Travel + Leisure ranks Santa Fe No. 3 best city in U.S.

Jul. 19—Coming out of a couple of years of travel hesitations, Santa Fe remains a top U.S. destination among Travel + Leisure travelers taking part in the magazine's annual World's Best Awards.

Santa Fe ranked No. 3 in the "15 Best Cities in the United States," surrounded year after year by Charleston, S.C., New Orleans and Savannah, Ga., as they were again this year. Santa Fe has typically been in the top five and the City Different has made the 15 Best Cities list for 20 years.

Travel + Leisure conducted a reader survey with "hundreds of thousands of participants" from Oct. 25, 2021, to Feb. 28 to compile 121 different "best" categories.

"Robust restaurant and art scenes are key reasons visitors of all ages return to this Southwestern city," Travel + Leisure wrote about Santa Fe. "One reader who raved about the variety of attractions, including the Georgia O'Keefe Museum and Loretto Chapel, also encouraged other travelers to venture just outside of town to the Santa Fe Ski Basin, calling it 'a great place to view the sunset.' "

Santa Fe was one of 20 U.S. cities singled out for five, 10 or 15 best hotels. The "5 Best Hotels in Santa Fe" identified by readers were the Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi, Inn of the Five Graces, La Fonda on the Plaza, Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado and Inn and Spa at Loretto.

Bishop's Lodge (Auberge Resorts Collection), in its first year in operation, was selected No. 1 in "The 15 Best Resorts in the Western United States", defined as Oregon, Washington, Nevada, New Mexico and Alaska. The other western states had individual listings. Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa at the Santa Ana Pueblo ranked No. 6.

Ten Thousand Waves was accorded No. 2 among the "15 Best Destination Spas in the U.S." and Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa ranked No. 15.