTH I'm talking about? Allow me to give a brief history lesson to our new fans:

What is now Riverbend Hot Springs was originally built by the Pierce family sometime in the 1930s or 40s. It was a small building, that the whole family lived in, and their riverside bait shack, where they sold live minnows to the many fishermen in the area. "Pierce's Minnows" later became "Smiths Minnows" in the late 70s and then my family bought it in 1988.

We were taking a little vacation/future home scouting mission and right as we were driving by, Mrs. Smith was hanging a "for sale" sign. My folks asked her to take it down and they bought our little slice of heaven right then and there. My older brother, my dad, and I would trap our own minnows in the Gila Mountains and ran our little bait shop on the Rio Grande for two years.

One fateful day, my brother was to let some of the water out of our truck tank that housed months worth of minnows. He spaced out and let all of the water out, killing all of the minnows and halting our business. It was a happy accident that turned out to be the crossroads that led my folks to following their dream of having a hot springs in T or C. They took the leap of faith, dug a well which hit 109 degree water, bought and transfered our water rights from and old school local healer "Dr. Dave Cloverleaf" and we began to pump the mineral water RIGHT INTO THE MINNOW TANKS! (we cleaned them first ;-) The famous "minnow baths" and Riverbend Hot Springs was born, January 1990.

Now, the question was, how could we make a small building and a couple of mobile homes into a hot springs destination. A friend of the family suggested that we open up a youth hostel. It is like a lodge, but for backpackers, and young international travelers. Bathrooms, kitchens, and sometimes bedrooms are shared among guests and hostels give off this feeling of welcoming community that is lacking from most hotels. Communal meals, shopping and day excursions are a commonplace and you never leave a hostel without having more friends than you came with.

Besides some dormitories and semi private rooms, we had riverside hot springs in bait tanks, a couple of tipis, retrofitted trailer rooms, and a floating room on the river called "The Love Boat"! We were a quirky, unique hit waiting to be discovered. That happened when we were highlighted on the back cover of Lets Go USA in the early 90s. Soon we had guests coming from all over the world and guide books were raving about this little funky hostel on the river with hot springs. A decade of fun ensued that my parents could write several books and sitcoms on, but I'll we'll save the details for the documentary.

In 2001 the world changed as we knew it. The patriot act halted much of the international travel to the US and hostels around the country suffered. My folks knew that if they could focus on private rooms and domestic travelers, we could make it. Times were tough, but they stuck it out.

In 2006, I returned home after eight years away to take the reins from my parents. Quitting my career to take over a youth hostel in tough times may seem like it was a leap of faith, like the one my folks took in 1990, but to me, it was a no-brainer. Riverbend is so special to so many thousands of people throughout the world and I am honored and thrilled to be the new "care taker" (as my parents always liked to be called). I hope you all continue to enjoy the next 20 years as much as we enjoyed the first!