Design

• The spectacular circular lobby with its high-domed ceiling and stone stacked walls takes its inspiration from the sacred underground ceremonial structures of the Pueblo Indians called Kivas. The ceiling swirl represents the journey of life.
• The crystal in the center of the ceiling is a 90-pound naturally occurring Citrine from Brazil. Citrine is a semiprecious gem that is valued for its yellow to brownish color and its resemblance to the rarer topaz. Natural citrine is rarer than amethyst or smoky quartz, both of which are often heated to change their natural color to that of citrine.

• The chandelier was created by Will Wilkins. David Sargert designed it as a tribute to the upper Rose Window in the West Facade of the Cathedral at Reims in France.
• The dining tables are Absolute black granite from India with mahogany bases.

• The motif is Mediterranean.
• The domed ceiling is finished with boveda bricks.
• The floor is a combination of an Italian limestone mosaic and Emperador marble.
• The cabinets are made of white oak from Massachusetts.
• The ironwork on the cabinets was completed by Will Wilkins.
• The chandelier is from Mexico.
• The table is a mosaic pattern of petrified wood from Spain which sits on a brass stand.

• The paneling is made of Macassar ebony from Africa.
• The upper portion of the table is a Carpathian walnut burl pattern, and the lower portion is Macassar ebony.
• The countertops are absolute black granite from India.
• The carpet is natural wool from New Zealand.

This green space in the heart of the retreat is surrounded by towering cottonwood trees, some of them several hundred years old. From the very outset of El Monte Sagrado’s construction, architects were concerned with where buildings should not go, rather than where they should go, and this space was conceived as a place of meditation - somewhere to unwind and relax. It is believed that Native Americans held celebrations in this circle in the past.

• Our elegant “greenhouses”, called Biolariums, serve as beautiful green “living rooms” for people to enjoy all year round.
• The Biolariums adjacent to the swimming pool and El Monte Sagrado’s Living Spa™ are filled with flowering plants and trees.
• The walkway around the resort is Gunnash, which uses recycled coal-fired power plant ash called flyash.

A cenote is nature’s way of collecting and storing valuable freshwater - typically through a limestone sinkhole. This cenote is temperature-controlled. Snaking its way through El Monte Sagrado, behind the casitas of Tribal, Caribbean, Trout, Magpie, Marrakech, and Morocco is the Acequia Madre del Rio Pueblo de Taos. The Spanish settlers built acequias, or irrigation ditches, in the 16th and 17th centuries in order to channel precious water to the arid parts of New Mexico.