7 Best Sights in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Set on a hilltop with spectacular mountain views, this intimate oasis has 15 treatment rooms, some of the best-trained body workers and estheticians in the Southwest, and a full complement of salon services. You'll pay more at the Four Seasons Spa than at most other properties in town (it's $165 for a 50-minute massage), but there's a reason both hotel guests and locals rave about their experiences here. Specialties include regionally inspired treatments, like the Blue Corn and Honey Renewal body wrap. A few different private couples' retreat packages are offered, including the three-hour Mountain Spirit Initiation, which includes a sage smudge, clay body mask, foot and scalp massage, and a full-body hot-stone juniper-sage massage. Do stick around and enjoy time in the impressive fitness center or relaxing by the pool (closed winter). Many guests combine their spa day with lunch or dinner on the peaceful patio of the resort's outstanding restaurant, Terra. The resort's Adventure Center also offers all sorts of excursions designed to get your blood flowing, from mountain-biking to hiking at nearby waterfalls.

The first-rate 4,500-square-foot spa at this historic Downtown resort emphasizes regional ingredients in its extensive offerings of treatments and services, including a signature Spirit of Santa Fe body rub that uses ground blue corn as a skin exfoliant, and a body wrap using chocolate and red chiles from nearby Chimayó. The 15-minute Shea Butter facial wrap is a great way to combat the effects on the skin of New Mexico's sunny, high-desert climate. Hair and nail services are also available, and there's an expansive fitness center (24-hour access for hotel guests) with Cybex equipment and personal-training as well as private yoga sessions offered. After working out, or being worked on, go for a swim in the heated outdoor pool, or just soak up the Sangre de Cristo views on the rooftop terrace. There's also a poolside patio grill serving light fare. Rates start at $185 for an 80-minute massage.

This renowned Japanese-style spa with outstanding facilities and treatments is just 10 minutes north of Santa Fe toward the ski basin, nestled peacefully among the piñon trees on a sheltered hillside. Primarily a day spa—the private and communal hot tubs, especially nice in the evening under a starry sky, are a popular option—Ten Thousand Waves also has 14 sleek and inviting overnight casitas and a lovely izakaya-style restaurant, Izanami. The treatment rooms and spa facilities here are simple yet elegant, with a zenlike vibe—perfect for relaxing while undergoing a Yasuragi head and neck treatment, a salt-glow body exfoliation, or the Japanese organic facial, which includes a thorough neck and shoulder massage. If you've been skiing or hiking in the mountains up the road, stopping here on the way home is a great way to heal sore muscles. It's $119 for a 50-minute massage and $213–$473 for half-day packages. Nature walks are also offered.

This intimate spa set amid gracious gardens beside the late-Victorian Madeleine Inn lives up to its name with its lush, peaceful Bali-inspired setting and sumptuous treatments, some of which—like the pumpkin-infused massage, exfoliation, and mask offered in the fall—change seasonally. Master-level massage therapists use all-organic, delectable food-grade ingredients. Among year-round treatments, the Indo-Asian hot-stone massage and Chocolate Decadence facial are highly popular. Most treatments finish with homemade snacks, and a variety of add-ons are available, including 30-minute foot massages and leisurely rose-petal baths in a massive stone tub. Cozy, low-keyed, and eco-friendly (it's certified by the nonprofit Green Spa Network), Absolute Nirvana has more limited facilities than some of Santa Fe's major resorts, but that's a big part of its charm—the price is right, too. It's $120 for a 60-minute massage and $355–$395 for a half-day spa package.

This day spa just south of the Guadalupe District is known for having one of the most popular vegetarian restaurants in town (the specialty is raw, organic fare), plus a great little boutique and comprehensive child-care services. Other big strengths of Body are the dance classes and yoga school, with an extensive slate of classes like body sculpting, personal training, and Pilates. The spa here offers the full range of treatments that you'll find at the bigger resort properties, but at lower prices than at most. The staff is friendly and the space unpretentious. Consider body wraps, facials, and Thai, Swedish, and Japanese massages in addition to Rolfing, Reiki, craniosacral therapy, and prenatal massage. Also popular are the lemon-verbena body glow, and custom facials using top lines of holistic products. It's $85 for a 60-minute massage; the gym has cardiovascular machines, free weights, and weight-training equipment.

Dark, polished wood surfaces, amber lighting, and candelit kiva-style fireplaces infuse Inn at Loretto's intimate spa with a relaxed, understated elegance—especially during Santa Fe's cool winter months, this is a particularly cozy, inviting space for a massage, and the central location near the Plaza makes it a convenient choice for guests of the many nearby hotels. The old-world decor of the five treatment suites (plus a couples suite), some with Vichy showers and antique claw-foot soaking tubs, are especially nice for enjoying one of the spa's half-day packages, including a deluxe 365-minute session that includes sage-scented bath, hot-stone massage, facial, milk-and-honey wrap, manicure and pedicure, and chakra balancing. These services can be booked individually, along with a high-altitude massage geared specifically to Santa Fe's 7,000-foot elevation, and the bracing Café Olé Indonesian coffee scrub. An 80-minute massage is $195, and half-day packages are $330–$775. The gym includes cardiovascular machines, free weights, and weight-training equipment. Yoga classes are offered as well. One drawback: common areas are very limited, as there are no steam rooms, saunas, or hot tubs.

At 16,000 square feet, the expansive Wo' P'in Spa at this Hilton-managed Pojoaque Tribe–owned gaming resort just north of Santa Fe is one of the largest in the state. With its huge outdoor pool and Roman baths–inspired indoor pool, swanky salon, and extensive manicure and pedicure options, Wo' P'in is more a place for pampering—in the style of a Vegas resort—than meditative serenity or spiritual enrichment. The spa can tailor any massage or treatment with a number of add-ons, ranging from reflexology sessions to deep-foot massage to sugar-scrub exfoliations. One recommended treatment is the mocha mud coffee scrub that ends with a coconut-chocolate body-butter application. This is one of the few spas in the region with Vichy shower treatments, but these are sometimes suspended when water restrictions are in effect (which is often in Santa Fe). It's $170 for an 80-minute massage.