One of my favorite parts of living in Charlotte is, frankly, the ease of access to the airport—it’s under an hour to get to DC, just over to get to New York, and a five hour direct flight gets you to California. As much as there is to explore in the Carolinas, I can’t help but appreciate being able to get to a major airport in just a few minutes.
After an incredibly memorable trip in 2022 to Arizona and falling in love with the Southwest, New Mexico remained high on my list of places I wanted to visit. When I heard earlier this year that the acclaimed Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado Santa Fe had completed a multimillion-dollar revitalization, it seemed like the perfect excuse to go.
The property is a former dude-ranch situated on 57 rolling acres in the Sangre de Cristo foothills. Four Seasons Resort Santa Fe is home to the Adventure Center with a dedicated excursion program operated in-house, a full-service spa and an onsite restaurant and bar, Terra. Terra features elevated, regional cuisine inspired by the flavors of northern New Mexico and the area’s Spanish heritage.
A TASTE OF SANTA FE
Santa Fe, New Mexico’s capital (and also the nation’s oldest state capital city), sits in the rolling Sangre de Cristo foothills. There is a smaller airport there, or you can fly into Albuquerque, a bigger hub that’s less than an hour’s drive away.
Santa Fe itself is a small town with just around 80,000 permanent residents, but the arts and culture scene is rich. The history of the place is, too. It was founded as a Spanish colony in 1610, making it the oldest European community west of the Mississippi. But of course, the land was already occupied by peoples with a much longer tie to the area, and the Spanish clashed with the local pueblos that had been long established by Native Americans.
Today, New Mexico remains home to 19 pueblos, which are sovereign nations with their own governments, traditions, and cultures. This “dual” history is present throughout the area, of both the native peoples and the Spanish. In addition to attracting tourists for its arts and culture scene that mixes both influences, the land itself is one of the biggest reasons to go. From the hot springs to the canyons to the mountains, the opportunities to explore the outdoors are nearly endless.
It was with this spirit of all that makes Santa Fe a destination that Four Seasons Rancho Encantado kicked off its stunning reimagination of the property. This was the first guest room renewal since the resort’s 2008 opening.
FOUR SEASONS SANTA FE REVITALIZED
All 65 rooms, 56 casitas and nine one-bedroom, 1,100-square-foot suites, were updated, as was the landscape of the property. The five-phased landscape redesign was completed over the winter, with a focus on sustainability. The revitalized landscape “reduces irrigation needs and conserves water resources by replacing spray-irrigated grass with Mexican feather grass in select areas.”
Walk along various paths throughout the property, linking the casitas, restaurant, pool, and spa, and take in the native plants, outdoor art installations, and open views.
When it comes to the rooms, inside the casitas, you’ll now find a more spacious use of 630 square feet with lighter hues and rounded shapes. The upgrades were led by Langlois Design, a boutique firm focused on sustainability and socially responsible design work. Shades of sand, linen, coral and copper bring the desert in, and each casita opens up to a generous porch. This was one of my favorite parts; each evening, we sat outside to see the sunset, sit in the hammock, and breathe the cool desert air.
In each room, curated art pieces give a nod to the Indigenous culture with horsehair pottery by artist Linda Concho of Kachina Country USA. There, Indigenous artists make pueblo pottery in a manner almost identical to the method developed during the Classic Pueblo Period of approximately 1050 to 1300 AD.
ARRIVING ON PROPERTY
We opted to fly to Albuquerque and drive to Santa Fe. From Charlotte, travel time clocked in at just around 6 hours, and after a very easy drive between the two cities, we found ourselves turning onto the road that leads to the resort. It was immediately clear we were going somewhere off the beaten path, and heading into the nature that defines the Santa Fe area.
Check-in was a quick process, complete with a warm lavendar towel and prickly pear lemonade. We were directed to our casita, just a few hundred yards away. The casita was immaculate, and quite spacious, with all the amenities you’d expect from a property of this caliber. The bathroom, with a large soaking tub, features heated floors and double sinks. The Le Labo products throughout were an especially nice touch.
Night one, we spent a few hours by the pool before heading into town for a bite at a local eatery. The drive to downtown Santa Fe is only 15 minutes, and while we were able to rely on our rental car, the Four Seasons concierge will also arrange a shuttle or car service at any time.
RESORT AMENITIES
Day two we spent exploring the property, with its access to multiple hiking trails. We made a quick stop at the well-stocked fitness center before having lunch at the pool bar and heading back into the center of Santa Fe.
One of the main attractions, The Santa Fe Plaza is a National Historic Landmark downtown in the style of traditional Spanish-American colonial cities. There are markets and shops galore, but our first stop was a bit outside the plaza for coffee at Iconik Coffee Roasters on Guadalupe St. A short stroll away, there are several more shops, restaurants and museums. Double Take proved a fun visit; the large vintage shop blends retail and resale in nearly 25,000 square feet of endless perusing.
Dinner that night was at Terra on property. The patio offers gorgeous views that were complemented by the fresh fare. The atmosphere is upscale but relaxed, and the menu was seasonally-driven: We enjoyed a grilled watermelon salad, housemade bread, and bison tenderloin. We ended the evening with dessert and a shared espresso martini before retiring to the casita, where the “fire butler” came by to get our fireplace roaring.
EXPLORING & REJUVENATING
Day three was our chance to pay a visit to the Adventure Center, one of the property’s most beloved (and unique) offerings. At 9 am, we met up with Amy, our e-bike guide. We got fitted for our bikes and helmets and then piled into the Sprinter van to head to Bandelier National Monument and the Valles Caldera in the Jemez Mountains. The drive was around an hour, but flew by as Amy offered her extensive knowledge of the area’s history, pointing out landmarks, pueblos, and answering our many questions. (Later, Amy, a woman of many talents, would show us her bee hives on property, where she has cultivated thousands of healthy honey bees).
Driving into the park proved to be a stunning ride. The landscape changed rapidly from where we were on property, which has a desert-feel, to a much more verdant, green, mountainous place. The e-bike tour was an easy highlight of the trip; all told, it took us from 9am-2pm, including the drive and a 30 minute picnic lunch packed by the chefs at Four Seasons. We saw prairie dogs, elk, coyotes, and plenty of birds and wildflowers. In addition, the Adventure Center offers experts to take you skiing down the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, to soak in natural hot springs, dive into local traditions like winemaking, hear the drums of Indigenous Cultural Dances or visit world-class art galleries.
WRAPPING UP
The day, our last full one, was capped off with what was perhaps the perfect ending: a visit to the spa. Four Season’s spa is one of the property’s best features: situated on a spiritual vortex, the spa rooms each feature access to a private garden space that has an outdoor shower, hot tub, and dry sauna.
I opted for one of the signature treatments, inspired by the local lore. The “mountain purification ritual” is one of the most memorable body treatments I’ve ever received. Katharine, my therapist, started with a smudging of sage, followed by an adobe clay body mask. Once the mask was applied, she added in a warm full body wrap and a scalp and foot massage. After, I headed outside to the private courtyard to shower rinse and take a few minutes in the sauna before the final stage of the treatment, a juniper-sage massage using hot stones.
Like seemingly most of the people in Santa Fe, Katharine is multi-talented. Her art is also hung throughout the Four Seasons Spa as part of their larger art programming on property (pieces are commissioned and available for purchase in nearly every nook you can find).
VISIT THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT FOR YOURSELF
To learn more about Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado or to book a stay in the newly designed rooms, visit fourseasons.com/santafe. Want help planning your trip from Charlotte to Santa Fe? We reccomend our trusted travel guide, Ashley Theis at The Constant Wayfarer, to take care of all your concierge travel needs.
