simonesez: The Inn of the Five Graces

Set in a valley against a landscape of expansive mountains and sky in a subtle spectrum of pinks and blues, accented with piñon pine and juniper, The Inn of The Five Graces offers a quiet, light-filled haven in the midst of Santa Fe. Thousands of years of cultural influences find full expression in the arts, food, and culture that define Santa Fe style. Native Americans established a relationship to the land and created the adobe architecture synonymous with the region. The Spanish brought Western European ideas that become interwoven with the Indian way of life. This mingling of Indian, Spanish, and Anglo-American heritage in Santa Fe has produced an eclectic treasure that delights all the senses, and nowhere is this more obvious than at The Inn of The Five Graces.

Operated by The Garrett Hotel Group, owners of the award-winning Lake Placid Lodge and management company for The Point, the already luxurious suites at The Inn of The Fives Graces have been accented with a kaleidoscope of colors and textures. In this just-completed refurbishment and redesign, local interior designer Sylvia Seret and antiques importer Ira Seret, have collaborated with Christie Garrett to blend the sultry mystery of the orient with the earthy, sun-drenched beauty of Santa Fe. The Serets have been instrumental figures and influential in perpetuating Santa Fe’s interior design and architecture; some might say they have redeveloped the contemporary look of Santa Fe that others replicate. They have evoked an ambiance of pure romance in the boutique hotel’s twenty-two suites and tapas-style restaurant, The Gate House.

The adobe and Mexican river rock structures that define The Inn of The Five Graces are located in the Barrio de Analco in downtown Santa Fe, on the south side of the Analco River. The river, whose name means “the other side of the water,” was an ancient dividing line between the Spaniards, who lived on the northern side, and the Tlaxcalan Indians, who lived on the southern edge. For guests of The Inn of The Five Graces, the river symbolizes a divide between the stressful world of pressing deadlines and a calm, timeless place where the only important decisions to be made are which sense to indulge next: sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch.

The name of the property derives from the Tibetan celebration of the five senses, which grace well-being and remind us to dwell serenely in the present moment. Traditional symbols used to depict the five senses — mirrors for sight, musical instruments for sound, flowers and candles for smell, cloth for touch, and food for taste — are an important part of the decor at The Inn of The Five Graces. The regional architecture of the Inn, a compound with twenty-two suites housed in a long, multi-leveled adobe structure and a two-story building made of local river rocks, immediately engages the senses of touch and sight.

The soft geometry and grainy surface of rose-colored adobe walls contrast with smooth, water-washed river rocks. Intimate courtyards paved with an ever-changing variety of stone and tile invite you to slip off your shoes and feel the cool of the earth traveling up through your toes. Screens made of local piñon wood and poles of hand-hewn cedar jutting out from adobe walls reveal the rugged beauty of the indigenous architecture.

Upon arriving at The Inn of The Five Graces, guests step off the historic streets of Santa Fe onto a terrace covered with hand-hewn wooden chairs and deep benches strewn with colorful pillows set in front of a tableau of pink sand colored adobe buildings. Entering the Gate House, a cozy lobby with a hanging daybed of bright painted wood and chairs upholstered with Native American-inspired textiles invite guests to indulge in the sanctuary setting set before them. The adobe courtyard lined with azure painted window frames and bright blooms of hibiscus and bougainvillea is the gateway for the guests to be guided to the hand-carved wooden door of their room. The antique door opens into a private retreat richly decorated with hand-crafted textiles, mosaics, and antique carved wooden furnishings from around the world.

Decorated in a palette of earth colored walls and fabrics, The Gate House is situated in a secluded niche of the hotel. Anchored by its massive, mustard-colored Kiva [fireplace], The Gate House creates a comfortable cloistered setting for enjoying fine food. Tables arranged beside French doors that open onto a flower-filled courtyard allow diners to enjoy the scents and pure air of the Southwestern setting. By passing through a tunnel-like Moroccan arch, diners can also discover a secluded courtyard filled with plush greenery, mosaic-topped tables, and metal garden chairs where they can relax in a breezy setting. A selective tapas menu blends Southwestern, Spanish, Mediterranean, and Eastern flavors. Delectable offerings of imported olives and Spanish marcona almonds, sweet potato soup with lime cream, a sirloin sandwich with jalapeno aioli, and vanilla bean flan are some of the savory “little plates” served daily.

While the architecture is pure Southwest–a blending of Spanish Colonial style with Native American building techniques and materials—the decorations of the rooms and the courtyards they face is a free-wheeling fantasy inspired by the fanciful tales Scheherazade whispered each night to her husband. Traditional adobe walls, exposed cedar and ponderosa pine beams, and river-rock fireplaces speak the language of New Mexico in the suites, which each include a bedroom, living room, and luxurious bathroom. Weathered green antique shutters with brass hinges provide a partition between the living room and the bathroom, allowing maximum light to fill the space. In keeping Pueblo tradition, large windows face the south, opening onto a courtyard garden that blooms with flowers throughout the seasons. Brick, flagstone, tile or pine floors covered with Afgan dhurries and Turkish kilims, walls spangled with mosaic tiles, and intricately carved wood screens once used to protect harem members from the gaze of strangers all suggest the exotic mysteries of the Orient. Monastic serenity is achieved by emphasizing the integrity of past styles and the plain beauty of the structure, for example, in allowing the ceilings to serve as both decorative and structural elements in the room.

Textiles embroidered with curling tendrils, bright blossoms, scintillating mirrors, and intricate patterns of radiating stars hang from walls and swath soft beds. A treasure trove of Moroccan wood carvings, screens of ancient ivory from India, Turkish vases with azure glaze, and colorful Spanish tile embellish bathrooms where guests can sink into deep baths of steaming water. While the senses of touch, sight, and smell are being pampered, private pantries stocked with gourmet treats tempt the taste buds. Guests need not leave their rooms from dusk till well past dawn, when servers bring delicious breakfast trays to be enjoyed in private living rooms or patios. Listening to the sound of songbirds and savoring sage-scented breezes, guests can enjoy a Mediterranean style breakfast of yogurt, fresh fruit and juices, eggs, and just-baked breads.

Whether seeking the sanctuary of suites with evocative names like Moonstone, Silk Tree, and Firebird, savoring tapas beneath the carnelian-colored umbrellas of the Gate House restaurant, or sitting quietly in a private courtyard, guests of The Inn of the Five Graces will reconnect with each and every sense. When they return home to their everyday life, they will know on the deepest level why Santa Fe is celebrated not only as an exotic cultural and culinary destination, but also as an ancient center for spiritual healing. The Inn of The Five Graces reminds its guests that the five senses are gifts which invite us all not only to connect with the beauties of the outside world, but to nourish the inner one as well.

The Point, Lake Placid Lodge, and The Inn of The Five Graces, all operated by The Garrett Hotel Group, are members of the Relais & Châteaux, the prestigious international association of privately owned hotels and restaurants embodying the highest culinary standards and the French “art de vivre.”