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Ten Thousand WavesSanta Fe, New Mexico
“For Santa Fe, we’re the only real spa service you can get” — so contends Lisa Fischer, director of guest services. “Because we’re in the mountain setting and we have the aesthetic we have, we’re the closest thing to real. We’re modeled after a Japanese onsen — the wood, the architecture, the indoors incorporating the outdoors and vice versa, the hot tubs, except for one, being outside. We don’t have 12 different facials — we have two, plus a men’s and a back facial. We try to perfect the treatment. It’s more communal here; you’re not in a sterile room.” Simply put: Free spirits thrive here. Signature Treatment: Japanese Hot Stone Massage
($139). No wonder there are folks who swear once you have a hot stone treatment,
you’ll never go back to regular massage. Using 54 heated basalt rocks and 18
cool marble rocks, all from the Southwest, Kathleen deftly massaged me all over.
Bedding Down: The spa’s 12 casitas are the closest
lodging to the national forest in all of Santa Fe. Called the Houses of the Moon
guest suites, most have fireplaces stocked with logs for burning. Check out
Luna, with its high ceilings and cozy fireside seating. Most Relaxing: Yasuragi Head and Neck Treatment ($49). Just zone out as warm camellia oil for lustrous hair is repeatedly drizzled onto your scalp. Most Restorative: Japanese Nightingale Facial ($99). This sounds bizarre and it’s certainly unique. I lay on my back and my face was cleansed and steamed; then Christopher brushed on a mask of processed bird droppings. Uh-huh, that’s right. The Japanese nightingale. House Drink/Dish: Organic Mint Fields Herb Tea, Odwalla AntioxiDance cherry fruit juice, chicken salad on nine-grain bread. They keep it healthy. Only Here … can you saunter into the blond-and-orange-toned communal sauna in a robe or towel, take a seat on the teak bench, and admire knockout views of the mountains from a large window. It’s the coziest sauna of any spa I visited. Someone inevitably ladles water onto the hot rocks to steam things up. Unforgettable Moment: Upon leaving, I ambled down the outdoor hillside stairs to my car feeling lighter, leaner, and younger. Inhaling the pinyon-laced mountain air from a body that felt toned up, I got the Ten Thousand Waves mystique. Guys’ Pick: Premium private hot tubs like Waterfall — a warm tub with flagstone deck, wet/dry sauna, and private cold plunge — all in the woods ($27 per person, maximum of 12 people). In a Nutshell: Exhilarating. Getting There: From Santa Fe, drive 3 miles east on Artist Road. Contact: (505) 992-5025 or By Wolf Schneider and Ellise Pierce This article originally appeared in Cowboys and Indians Magazine June 2005 |
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Ten Thousand Waves is Santa Fe’s most talked-about spa.
Perched amid the Sangre de Cristo Mountains just outside city limits along Hyde
Park Road, this Japanese/Rocky Mountain spa has a minimalist Zen aesthetic
that’s invigorating and authentic. It’s not for the bashful: Showers and lockers
are group affairs segregated only into male and female. Popular outdoor hot tubs
are a mix. Treatment rooms are usually private. In the waiting area, there are
wooden benches, large picture windows, blond-wood slanted roofing, a
wood-burning fireplace, ferns galore, and an open airy floor plan. Guests rush
by in white robes and striped rubber sandals as the spa efficiently schedules a
bevy of appointments.
