Outings: Santa Fe

Wrap Session

Sometimes indulgence knows no bounds—nor should it. Consider my jaunt to La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa for a Chocolate Chile Wrap body treatment and a Margarita Madness Pedicure. Spread over acres of grassy lawns, tall trees, and lush landscaping in the midst of downtown Santa Fe, La Posada is a welcome springtime retreat. As I enter the spa, a waterfall wall and a glass of strawberry water help me downshift into relaxation gear.

First is the Chocolate Chile Wrap. Chocolate is known for its deeply moisturizing qualities (think cocoa butter), and the heat-arousing local Chimayó chile powder is believed to stimulate circulation and improve immunity. My therapist, Laurete, begins with dry exfoliation via loofah, then slathers me from head to toe with warmed chocolate-chile mud—a blend of local clay, chile, chocolate, aloe vera, and a seaweed formula. She wraps me in a silvery space blanket to lock in body heat—as my skin is nourished by antioxidants, I feel like a spicy chocolate tamale. Then she massages my feet. Hedonistic? You bet.

Next is a nice, warm shower, followed by a chocolate-scented moisturizer. “The mud had a lot of minerals in it, so your lymph system is detoxifying,” she says. Donning my cotton robe and smelling like a human Milk Dud, I depart the treatment room with noticeably softer skin. It stays soft for days.

In the spa’s nail salon, Barbara administers the Margarita Madness Pedicure, with its citrus theme: a deliciously tart, lime-infused marg on the rocks to sip as my feet are pampered with a citrus-oil sugar scrub, then hydrated with a lime mask and warm paraffin, topped off by lemon-zest moisturizing lotion.

The polish? A chocolaty red with shimmer—“kind of a dark adobe with glitz,” declares Barbara. I mellow out with the marg and the Native flute music (Shamanic Dream) playing on the spa’s stereo as she makes my feet smooth and glamorous.

Wrap, $135; pedicure, $100. 330 E. Palace, (505) 986-0000, www.laposada.rockresorts.com
—Wolf Schneider