Guests Get a Decadent Taste of Desert Living at
The Spa at Encantado

Although I travel a fair amount for both work and pleasure, I haven’t really had the opportunity to spend much time in the Southwest. So when I was offered a trip to visit Encantado, an Auberge Resort, in Santa Fe a few weeks ago, I was excited to explore a new part of the country. And I certainly wasn’t disappointed. The resort is located on 57 acres among the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, offering visitors breathtaking views from every area, including the 10,000-square-foot Spa at Encantado, which incorporates outdoor elements with a modern design.

For spa-goers, such as myself, who want to take in the desert air and the natural beauty surrounding the resort, the spa offers outdoor relaxation areas, showers, and baths, as well as treatment rooms with retractable doors, all of which I fully enjoyed. Being this connected to nature, I couldn’t help but feel the spirit of Santa Fe, which is steeped in Native American, Mexican, and Spanish traditions. Many of the treatments are regionally inspired, as well. Among them, I chose the Mountain Spirit Purification ($300, 2 hours), which includes a smudging ceremony to purify the body, an adobe clay body mask, a wrap, an outdoor rain shower, and a juniper sage hot stone massage. Needless to say, it was the perfect way to spend a day in the desert. To find out more about the spa, check out my story in the July issue of American Spa.