ALBUQUERQUE — Virgin Galactic appears to be getting closer to reaching its long-delayed goal of launching tourists into space.
The company said Monday it has selected Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces as the preferred hotel for its elite roster of passengers, who will pay $200,000 a person to make the flights from Spaceport America.
Virgin Galactic also announced a contract with World Class Gourmet of Las Cruces to provide catering for travelers during their training at Spaceport and said it is relocating more of its staff to New Mexico and will be hiring locally in the next few months.
The partnership with the hotel, however, addresses concerns about where celebrities and others who can afford the pricey flights will stay while they go through space flight training.
Hotel de Encanto will spend several million dollars on upgrades. The hotel also is working on other upgrades that should boost its AAA rating from three to four diamonds. New Mexico has no Five Diamond hotels, the top ranking.
