Ten Thousand Waves
Ten Thousand Waves Way, Santa Fe
Hotel in Santa Fe, United States
Book with PearlWhy go
Ten Thousand Waves is a Japanese-inspired bathhouse and inn on a Santa Fe hillside; the right booking if the spa is your primary reason for visiting. The setting is intimate and purposeful rather than resort-grand. Day-use access works well for Santa Fe visitors; overnight guests gain the best value by choosing rooms with private outdoor soaking tubs included. Booking is easy outside peak weekends.
About Ten Thousand Waves
Is Ten Thousand Waves worth booking?
Yes; if you want a spa retreat that feels genuinely different from the standard luxury hotel formula. Ten Thousand Waves, located at 21 Ten Thousand Waves Way in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is a Japanese-inspired bathhouse and inn set into the hillside just outside downtown Santa Fe. For a first-timer, the core experience is the communal and private hot tubs, not a hotel room with spa access as an afterthought. The spa comes first here, everything else; lodging, dining, the mountain setting, orbits that central offer.
The physical layout reinforces this. The property climbs a hillside, with private tubs, shared pools, treatment spaces distributed across terraced levels. You move between spaces on foot, often outdoors, with pinon pines and open sky around you. The scale is deliberately intimate rather than resort-large. If you are expecting a sprawling pool complex or a grand lobby, you will need to recalibrate, this place works because it is contained and purposeful, not because it is grand.
For first-timers, the clearest booking logic is this: decide whether you want to stay overnight or visit for the day. Day-use access to communal tubs is available and works well if you are already based in Santa Fe. Overnight rooms let you lean into the setting more fully, the quieter morning hours at the pools are a real advantage for guests. On the room side, the property offers a range of accommodations from standard suites to private cottage-style options. The higher room tiers include private outdoor soaking tubs, which removes the need to reserve a private tub separately, worth considering if privacy matters more to you than price.
Santa Fe has stronger options for pure hotel luxury, but nothing in the area combines a working Japanese bathhouse with overnight lodging at this level. If the spa is the reason you are going, this is the right call. If you primarily want a well-located Santa Fe hotel with spa access as a perk, you may find better value elsewhere in the city. Check our full Santa Fe County hotels guide and our full Santa Fe County experiences guide for context on how it sits within the wider destination.
Booking is direct, this is not a hard reservation to secure outside peak summer and holiday weekends. Plan ahead for private tub reservations, which fill faster than room inventory.
Know Before You Go
- Address: 21 Ten Thousand Waves Way, Santa Fe, NM 87501
- Leading for: Spa-focused stays, couples, solo retreats, day-use bathhouse visits
- Booking difficulty: Easy for rooms; private tub reservations fill faster, especially on weekends
- Room tip: Upper-tier rooms with private outdoor soaking tubs offer the leading value if you would otherwise pay separately for private tub access
- Setting: Hillside property outside downtown Santa Fe; a car or rideshare is needed to reach the city centre
- Not ideal for: Travellers who want a large-pool resort, a full-service hotel lobby experience, or easy walkability to Santa Fe dining
- More Santa Fe context: restaurants, bars, wineries
How It Compares
See the comparison section below for how Ten Thousand Waves stacks up against peer properties.
Inside Ten Thousand Waves
Planning details
- Location
- 21 Ten Thousand Waves Way, Santa Fe, NM 87501
- Website
- tenthousandwaves.com
- Phone
- +1 505 982 9304
The take
The Take
The Vibe
Ten Thousand Waves reads like a deliberately modest mountain onsen translated to the New Mexico high desert. Low-slung timber joinery and worn stone paths let the site set the tone; buildings sit into the hillside so the landscape always feels primary. Outdoor soaking pools—some communal, some fully private—emit steam into juniper-studded air, producing quiet, contemplative moments rather than spectacle. The property’s long-established planting and restrained lines favor a serene, relaxed atmosphere that rewards slow arrival and attention to small, handcrafted details.
Best For
This is a place for people seeking restorative solitude and a nature-forward spa experience. The setting on the southern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the onsen-inspired soaking pools make it especially well suited to wellness-focused stays and small romantic getaways. Guests who value low-impact architecture, quiet vistas and outdoor thermal soaking—whether in communal pools or private baths—will find the property’s composition and remoteness particularly appealing. It’s also fitting for anniversaries or short weekend escapes from Santa Fe.
Stay Tips
Plan for a deliberate, off-the-beaten-path arrival: the property sits at roughly 7,000 feet and is reached via Artist Road from Santa Fe. Book early for private soaking options if privacy matters—pools on the site range from communal to fully private—and expect a landscape-first design that emphasizes outdoor soaking and quiet moments. Come prepared for high-desert conditions and temperature shifts at elevation; layers work better than assuming resort warmth.
Venue details
Ambiance
Serene and tranquil with a Japanese sense of simplicity and natural beauty amid piñons and junipers.
Tags
Vibe
Best For
Experience
Amenities
View
About the Stay
- Rooms
- 14
- Check-in
- 16:00
- Property Style
- Japanese Ryokan Inspired
- Design Style
- Rustic Japanese Simplicity
Planning details
Location
Also consider
Also Consider
- Aman New York; Notable alternative
- Amangiri; Notable alternative
- Hotel Bel-Air; Notable alternative
- The Beverly Hills Hotel; Notable alternative
- The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel; Notable alternative
Hotel context
How Ten Thousand Waves Compares
Ten Thousand Waves occupies a different category from most of its luxury peers. Where Amangiri in Canyon Point delivers desert landscape drama with full Aman service depth; and a price to match; Ten Thousand Waves is a more accessible, more singular proposition: a working bathhouse that also happens to offer overnight accommodation. If your trip is organised around a spa experience rather than around a hotel stay, Ten Thousand Waves is the stronger choice for the Southwest. Amangiri wins on room quality and service polish; Ten Thousand Waves wins on authenticity of the spa concept.
Against urban luxury like Aman New York or The Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, the comparison is almost beside the point; those properties are city hotels with prestige and service as the draw. Ten Thousand Waves is a destination retreat where the setting and the spa are the product. For travellers choosing between a Santa Fe spa stay and a pure wellness resort, Canyon Ranch Tucson offers a more comprehensive wellness programme in a comparable desert setting, though it lacks the Japanese bathhouse specificity that makes Ten Thousand Waves distinct.
For nature-focused retreats with a strong sense of place, Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur and Sage Lodge in Pray are worth considering as alternatives if you are flexible on destination. Both prioritise landscape immersion over service formality, much as Ten Thousand Waves does. The practical difference: Ten Thousand Waves is easier to book and sits at a lower price point than Post Ranch, making it the more accessible entry point to this style of retreat.
Explore Santa Fe
Around this place
Discover more on Pearl
Unlock the full Ten Thousand Waves guide in Pearl, including awards, comparisons, FAQs, planning details, and nearby places.
Compare Ten Thousand Waves
| Venue | Awards |
|---|---|
| Ten Thousand Waves | No published awards |
| Aman New York | 2026 Mr & Mrs Smith Luxury Hotels2026 La Liste Top Hotels2025 World’s 50 Best Hotels · #612025 Forbes 4-Star2025 Michelin 3 Keys2025 AAA 5 Diamond Hotel2024 World's 50 Best Hotels · #372024 Michelin 3 Keys2023 World's 50 Best Hotels · #25 |
| Amangiri | 2026 Forbes 4-Star2026 Virtuoso Luxury Hotel Collection2026 Mr & Mrs Smith Luxury HotelsConde Nast Gold List 20262026 La Liste Top Hotels2025 World’s 50 Best Hotels · #982025 Forbes 4-StarMichelin 3 Keys 20252025 Michelin 3 Keys |
| Hotel Bel-Air | 2026 Forbes 4-Star2026 La Liste Top Hotels2025 World’s 50 Best Hotels · #422025 AAA 5 Diamond Hotel2025 Michelin 3 Keys2024 World's 50 Best Hotels · #352024 Michelin 3 Keys |
| The Beverly Hills Hotel | 2026 Virtuoso Luxury Hotel Collection2026 Forbes 5-StarStar Wine Lists 20262026 Robb Report The 50 Greatest Luxury Hotels on Earth2026 La Liste Top HotelsConde Nast Gold List 20262025 World’s 50 Best Hotels · #652025 AAA 5 Diamond Hotel2025 Forbes 5-Star |
| The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel | 2026 La Liste Top Hotels2025 World’s 50 Best Hotels · #642025 Forbes 4-Star2025 Michelin 2 Keys2024 World's 50 Best Hotels · #302024 Michelin 2 KeysPearl Recommended Hotels |
How Ten Thousand Waves stacks up against the competition.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the dining at Ten Thousand Waves?
Ten Thousand Waves is primarily a spa destination, so dining plays a supporting role rather than a headline act. The on-site food offering suits a day of treatments rather than a dedicated restaurant visit. If serious dining is your priority for a Santa Fe trip, plan meals in the city center; the restaurant scene there is strong and worth the short drive from 21 Ten Thousand Waves Way.
How is the pool and spa at Ten Thousand Waves?
This is the core reason to book. Ten Thousand Waves is structured around a Japanese onsen-inspired bathing concept with a mix of communal and private tubs set into the hillside above Santa Fe. The private tub option is worth paying for if you want the full experience without sharing space. For a hotel spa comparison, this format is more immersive than a standard spa floor at a resort property like Amangiri or Aman New York.
What is check-in like at Ten Thousand Waves?
Ten Thousand Waves sits at 21 Ten Thousand Waves Way, about eight miles northeast of downtown Santa Fe, which means check-in requires a car or arranged transport. The property has a quieter, more deliberate pace than a conventional hotel lobby; arrival feels more like entering a retreat than a resort. Day-use spa guests and overnight guests share arrival infrastructure, so expect modest rather than grand entry formalities.
How does Ten Thousand Waves compare to nearby hotels?
Compared to conventional Santa Fe luxury hotels, Ten Thousand Waves occupies a different category: it is a spa property with lodging, not a hotel with a spa. If you want full-service hotel amenities, concierge support, a restaurant as a primary feature, properties closer to the Plaza district will serve you better. Ten Thousand Waves is the stronger choice when the spa experience itself is the reason for the trip.
Is Ten Thousand Waves family-friendly?
Ten Thousand Waves is better suited to adults and couples than families with young children. The communal bathing format and retreat atmosphere are oriented toward quiet relaxation. Families looking for an activity-rich New Mexico base would be better served by a conventional resort property; Ten Thousand Waves works best when everyone in the group is there for the spa.
Do loyalty programs work at Ten Thousand Waves?
Ten Thousand Waves operates independently, so major hotel loyalty programs such as Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, or World of Hyatt do not apply here. If points accumulation or status benefits are a material factor in your booking decision, this is a notable tradeoff to weigh against the property's specific appeal. For those programs, Amangiri or a chain-affiliated Santa Fe property would be the practical alternative.
How is the location of Ten Thousand Waves?
The property sits in the Sangre de Cristo foothills at 21 Ten Thousand Waves Way, roughly eight miles from downtown Santa Fe. The hillside setting is the point; you are trading urban walkability for mountain quiet and altitude. A car is necessary for the stay; factor that in if you plan to eat out in Santa Fe regularly, as each trip requires the drive.
