Policies

TOUCHSTONE IS GREEN and SMOKE FREE: 

Our Cleaning And Maintenance (CAM) crew, Looks Like New, LLC, is an Eco-Friendly Green-Cleaning and Laundry Service that uses products which are free from perfumes and toxins. Licensed and Insured, they are trained in COVID- SAFE PRACTICES and are CERTIFIED SAFE by the State of New Mexico.   This is where your CAM fee goes. The name of our pest control agency is Good Riddance.  No smoking is allowed on the property near patios, decks, or rooms. $200 CAM fee will be added if smoking is detected in your room.

We celebrate the many restaurants within walking distance that serve vegetarian and gluten-free meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner – Six within walking distance and Cid’s Food Market has a wonderful buffet. All rooms have a coffee-maker, refrigerator, and microwave for your convenience.

PRIVACY POLICY:

We adhere to the utmost privacy of all our clients and do not share any information what-so-ever with anyone.  Because of Credit Card Compliance Rules, the the system charges your card the full amount in one transaction when you book, we never see your card details; upon completion, we will send your rental agreement. With your permission we can add charges or make changes through the processor if you want to extend your stay or services, or make other payment arrangements, just email us.  You are responsible for payment of all nights reserved regardless of the actual arrival or departure date, so if you leave a day early or arrive a day late you are responsible for payment and will be charged.  We are a small property and have taken the room you purchased out of our inventory for the dates you purchased, making it unavailable to sell to anyone else; we, like most properties have a use it or loose it policy. In some cases, if there is a proven medical emergency or valid weather hindrance, we will, at our discretion, issue a voucher for a future visit – not transferable and not valid for holiday even if original was for holiday. Examine your rental agreement closely and purchase trip insurance if needed.

BOOKING THROUGH A THIRD PARTY:

When you book through a third-party, you are booking a room TYPE. Our rooms are each unique so when you book a standard queen, that means you get a small room with a queen bed and on-suite bathroom with at least a shower for the price you are paying – any other amenity in the room you get is a bonus; some standard queens have wood burning fireplace or soaking tub or regular tub with shower over or just a shower, no tub – some are upstairs and some are down. Deluxe Queen rooms are larger rooms with at least one queen bed and at least a shower bath in the on-suite bathroom. We upgrade you when possible, but if you want a specific room, you must book from our website; otherwise we place you wherever we can fit you within the parameters of the type of room you purchased.

To qualify for Touchstone Specials, you must book directly through our OFFICIAL website.  If you wish to have a specific room you can book online directly from our website – just choose the reservation button on any page, either at the side or bottom of the page.

BEWARE:  Expedia has a monopoly on the Online Travel Agents – OTAs, they are not an American Company and they are not regulated.  Expedia now controls over TWENTY OTAs including B&B Dot com, Hotels Dot com, Orbitz, Travelocity, Trivago, Cheap Tickets, VRBO, Hotwire, Classic Vacations, Egencia, Home Away, Silver Rail, Car Rentals Dot Com, traveldoo, EBookers Dot Com, Wot if, Vacation Rentals Dot Com and more.  Expedia charges you extra fees and tries to collect more than 17% plus the bank fee cost to collect their money from the hotelier by coercion, extortion, and fraud. They hijack hoteliers websites and trick clients into booking using their virtual card. Please book direct on the OFFICIAL site of whatever hotel you desire and avoid Expedia, you will get a better deal.   Six hotels in our town have failed in the last couple of years due to OTA Charges – Please book direct from the OFFICIAL SITE with the entity of your choice and don’t be tricked by OTAs.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE TIMES

Our Cleaning Serices sets arrival time at 4PM and Check out 10AM on end date.  Please arrive at your Leisure at  4 PM or after. Late arrivals OK, we need to know your general ETA for  key placement – TEXT to see if room is ready if early.  Late Arrivals no problem; so that you can arrive at your leisure, we email special instructions for your arrival.  Call us when you arrive and we will assist you and show you around if you like.

NOTE:  Make yourself at home. We have no Front Desk, but we are a phone call away at all times.  It is our policy to be as unobtrusive to your retreat as possible.  We live at the inn and work behind the scenes to make your stay exceptional so if you need something, just call us, do not leave a voice message, we will never get it – text.

We have wireless internet via fiber optic cable with 7 extenders which is fairly reliable, but if you are dependent on the internet, you will need to bring your own Hot Spot, Roku and codes because we cannot guarantee it will work for you, bring a good Book. Our adobe walls covered with 3 layers of metal lathe are not conducive to reception of signals which can be accessed on most patios or in the parking lot. There are several internet cafes nearby. The best phone option is Verizon, all others have spotty reception.  CODE for WI-FI is located at bottom of first page of your guest book – choose the strongest reception and input the codes.

Check-Out: 10 AM.We will charge an additional night fee if you have not departed by 10 am on end date.

DEPOSIT AND CANCELLATION POLICY (INDIVIDUALS)

If you are booking through a third party, you must cancel through that party following their rules, no refund means no refund. If you book through our website directly and you cancel with at least fifteen days notice prior to arrival [Xmas – Dec 20 thru Jan 3 – 60 days prior/ Groups – including Wedding lodging, 90 days prior], we will refund your payment minus 4% bank processing fee per room (this is a bank charge taken before we get funds and is not retained by us, so we cannot refund what we do not have – sometimes the processor will return their part too, but we cannot guarantee that will happen]. With less notice your payment is forfeited – at our discretion, we will issue a voucher for a future visit in some cases, restrictions apply. We recommend the purchase of trip cancellation insurance, available at most travel agencies. Within fourteen days of arrival [Xmas, 60 days / Groups/Weddings, 90 days] you are financially responsible for your entire confirmed stay and will be charged for nights reserved but not used.

DEPOSIT AND CANCELLATION POLICY (GROUPS, WEDDINGS, AND WORKSHOPS)

If you are part of a workshop or wedding party, because of Credit Card Compliance Rules, the full amount of booking is charged in one transaction when you book through the system; however, if you call and book in person, one-half of the amount due is charged by us upon booking as a deposit and is non-refundable. The other half is due 90 days prior to arrival.  For weddings and workshops, if you cancel your reservation, you will forfeit the entire deposit and will receive no refund of any kind; in some cases, deposit may be transferable, but is not refundable. If special arrangements are made, balance may be delayed to within thirty days of arrival; however, you are financially responsible for your entire confirmed stay and will be charged for nights reserved but not used. Examine your confirmation closely and purchase trip insurance if needed.

Rates are subject to change without notice. All reserved rates are honored according to the rate and date on which they were booked. In some cases, for group workshops and weddings, a package is put together with uniform lodging rates charged to participants which does not reflect the size or amenities of the room.  Please do not complain to us that your room is not as nice as another person’s room who paid the same price as you did, as all rooms are unique and we are offering a uniform reduced to the lowest common denominator package deal to your workshop presenter. If you cancel from the group, you do not get your money back – your room was taken off the market so that you have the opportunity to enjoy being here – use it, or loose it.

Call us and we will do our best to accommodate your needs. We can usually fit in odd nights, but this must be done manually. We cannot book one night stays as that does not cover our overhead; we have a two night minimum stay [(three nights during Thanksgiving (Nov 25 to 28th) and Christmas (Dec 23 to 26) holiday)] unless filling a slot, any one night booking must be confirmed by telephone, and we reserve the right to move you to a comparable room or to upgrade you at no additional charge should the need arise. One night stays do not appear on our on-line calendar and are charged the regular room rate, no discounts apply.

DAMAGE FEES

If the room is damaged in any way from your stay then you are responsible for all fees associated with the repair, including smokeing. Pet damage or smoking damage is an automatic $250 fee plus actual damage cost.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Directions:

Traveling North or from East to West:

Stay on Main Highway – 64/68. Pass Cid’s Food Market on the RIGHT, slow down and prepare to turn off at next street marker, Mabel Dodge Lane, to the RIGHT after crossing the Rio Pueblo Bridge (barely noticeable). Turn RIGHT down the lane and take the driveway to the RIGHT marked Touchstone. Look for our Round Logo sign – Touchstone.

Traveling South or from West to East:

Pass Casino Turn off to Pueblo on Left – Hail Creek Road, Pull over to middle lane in front of Lotaburger on LEFT. Just beyond is Mabel Dodge Lane Street Sign on LEFT. Turn LEFT onto Mabel Dodge Lane. Go down lane and take driveway to RIGHT marked Touchstone.

The Inn is open year-round

We have two rooms which can accommodate small children, please call. Our EID ruling states that we cannot take children under the age of 12 without specifically informing parents of need for close supervision because of the proximity of the river. There is a river near our property and children must be supervised at all times.

Non-smoking:  We are a non-smoking inn. Smokers willing to smoke outside, away from balconies and rooms are welcome!

Pets: To maintain high housekeeping standards, we have a very restrictive policy toward pets.  We can refer you to a nearby veterinary clinic that boards visiting pets. We recommend 10,000 Wags, 575-751-9247, 24822 West Hwy. 64.

Packing: Be sure to bring things so that you can dress in layers. It does get chilly when the sun goes down even in the summer. In the winter consider packing wool socks instead of bulky winter boots, and silk long-johns are a must for your comfort, male or female. Remember, the air is dry so bring your favorite lotion too!

Information:  We are happy to provide information on local facilities and events:  Restaurants, Shops, Museums, Indian Pueblos and their Dances, Music and Art Festivals, Winter Skiing and Summer Hiking and Rafting. We have compiled maps and guides to help you plan your days.   Please visit our face book page too.  Taos Visitor Center 575-758-3873, 1139 del Paseo Pueblo Sur.

Internet Access:  Bring your own Hot Spot for the wireless internet if you are dependent on being plugged in; Our TV system is on internet, Not Cable, so bring your ROKU and codes.  We have internet access via fiber optic cable and wireless routers; however, adobe walls coated with metal lathe are not conducive for wireless reception; some rooms get reception inside near a window, most on balcony or patio, or reception can be had in the parking lot – there is no charge for internet; again, bring your own device if you are dependent on the internet to conduct business – this is Taos; it is like being in a third world country sometimes when it comes to electricity and the internet. Internet cafes are nearby.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

Staff at Touchstone have been trained in COVID- SAFE PRACTICES and is CERTIFIED SAFE by the State of New Mexico.

We look forward to your visit, aqui en Taos!