Visiting Santa Fe!

Maybe 5 or 6 years ago, one of my best friends had come back from a bachelorette party in Santa Fe and proceeded to tell me how much I would love it. “The art! The jewelry! The spas!” She had me right there. Santa Fe hadn’t really been on my radar as a place I wanted to go, but her words stuck with me.

This summer (rather serendipitously), the Four Seasons Santa Fe reached out about a stay at their property. I screamed a little and immediately emailed (and subsequently texted) that same friend.

We had the best time. I’m going to talk about our hotel, where we ate, and what we did. The travel days were long and we were there for three nights which means we had just two full days. Santa Fe makes for a really special friend trip. There have been some press trips I’ve gone on with a friend instead of partner and we will cackle to ourselves because it feels like we are on our honeymoon. This was not that. Santa Fe felt very perfect for our particular interests (spa, great meals, shopping, art!). It was also more rustic vs. romantic. If I had gone with my boyfriend we probably would have made it a totally different trip (less shopping, more outdoorsy stuff, visiting Los Alamos!) but this trip? The perfect girls’ getaway!

I will say that there is so much more to do than we did (and restaurants we didn’t try). We ran out of time. The Georgia O’Keefe Museum. Ghost Ranch. Ten Thousand Waves. The opera! All things I’ll do next time!

Visiting Santa Fe

Details/Logistics:

• We flew into Albuquerque and rented a car. It is about an hour and ten minute drive from the airport. I highly recommend stopping at Los Poblanos on your way. On the weekends they have (what I hear is) a great brunch, the rest of the time they have a great little farm shop. You can shop lavender goodies from their farm but also get lunch. We had lavender lattes and ham & butter sandwiches, I would def recommend both!
• In September, the air was very crisp and cool; it was in the 50s and 60s most days. I didn’t wear any of the dresses I packed… we both lived in jeans, cargos, and sweaters.
• The air is very dry. Pack your best moisturizers and apply double what you think you need. And drink A LOT of water! I woke up very parched a few times.
• Plan to shop. Seriously. Unless shopping is not your thing… if you are a jewelry or art lover, you will go bananas. So budget and save and plan on bringing home a special piece or two!

Where We Stayed:

We stayed at the Four Seasons Santa Fe. As I mentioned above, we were guests of the property, in exchange for covering the stay on my Instagram. I was not required to talk about the property on my blog but I want to, as I wanted to make a travel guide and this property just a perfect place. We were in one of their deluxe casitas with a king bed, a cute little porch, and an incredibly deluxe bathroom. I loved that it had a cozy, Western rustic vibe but with all the amenities you would expect from a Four Seasons property: incredible bedding, Le Labo toiletries… they even have a fireplace service where they’ll come light a fire in your room.

Definitely eat at their restaurant, Terra; check out their bar, too! We had a great dinner (more on that below) but every morning we fell into a nice little routine of going to the gym to work out and then having breakfast at Terra. Also, a little bit random but they have fun (free!) activities; I’d definitely recommend checking those out. We took a margarita making class on our first day and had a blast.

The spa (on property) is incredible. I had the Jasmine and Honeysuckle facial which was lovely and my friend got a massage. We both felt so renewed and relaxed afterward and my skin was glowing. If you are able to, book the private courtyard for afterward.

What We Did!

Canyon Road

Canyon Road was a real highlight! We started at the bottom (with Greek food at Cafe Grecco – it was very good) and worked our way to the top, stopping to look at art and shop. There are SO many galleries but my personal favorite was GiaccobeFritz (recommended by a girlfriend in Charleston); a week later I’m still thinking about this Bruce Cascia painting. The best shopping (for us) was Rockaway Opals. Oh my. I wound up purchasing the most beautiful strand of opals, but more importantly: they have SIX CATS that live there. Two are fosters, if you know anyone looking. Another little gem was Ahmyo Wine Garden. Just as we were losing steam we saw a note for wine in the garden. It’s a hidden gem; you have to walk through one of the galleries and then it is out back.

We heard great things about Compound, The Shed, and Sazon (all restaurants) but didn’t have a chance to go. Next time!

Nambe Trading Post

Nambe Trading Post is a bit of a drive but a very special little spot. They had an incredible selection of jewelry (I purchased a ring) and they also have a museum dedicated to movie costumes. The owner did the costume design for Dances With Wolves which I thought was pretty neat.

Gruet’s Tasting Room

I would also highly, highly recommend Gruet’s Tasting Room for wine tasting and snacks. I had low expectations for Santa Fe wines but WOW… their sparkling wines did not disappoint! Champagne style and SO lovely. They have this cute little outdoor space; we sat outside under an umbrella and soaked up the sunshine (before it started to rain). We shared a cheese board and their fish spread (highly recommend this as well) and we did a tasting and then stayed for a glass of sparkling rosé which ended up being our favorite.

Double Take

Double Take was recommended to us by a fellow hotel guest and had some great shopping. TONS of beautiful turquoise jewelry, cowboy boots… and a slew of great vintage. It was early in our trip so I didn’t end up buying anything (frankly, I was overwhelmed!!!) but I kind of wish we went back. My friend ended up buying a MaxMara teddy coat in amazing condition… for about a tenth of what it would retail for.

Also: across the street is a really cool store called Array. Beautiful home goods and gifts.

What We Ate:

We had two positively legendary dinners while we were in Santa Fe.

Geronimo was one of the best meals I’ve had in ages. I am still dreaming of the wasabi caesar salad and thinking about how I’ll recreate it at home. But also the tuna appetizer. And the green miso bass and beef tenderloin that we split because neither of us could decide on an entry. This is widely known as one of the very best restaurants in Santa Fe and while it is a splurge, it is completely worth the money. They are usually completely booked but our hotel was able to snag us a reservation.

And then Terra, in the hotel, was incredible too! We split a few different appetizers but the real highlight was the BISON, which we shared. It was just so perfectly cooked. If you go, absolutely go early and have a drink by the fire and watch the sunset. The views are incredible (we both loved the ranch water!).