By Margaret Pierpont
Spa Magazine

Absolute Nirvana Spa and Gardens

The flavor at this resort is Indonesian, and the atmosphere is laid-back. The four-room spa building is a short stroll from the front porch of The Madeleine, an attractive Victorian bed-and-breakfast that sits on a quiet, leafy street in a residential neighborhood.

I was treated like a Javanese bride with an exotic lulur treatment, a two-hour extravaganza that starts with a foot cleansing, then moves onto a massage with rich oil and a scrub with tumeric, sandalwood and brown rice powder followed by a steam shower to wash it all off. The finale is a soak in a deep tub with trance-inducing rose petals scattered on the water. With a warm fire burning, a pot of tea at the ready, and two delicious truffles within easy reach, just the bath (it's available for couples, too) would make a fine conclusion to an active day.

The Bishop's Lodge Ranch Resort & Spa

Day guests who visit this family resort (about a 10-minute drive from town) and The ShaNah Spa & Wellness Center are welcome to hike on the property's 450 lush acres of river valley, take exercise classes and use the pool. In the warmer months you can watch the hummingbirds dart over the Russian sage in the spa's garden as you soak in the hot tub, have a treatment in a teepee or an outdoor treatment room, or give yourself over to Watsu beneath a brilliant blue sky.

During a graceful Native Stone Massage, the attentive therapist kept quietly checking on my comfort and providing nice touches like a hot, rolled towel to tuck behind my neck and another to wipe my hands and face at the treatment's end. I loved the spa's vetiver-and-cedar scented signature oil and was pleased to discover it in the shop along with a similarly scented, skin-cooling body lotion--a dry-climate find.

Ten Thousand Waves

A visit to this inspired retreat about a 15-minute drive into the mountains from town has become a ritual for Santa Fe visitors and locals alike over its quarter-century evolution. Skiers and hikers stop for a soak in the communal bath on their way down the mountain, and local ladies like to visit the women's bath when the moon is full. There are eight private bathing areas--some with plunge pools, saunas and waterfalls--holding from six to 20 people. I've enjoyed a romantic soak with my husband in December as snow was falling, as well as a pre-wedding bath with eight female relatives on a balmy June day.

If you spend an afternoon or evening there, and follow a bath with a massage or other treatment, you will feel as though you've been away for days. (You can do that, too, by booking one of the four Zen-style lodging rooms at the adjacent Houses of the Moon.) If you want to know how good it gets in Santa Fe, treat yourself to the Masters Massage, 85 therapeutic minutes with one of a select group of the most experienced massage therapists. After my treatment, the moon was rising over the pines, and I was glowing.