Top Cultural Getaway - Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa, 2005
by
Fran Falkin
and
Jennifer Guterman
This year, FTF’This year, FTF’s annual awards honor successful family retreats. In the hectic 21st century workaday world, adults and kids are endlessly busy with jobs and school, meetings and homework, personal trainers and afterschool activities. Weekends are full of household chores, more homework (for parents and kids) and separate relaxation activities. Sometimes it’s hard for families to keep track of everyone’s schedules, and although many try, most are no longer successful at eating dinners together regularly.
When it’s time to get away from this routine, more and more adults are in search of a vacation where they can spend precious family-together time. This doesn’t mean sleeping in the same hotel room and going separate ways during the day, but securing family bonds by experiencing both new and favorite pursuits together.
FTF “Top 10 Getaways for Family Togetherness” have been selected for focusing on the kinds of activities that put the “family” back in family vacations. By offering a variety of outdoor adventures, watersports, cultural learning opportunities, crafts, classes, spa treatments and old-fashioned fun, kids, parents and even grandparents can reunite, create memories and, hopefully, return home inspired to find ways to nurture these connections.
Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa
Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico
800/55-HYATT, 505/867-1234
For more than a thousand years, the Tamayame people have lived along the Rio Grande River about half way between present day Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The ingenuity and adaptability of the Tamayame, as well as their bond to the natural world, have served them well over the years. Their newest endeavor, exemplifying their tradition of hospitality, is the Hyatt Regency Tamaya, one of the largest resorts ever developed on Native American land. Owned by the people of the Pueblo of Santa Ana and managed by the Hyatt Corporation, Tamaya is a “quiet and special place” that encourages families to spend time together.
The centerpiece of the unique experience that is a vacation at the Hyatt Tamaya is its Srai-Wi Family Program. Translated from the native language to mean “to gather children together and share with them,” these unforgettable activities foster parent-child interactions. The program was developed by the Tribal Council and is led by members of the tribe who take you on a “Journey through Tamaya.” Highlights include baking traditional pueblo bread, making a piece of pottery, horseback riding through the reservation land while viewing petroglyphs and ruins, adobe brick making, and ancient tales enacted by a traditional storyteller around a campfire. While some of these activities are included in the daily Resort Fee, some are available at an additional charge.
Other popular family activities include “Tee Tips at Twin Warriors,” for personalized instruction by PGA professionals; “Yoga and Pilates for Families;“ The Sky’s the Limit,” hot air balloon rides, as well as horse-drawn wagon rides. Finally, you can jog, bike or stroll with a guide or on your own in the bosque, the native Cottonwood Forest along the Rio Grande which is undergoing a multi-million dollar conservation and restoration project sponsored by the people of the Pueblo of Santa Ana to re-vegetate the area with native grasses and trees. To further immerse yourselves in the spirit of the Tamayama, performances of Native American dance and music and art demonstrations are scheduled throughout resort during the week.
The hotel is designed in the traditional adobe style and the décor throughout reflects these elements. The property has all the amenities you would expect of such a resort: The spacious rooms are tastefully decorated in southwest style, the Corn Maiden restaurant serves delicious fare inspired by the indigenous flavors, the Twin Warriors Golf Club, designed by Gary Panks on unique terrain, joins its sister course the Santa Ana Golf Club making it the largest golf complex in New Mexico, and the Tamaya Mist Spa and Salon uses native herbs for aromatherapy and offers ancient healing techniques in conjunction with modern approaches. While you play golf or luxuriate in the spa, Camp Tamaya provides fun for kids ages 3 to 12 from 9am through 9pm every day. There are also three pools including one designed as an ancient kiva and one with a pueblo-style waterslide.
Rooms with two double beds range from $175/N to $275/N depending on time of year. Check their website for “Family Fun Packages” which include breakfast, valet parking and savings off certain resort activities.
