This is the Santa Fe based spa that is run by the same company that runs Ojo Caliente, and you can tell because they have the same fonts and robes. Unlike Ojo Caliente, which is tucked up in the mountains, Sunrise Springs is located within the flatter, more plains-like outskirts of Santa Fe. The pools are also man-made, not natural mineral hot springs like at Ojo Caliente. You can purchase Day Soak passes, or soaking is free with a stay at the resort or with a purchase of a spa service over $150. The pools were really nice and looked out onto a pond, I was into it.

Sunrise Springs seems to really lean into this resort for rich people vibe with a side of holistic healing practices culled willy nilly from Eastern and Indigenous cultures (to exist in my Eastern body is to be a hater, sigh.).

I purchased a CBD oil massage because fuck it, we’re in Santa Fe, and I have this lingering ache in my spine most likely due to too many airplane trips and sleeping as if I were playing a game of twister. When my masseur showed up I had a MOMENT, listen, I had just had a string of really bad Santa Fe dating experiences which included 4am phone calls, gaslighting, and cyberstalking, and I was Not Feeling The Mustachioed Man Leading Me Down Into The Basement, you know what I’m saying? My hesitation slowly melted away though, because this guy was a case study in Consensual Massage Therapy. He checked in multiple times and was very careful with the sheet that was covering me and between that and the sound of birds, I was soon in muscle relaxation heaven. The CBD oil massage consisted of a general CBD oil, a locally applied camphor salve (tbh it was probably our esteemed everyday favorite, Vicks Vaporub), and a CBD muscle freeze packet that I took home and am going to use the next time I get one of those weird aches that comes with getting 30 and walking up the stairs.

Usually when I (ahem) sample CBD items in stores I feel a slight numbing on the affected area, but this time I felt no freezing across my body. So did the CBD actually kick in? Who knows. It’s been days later and my neck does feel better aligned. But was it the CBD or the consensual massage vibes? Who knows?

—Carol