An eco-luxury sanctuary in Taos featuring globally inspired suites, a living-water purification system, and regional dining.
El Monte Sagrado, an 84-room luxury resort situated three blocks southeast of the historic Taos Plaza, is an architectural and ecological marvel built in 2003 and expanded in 2007. Acquired by Heritage Hotels and Resorts in 2015, the property spreads across 11 acres of high-desert landscape beneath the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Architect John Szerdi and the team at Dharma Living Systems designed the resort around a philosophy of utilizing ecosystems as infrastructure. At its core is the Biolarium, a greenhouse-like sanctuary housing the Living Machine, an eco-system that uses plants, fish, and rock formations to naturally purify and recirculate the resort's water. Outside, the historic acequia system flows alongside cascading trout ponds, while three monolithic basalt rock sculptures guard the waterfalls of the Sacred Circle, an open meadow shaded by century-old cottonwood trees.
The resort's accommodations are split into distinct collections, including 48 Mountain Rooms, 18 Native American Suites, six historic Casitas, and 12 Global Suites. The Mountain Rooms feature kiva-style fireplaces and soaking tubs surrounded by smooth white river stones. The Global Suites are decorated with hand-carved furniture, regional artwork, and textiles representing international regions like Morocco, China, Japan, Argentina, and Mexico. For example, the Mexico-themed suite contains a pueblo-style fireplace, authentic Mexican tilework, and hand-selected pottery. Guests can wander from these private sanctuaries along pathways scented with piñon wood smoke to find the Anaconda Bar. This lounge is defined by its faux snakeskin drapery, tropical plants, and a massive wood bar wrapped in a gold-plated reptilian spiral of Italian tile.
Dining at the resort centers around De La Tierra Restaurant, where Executive Chef Cristina Martinez, a Le Cordon Bleu graduate, has helmed the kitchen since 2017. Martinez crafts a menu of regional and seasonal American dishes with global influences, featuring plates like blood orange glazed duck breast with butternut squash puree. For intimate gatherings, a private Mediterranean-style wine room accommodates up to eight guests. Wellness treatments are hosted at the Living Spa, a 10-treatment-room facility that uses local desert botanicals like sage and juniper. Guests can relax in an atrium lounge beside a gold Buddha statue or request the treatment room featuring an adobe fireplace and skylight to watch birds drift overhead during a massage.
Request the spa treatment room with the adobe fireplace and skylight to watch birds drift overhead during your massage, and follow it with a cocktail under the gold-plated snake spiral at Anaconda Bar.
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