Sunrise Springs Resort Spa just outside Santa Fe, New Mexico is a unique place I’ll never forget. I visited a couple of years back and it still remains one of my favorites — a welcome retreat in a crazy world. It was also at Sunrise Springs where I had one of my most memorable spa treatments, so it does hold a special place.

King Casita at Sunrise Springs Resort Spa. Photo by Susan Lanier-Graham

My room was quite comfortable and felt more like a retreat than a resort. Rather than a room, I had an entire casita with a king bed, a large private patio, a bonus “meditation” room with pillows and meditation CDs, fireplace, and desk. It was decorated in calming colors of the desert — sand, white, clay, brown — and had high ceilings that gave it such a feeling of openness. The owner called it “Zen-modern”.

I found my entire stay at Sunrise Springs moving. I walked softer. I think I talked slower and perhaps a bit more quiet. I slept in peace.

Tea House at Sunrise Springs Resort Spa. Photo by Susan Lanier-Graham

There are ponds with lily pads throughout the property, towering cottonwood trees, a small spa, and a lovely restaurant with an outdoor patio. People come to relax, take classes, explore, rejuvenate. One of my favorite things at the resort is the Japanese tea house on the property. The owner arranged for me to participate in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. I’d never done that before and it was calming, somehow comforting in its centuries-old ritual. And completely unexpected in Santa Fe.

Sunrise Springs Resort Spa is just a few miles outside Santa Fe, but it feels as if you are away from the crazy world, if only for a little while.

Sunrise Springs Resort Spa. Photo by Susan Lanier-Graham

Sunrise Springs Resort Spa
242 Los Pinos Road
Santa Fe, NM 87507
505-471-3600
http://www.sunrisesprings.com