Sunrise Springs is owned by artist Megan Hill and offers numerous artistic pursuits.
For a fee, guests can take classes in pottery, Chinese brushwork, yoga, tai chi, and more. Japanese tea ceremonies are held at a traditional tea house on the premises. Birdwatching is spectacular, and binoculars may be borrowed free of charge.
The resort’s gym has a good selection of cardio equipment and weights. A heated, chlorine-free, 75-foot pool tempts splashers and lap swimmers during summer and early fall.
Two coed outdoor hot tubs are open from 6am to midnight. One is concrete and American-style, the other a Japanese wooden affairl. The hot tubs are seldom crowded, and couples often have them to themselves. There are also co-ed saunas.
Guests also may relax at the resort’s indoor-outdoor library, which is strong on magazines, art books, and Santa Fe material.
The resort is on the outskirts of Santa Fe, which houses the Southwest’s best galleries, museums, restaurants, and shopping for Western-look goods. Outdoor pursuits such as hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and whitewater rafting abound, and expeditions can be arranged by staff.
Day trips within a couple of hours of the property include the old mining village of Madrid along the Turquoise Trail; the once-secret science hamlet of Los Alamos; the ancient Anasazi Indian dwellings at Bandalier; and the picturesque Old West town of Las Vegas, NM.
Honeymoon couples interested in buying Pueblo pottery, Navajo rugs, and Zuni and Navajo silver-and-turquoise jewelry can shop in Gallup, southwest of Sunrise Springs. This Route 66 town is the business capital of the Navajo Nation and is lined with trading posts: stores that sell authentic Indian goods at wholesale prices less than half of what you’ll pay in Santa Fe.
Top Gallup retailers are Richardson’s, Ellis Tanner, and Zuni Traders.
