santa fe spa guide

Along with its soothing Southwestern vibe, pinon-scented pure air and rugged mountain views, Santa Fe, New Mexico is also a spa-goer’s paradise. Featuring top-of-the-line day and destination spas to satisfy all tastes and budgets, Santa Fe is a superb spot for a spa vacation. Because of its high altitude, however, definitely allow a day or two for your body to acclimate before jumping into a Jacuzzi or going for a sauna. Here is an overview of our favorites places to spa in this gem of a resort town:

Avanyu Spa at La Posada de Santa Fe
Avanyu is the Tewa Native American name for a mythical water serpent. The Tewa are the ancient civilization that developed a highly artistic culture well before the Europeans came to this part of the world. The Avanya also represents the restorative and life-giving power of water to native Southwestern peoples. At Avanyu Spa, water therapies feature indigenously sourced nourishing elements as well as healing sea minerals. The 4,500-square-foot Avanyu Spa at La Posada de Santa Fe includes a treatment area featuring five massage rooms, two facial rooms, and one spa wet room. The spa offers a comprehensive selection of wraps, massages and salon work (including complete hair and nail treatments). A heated outdoor pool and hot tub, open year-round, are adjacent to the spa, while a roof-top spa terrace provides panoramic views of La Posada’s gardens and surrounding mountains. In warm weather, one of the most enjoyable spa services here is an outdoor cabana massage or pedicure. This way you can relish Santa Fe’s turquoise skies and purple mountains while your mind/body comes into balance.

Ten Thousand Waves
Gourmet Japanese bathing a la hot spring onsen of Japan is the specialty here. While the Waves is primarily a day spa, there are also guest rooms and houses here that range from comfortable $89.00 a night rooms to de luxe accommodations worthy of a shogun.

Nestled in the forested foothills, this place costs only $14.00 to bathe in the indoor (ofuro) and outdoor (rotenburo) baths. There are public facilities for women only and for mixed bathing. If you are really serious about bathing as an art form, you can pay extra to enjoy a private bath with a friend. High season here is May 15 to October 15.

While all baths have access to cold plunges, it’s also worth noting that all baths, except for the Waterfall, are maintained at 104 - 106 degrees F.

The Waterfall courses at body temperature and is ideal for pregnancy or during summer weather. Several other tubs are also kept at body temperature during warmer weather. A note to those who plan on hanging in the outdoor (rotenburo) baths: remember to apply sunblock on your face before heading out to soak in the sun.

This writer has spent entire days enjoying the outdoor baths watching the faces of fair-skinned bathers develop sunburns after a few hours of open air bathing.

Spa Terre at the Inn of Loretto
This luxury hotel and spa offers a compelling selection of restorative spa services in a sophisticated yet nurturing atmosphere. Porcelain claw foot bathtubs, fireplaces, glowing chandeliers and other romantic touches make this a very beautiful place to spa. Many of Spa Terre’s body treatments contain herbal, mineral, stone and other ingredients that are indigenous to Santa Fe. The desert heat wrap and Sacred Stone massages are cases in point.

You may also want to try some of the sumptuous South Pacific-tinged treatments such as the JAMU Balinese massage and the Javanese Lulur® Royal Treatment, a regal skin scrub which involves jasmine, frangipani, rice powder and turmeric. This ancient palace custom, dating back to the 17th century, was performed for 40 days, every day prior to the royal wedding ceremony.

The Javanese Lulur® Ritual would be given to the bride-to-be by the other women in the family during which time they would pass down their wisdom. The turmeric in the lulur recipe is intended to give the skin a golden hue and may stay on the skin briefly; therefore it is suggested that you wear dark clothes for one day following the Javanese Lulur® experience.

ShaNah Spa & Wellness Center at Bishop’s Lodge
The Navajo word for energy and vitality, ShaNah Spa & Wellness Center is a luxurious, Southwestern-decorated spa that glitters inside Bishop’s Lodge, an exquisite property surrounded by 440 acres of woodlands. Fed by deep mineral springs, Sha Nah features a Jacuzzi, Watsu pool and swimming pool. Recommended treatments include Watsu water massage followed by a calming Desert Fusion massage, which combines dry glove, full-body exfoliation, hot stone massage and rejuvenating cranio-sacral therapy. Or, try a body scrub that incorporates indigenous and noble materials such as Hopi blue corn.

Inn of the Anasazi
Sitting squarely in the heart of Santa Fe, the 57-room Inn may lack a spa, but this luxury property does offer excellent in-room massage and aromatherapy treatments administered by highly trained and certified professional therapists. For those who prize privacy as the ultimate luxury, this is a beautiful place to enjoy a spa experience. This sumptuous hotel is designed in super-duper luxury pueblo style. The building is infused with 21st century design elements such as monumental hand-carved doors, sculptured stairways, plus postmodern hotel conveniences.

While Santa Fe spas offer many poignantly soothing treatments, remember to book spa treatments well in advance of your visit. Santa Fe, after all, is one of the most popular resort towns in the U.S. Even if you are planning on visiting a day spa such as Ten Thousand Waves, realize that their private pools and massage treatments are routinely booked up several weeks in advance.

written by kyle roderick