Sunrise Springs Spa Resort, a magical place in the Land of Enchantment
I arrived at Sunrise Springs Spa Resort in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in a torrential downpour, unusual for this corner of the American Southwest. But even though it rained for the first 24 hours I was there, it didn’t dampen my enthusiasm one bit.
A sister to the renowned Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa, and owned by the same family, Sunrise is warm and inviting, a nurturing and healing place with an endless array of unexpected delights that unfold like origami, over the course of a stay. Play with a group of gamboling puppies, in training to become service dogs, or sit with 20 downy chickens, whose feathers are so soft, the breed is known as “Silkie.” At the airy coop, guests can hold the sweet, gentle birds, stroke their feathers, and feel the immediate calm that exudes from these quiet, dignified creatures. And while you’re nourishing your soul, Chef Rocky Durham—famous for his award-winning chile cheeseburger—will keep your body well-fed, whatever your culinary orientation.
The spa, with expert spa director Maggie Wagner at the helm, serves up comforting (and beautifying) treatments like the Native American Blue Corn & Prickly Pear Scrub, inspired by local traditions. The spa’s Round Barn Apothecary line, created by Sunrise Springs and Ojo Caliente co-owner Jen Scott, is a luscious range of natural face and body products, in shades of egg yolk and buttercream, with packaging as beautiful and transparent as the nourishing ingredients inside. Wagner introduced The CBD massage, with CBD oil, which is “really good for people with joint pain, inflammation, arthritic conditions, overstressed and overworked joints and muscles, and more,” she says. Or experience Ojitos, a private outdoor mineral soak under the stars, while a pinon wood fire crackles in your kiva fireplace nearby. There is also a sweat lodge nearby, for a sweat ceremony with Concha, a gifted Lakota healer.
In an artist-loaded town such as Santa Fe, it’s not surprising that someone had the brilliant idea to create an Artist-in-Residence program here. Sunrise currently hosts a ceramic/multimedia artist from Santa Fe, with an open studio, where he teaches workshops, for several months, while creating art in this beautiful environment. For guests whose talents lie elsewhere, a stroll through the organic garden leads to a greenhouse where you can learn how to make a smudge stick from locally grown sage, to cleanse away any bad juju.
If you’re ready to work a bit harder, sign up for a private session with the very wise Dr. Sally Fisher, Sunrise Springs’ Harvard-educated medical director, who can help you tackle gut and brain health, sleep, weight, stress and relaxation, nutrition and supplements, cancer survivorship and more. And spend some time with the caring and insightful Michael Schroeder, lead counselor, who will guide you on an introspective emotional and spiritual journey through the Integrative Medicine Wheel.
With so many amazing places to see in this great wide world, it is rare that I want to go back when I could go forward and explore somewhere new. But with Sunrise Springs I do.
Under an umbrella of sweet soft air, scented with a nip of juniper and pine, a visit will bring you back home feeling relaxed and in tune with yourself—a better version of who you were when you arrived.