I went to the Inn of the Mountain Gods many times as a child and had very fond memories of it. For that reason I was excited to take my kids on vacation there last summer. I was in for quite a shock! The view was beautiful as ever (at least, it would have been if not for the lack of rain). Unfortunately, this place has become less of a resort and more of a casino. Our stay was riddled with problems: The smoke hit us hard as soon as we opened the doors. I know casinos are typically smoky but the ventilation systems are generally good enough to keep the smoke out of the lobby. The pool wasn't clean, and the smell of mildew/fungus permeated the entire hallway leading to it. There was only one person working the boat rentals, and we had to wait about an hour while he went to retrieve a boat full of kids who had stranded themselves in the middle of the pond. We tried to reserve horses at the stables, but were asked to return the next day because apparently the sparks off the horses' hooves were a fire risk. When we came back at the appointed time the only man working at the stables was out with car trouble so we were turned away again. Unfortunately we didn't learn that until after waiting with another guest for about 45 minutes. On our drive back home a local paper featured an article about a dispute between the Mescalero tribe and the company that was managing the casino. Apparently many of its workers had gone on strike. I certainly wish we had known about this prior to making our reservations. As it is I'm in no hurry to return. It's a shame because the place has lots of potential.