Ten Thousand Waves Hot Tub & Spa Packages

If you’re planning a trip up to Santa Fe, these specials from Ten Thousand Waves might be tempting. If you’re not planning a trip up to Santa Fe, you might be tempted anyway.

Hot tub packages at the delicious Japanese-style Ten Thousand Waves day spa on Monday to Thursday in August and September 2010 save bucks and provide a good excuse to head up to the City Different for a day trip. 

They also have very pretty names for the packages, which I suppose you would when people are shelling out these sums even at the discounted rate. But I reckon the 20% off deals are good value and I always walk (wobble) away from Ten Thousand Waves feeling like overcooked spaghetti. (In other words: very relaxed. And it takes quite a lot to relax Mrs Cheap. Just ask Mr Cheap.)

Here are the special offers for each month, you need the coupons at the link.

Ten Thousand Waves August package:  20% discount on the Buddha Treat on Monday to Thursday at $183.50, discounted from a total value of $259. That gets you: a 55 minute private bath, a 55 minute massage, a deluxe herbal wrap, and a salt glow body treatment.

Ten Thousand Waves September package: 20% discount on Waves of Bliss on Monday to Thursday at $295.20, discounted from a total value of $407. The four and a half hour package includes a private bath, 80 minute Masters Massage, Yasuragi head and neck treatment, 55 minute custom facial and a salt glow treatment.

Although the coupons are on their Facebook page, you don’t need to be a Facebook member to print them. Make reservations with Ten Thousand Waves in advance.

Even if you can’t splash out on these treats, regular admission to soak in the hot tubs with sun decks and lovely landscaping is very affordable:

• $18.76 admission to the mixed or women-only communal hot tubs, stay as long as you like, and they provide a kimono, sandals, and towels, and well-equipped changing rooms with toiletries and lockers.
• $99 punch card covers you for 8 visits from Monday to Thursday (saving over $50) and you can bring a guest – two people can visit at a time using the punch card.
• The Waribiki Rewards Club card for New Mexico Residents gives you a 20% discount on private baths, massage, and spa treatments on Monday to Thursday. You can’t use the card on the day you receive it, but if you’re at Ten Thousand Waves anyway, you might as well pick one up for future visits. Take your NM ID.
• Children 4 feet tall or less soak for half price.

Ten Thousand Waves is located at 3451 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe

–Tania

NM Rail Runner 3 x Day Passes for $10: Buy Today, Use Through 2010

If you travel the New Mexico Rail Runner Express anyway, this deal is a no-brainer. If you’ve been wanting to ride the rails… here’s your chance to try it out and save big too!

This deal to get three NM Rail Runner all-zone day passes for $10 is only available for purchase today, Thursday August 5, then you can use the passes for travel until December 31, 2010.

The passes give unlimited travel in all zones and are usually priced $9 each – for a total value of $27.  I do not need to count on all my fingers and toes to work out out that the Groupon daily deal  for three New Mexico Rail Runner day passes at  $10 for the lot is therefore a pretty good bargain – over 60% off and saving $17 on your rail rumblings.

The main restriction to note is that you have to plan your travel at least 5 days ahead according to the deal terms. But if you’re a frequent rider on the NM Rail Runner or are planning trips up to Santa Fe this fall, the savings are sweet!

Rail Runner tickets also earn you discounts at Albuquerque and Santa Fe shops, hotels and restaurants  on the day the ticket is valid for travel.

And if you take the train on a Saturday on August 2010, you could also see free Shakespeare on the Train!

Train schedule and ticket information is at the New Mexico Rail Runner Express website

–Tania

FYI: I’ve given you my Groupon.com affiliate link. If you feel like sending a little love this way to support the ABQ on the Cheap site, please use the link.

Cowboy Barbecue Cookout: August 6

Bishop’s Lodge Ranch Resort and Spa’s cowboy cookout in Santa Fe on Friday August 6, 2010 looks like a wild west way to end the week! This is a real YeeeeeeeHa! cowboy cookout on a Santa Fe mesa top with live music and dancing, barbecue and all the fixin’s, and kids eat half price or free depending on age…

I took a tour of the resort property recently including a ride up to the mesa top where they hold the cowboy cookout, and it’s a sweet spot with mighty purty views – should be a good vantage point to admire the sunset while kicking up your heels.

The Bishop’s Lodge cowboy cookout includes a full barbeque catered by the resort’s Las Fuentes Restaurant & Bar, and actor/singer/songwriter David Manzanares provides the tunes for dancing with cowboy songs, country and western, and Latin music.

The price is right too for dinner and entertainment: $24.95 per person, with discounts for seniors ($19.95), under 18′s ($12) and it’s free for kids under 5.

When: Friday August 6, 2010

Time: 6 pm

Where: Bishop’s Lodge Ranch Resort and Spa in Santa Fe

Price: $24.95 for adults
               $19.95 for seniors
               $12 for under 18′s
               Kids under 5 eat free

Spaces are limited and you need to reserve for the barbecue cookout in advance. Trail rides will also be available as an add-on. Note: the website says Bill Hearne’s performing, but the last notice I had on it confirms that music is by David Manzanares.

Although Bishop’s Lodge is set is a quiet spot in the Tesuque Valley surrounded by Santa Fe National Forest, it’s only about a 5 minute drive from Santa Fe Plaza. (I’ve timed it!). Here’s the map and directions to Bishop’s Lodge Ranch Resort and Spa.

–Tania

Santa Fe Opera Free or Cheap Events

Santa Fe Opera season is of course a highlight of the year in the New Mexico arts calendar, but if ticket prices are beyond your budget, here are some ways you can still enjoy opera on the cheap for the rest of the summer 2010 season.

Opera Apprentice Concerts at Encantado Resort, Santa Fe

Opera apprentices present an evening of operatic pieces and show tunes, starting with a reception with cash bar starting at 5 pm, followed by apprentice performances at 6 pm.

• Thursday, July 29 (tonight!)
• Wednesday, August 4

Encantado Resort is located at 198 State Road 592 in Tesuque, just north of Santa Fe.

* * *

Santa Fe Opera Apprentices at Vanessie of Santa Fe Restaurant

Apprentice singers perform in the piano bar with a $10 cover charge per person. (And 20% of food and drink proceeds go to the Opera.)

• Thursday, July 29 (tonight!):  two 45- minute sets at 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm
• Saturday July 31:  two 45-minute sets at 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm
• Sunday August 1: 6:30 pm, as this is the finale evening it’s a two-hour set, and everyone apparently joins in with the apprentices on familiar opera pieces and musical numbers.

Seating is first-come, first-served for the bar (no reservations). If you want to dine too, reserve with Vanessie, located at 434 West San Francisco Street, Santa Fe

* * *

Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Scenes

Today’s apprentice singers are the opera stars of the future, and they take to the stage for two concerts produced by apprentice technicians, with heavily discounted ticket prices. Both evenings feature fully staged scenes from popular operas, and should be accessible events for a family visit.

• Sunday August 15 at 8:30 pm
• Sunday August 22 at 8:30 pm
• Price: $15 for adults and $5 for children aged 6 to 17.

You need to book tickets for Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Scenes concerts.

* * *

Free Insider Day Backstage Tours

If you missed our earlier mention of the Santa Fe Opera Insider Days, you can still join these free Saturday morning talks and backstage tours until August 28 – they even provide free refreshments! See our previous post on the Santa Fe Opera Free Insider Days for all the details.

Note: I was TRYING to put little musical note symbols in between these items instead of asterisks to make it purty, but my HTML coding doesn’t want to play. (And you can’t just cut and paste from the Word symbols.) I’m stumped. Anyone got a clue on how I do that? No prize but plenty of gratitude!

–Tania

Discount Golf for NM Residents on Santa Fe Trail Courses

New Mexico golf courses are beautiful to play, especially when you’re saving dollars on green fees! This summer, NM residents can still get this great deal on New Mexico golf that works out to just $25 per round including top notch courses like Paa-Ko Ridge, Twin Warriors, and UNM Championship. The offer is only for New Mexico residents.

This discounted twilight golf pass  lets you play all eight Golf on the Santa Fe Trail courses for just $200. That’s 25 bucks per round, a very low par for these courses, saving you over $150.

Twilight hours start at 2 pm, allowing plenty of time for a relaxed game, and the pass can be used Monday to Thursday. The pass is valid for one year from date of purchase to play all the Santa Fe Trail courses once each – see the trail map at the link. Six are around Albuquerque, the other two are north of Santa Fe:

• Paa-Ko Ridge
• Twin Warriors
• Sandia
• UNM Championship
• Santa Ana
• Isleta Eagle
• Black Mesa
• Towa

They say pass numbers are limited, although some form of this pass deal has been ongoing for a while now.  Still, golfers who want to try all these excellent area courses will stumble on their soft spikes to snap this one up.

To summarize the very fair deal conditions for the discounted Golf on the Santa Fe Trail pass:

• You must be a New Mexico resident and can play each course only once
• The pass can be used Monday to Thursday for tee times starting from 2 pm
• Book tee times up to seven days in advance, for groups of no more than four players
• The pass is good for a year from date of purchase

If you don’t play yourself, this could make a good gift for the golfer in your life. Buy the discount golf pass online.

If you’re not a New Mexico resident or if you’re taking an out-of-state guest, regular green fees are still very competitive (especially compared to other national courses of similar quality) at all the Golf on the Santa Fe Trail courses .

–Tania

Free Georgia O’Keeffe Mini Poster with Purchase

A free gift from the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum store in Santa Fe when you order online. THEY call it a mini poster. I call it the perfect size to frame, and it’s one of O’Keeffe’s most timelessly beautiful images.

This is a straightforward deal:

Order online from the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum gift store in Santa Fe, and you get a free mini poster of O’Keeffe’s  Abstraction White Rose, 1927. 

The image is 14 inches by 11 inches, and you can see it much better if you follow the link to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Store freebie.

It’s a gorgeous and timeless O’Keeffe (as if everything she did isn’t timeless) and would fit perfectly into either a classic or ultra-modern decor. Could make a good gift too.

There are plenty of items to covet at the O’Keeffe Museum store, from jewelry to clothing to books to mugs to mobiles, and some lovely gifty items. They also have their 2011 calendars in already (yikes!).

Just watch out for shipping charges. They’re determined by order value, and if you order something under $10, you’ll pay $6.50 in shipping. Which is rather daft, especially on some of those small and light items, and would totally defeat the free poster deal, methinks.

Shipping charges are better value if you order above the $10 mark, so maybe grab a few gift items to plan ahead for the holidays, and then nab your freebie poster too?

–Tania

Santa Fe Opera Free Insider Days

Free Santa Fe Opera summer talks and backstage tours, and they even throw in the coffee and muffins! Until August 28, 2010.

Did you know about the Santa Fe Opera Insider Days? If you did, why didn’t you tell me? On Saturday mornings this summer you can turn up at Santa Fe Opera – I love that beautiful building high on the hill – and enjoy a free coffee and muffins reception hosted by Opera Guild members, followed by a talk by an Opera staff member, then a backstage tour.

Yep, you’ve got to get up early, but it’ll be worth it for the free Santa Fe Opera Insider Day experience, and of course the views are just gorgeous.  See the list of weekly speakers here.

• When: Saturday mornings till August 28, 2010
• Time: 8:30 am coffee and muffins, 9 am talk then tour
• Where: meet at The Santa Fe Opera Box Office
• Price: FREE!

If you’d rather go on a weekday, regular Santa Fe Opera backstage tours take place each day at 9 am Monday to Saturday until August 28, 2010, with a walk around the costume shop, scene shop and other areas to learn how they put the whole spectacle together. For that you pay $5, children 17 and under go free. Again, you meet at the box offices and you don’t need to book in advance.

Santa Fe Opera directions: it’s located at Exit 168 of US Highway 84/285 seven miles north of Santa Fe.

–Tania

Fourth of July Free Events 2010

Time to celebrate our freedom with these Independence Day events in and around Albuquerque…

This year, the big Freedom 4th party at Balloon Fiesta Park is indeed FREE! (Although there is a parking fee – check out the details below).

There are plenty of freebie celebrations too in Rio Rancho, Madrid, Acoma, and further afield around the state.

So let’s (erm) go forth: Bring on the fireworks, flags, and fun!

Freedom Fourth – Albuquerque - Sunday July 4, 2010

• Gates open at 3 pm for a 4 pm start, free admission for all! Freedom 4th is held at Balloon Fiesta Park, and live entertainment includes Vanessa Aragon, The System, Marsh, and Honor Society. Plus food vendors, free jumpers, face painting, a climbing wall, and 4th grade poster competition on display in Mayor Berry’s Very Important Kids Zone. All culminating of course in the fireworks display after dark.
• Parking is $10…  depending how many of you are in your group, you could save cash (and possibility your sanity) by taking the Park & Ride for $1 round trip; 35c for ages 62 and up; free for kids aged 10 and under.  You need exact change and bus passes aren’t accepted for Park & Ride. West side pick up is St. Pius High School, east side is  Coronado Center.
• There are quite a few “thou shalt nots” at this event – you can’t take pets (you know they don’t like fireworks) nor alcohol (although alcohol is available to purchase), so check the City of Albuquerque Freedom 4th page for all event details and a list of what you can and can’t take.

Rio Rancho Holiday Parade and Fireworks - Saturday July 3 2010

• Bike Decorating Contest registration starts at 9 am – open to kids and adults with prizes for the kids contest only (natch!) for best decorated and patriotic bikes! Register free at Joe’s Pasta House parking lot, 3201 Southern Blvd, then join the parade (children must wear a helmet).
• Holiday parade starts at 10 am, heading east from Country Club Drive down Southern Boulevard.  and ending on Pinetree Road near the Esther Bone Memorial Library and the Rio Rancho Veterans Monument Park.
• A ceremony follows at the Veterans Monument Park, starting at around 11 am.
• Free fireworks at the Rio Rancho High School football stadium on Saturday July 3 start at 9:30 pm – but you can hear live music from 8 pm. Parking at the High School is $5 per vehicle (proceeds to the Rio Rancho High School Booster Club).
• See all the details on the Rio Rancho Holiday weekend events.

Madrid Fourth of July parade starts at noon on Sunday July 4, from the Back Road to the Ballpark.  Stay on for the First Annual Bluegrass Festival after the parade at the Old Coal Mine Museum ($10 admission for adults, free for kids under 12, and admission includes entry to the Museum.)

Other New Mexico Independence Day Weekend Events:

If you’re planning to travel around the state, check out these other mostly free (or cheap) 4th July celebrations over the weekend.  See each link for day, times, and details:

• Acoma Pueblo Sky City Free Sky Works outdoor concert and fireworks starting at 6 pm on July 4 with music from the James Douglas Show and The JIR Project, followed by fireworks at 8pm, at Acoma Pueblo’s Sky City, about an hour’s drive west of Albuquerque.
• Cloudcroft Games, Street Dance and Parade
• Eagle Nest Parade and Fireworks
• Elephant Butte 4th of July Fireworks Display (park fees waived from 6–9 pm)
• Farmington Freedom Days Parade and Fireworks
• Las Cruces Electric Light Parade, Street Fest, Free Concerts (Unauthorized Journey on Sat 3, and Clay Walker on Sun 4) and Fireworks
• Moriarty Star Spangled 4th of July-Parade and entertainment
• Red River 4th of July Parade, Games and Cookout
• Santa Fe Fireworks display ($1 admission).
• Santa Rosa 4th of July Celebration and Fireworks
• Silver City Cowboy Breakfast, Ice Cream Social, Antique Tractor Show, Parade and Fireworks
• Socorro Free Fourth of July concerts and fireworks
• Taos Parade in Arroyo Seco, Fireworks in Taos
• Taos Ski Valley Parade, Games, and Rubber Duck Race

Plenty of places to celebrate…. on the CHEAP! Happy Independence Day!

–Tania

NM Rail Runner Free Shakespeare on the Train

If you’re taking the New Mexico Rail Runner Express to Santa Fe one of these summer weekends, try to time your trip for one of the Saturday trains when you can enjoy free performances of Shakespeare.

Every Saturday in June, July, and August 2010, the UNM Department of Theatre Education and Outreach takes to the stage aboard the train with scenes from Shakespeare.

Expect romance scenes in June, comedic scenes in July, and in August the spotlight turns on scenes of deceit and treachery. (Wow, all that between Duke City and the City Different! Sounds like we’ll need a strong… erm… coffee on arrival.)

The performances themselves are free, but you do need a rail ticket to ride the train.

The shows are only on two Saturday trains, and during specific segments of the journey:

• #506 Northbound – between Downtown ABQ station (departing 2:38 pm) and Santa Fe Depot.
• #509 Southbound – between Santa Fe Depot (departing 4:32 pm) and Los Ranchos/The Journal Center.

Find the bard’s players in the first railcar behind the locomotive, in the bottom floor.

Train schedule and ticket information is at the New Mexico Rail Runner Express website.

–Tania

Inn on the Alameda Santa Fe 50% off 2nd Night: June 2010 Dates

Second night half price special at this Santa Fe hotel for specific June dates, including breakfast and daily wine reception.

I’ve never stayed at Inn on the Alameda in Santa Fe but I’ve always looked at it with some longing when passing by, as it appears so inviting and it’s on one of my favorite leafy streets.

This June 2010 deal offering 50% off the second night might give me the excuse to persuade my DH, otherwise known as Mr Cheap, to take me there for a mini vacation. And maybe I’ll run into some of you, as dates are limited, so we’ll all be there at the same time  

The ‘stay one night get the second night half price’ offer applies to all rooms and suites, and hotel stays include complimentary continental breakfast buffet, a free afternoon wine and cheese reception, free parking and local calls, and free wireless internet access.

The half price second night special only applies to these 2010 dates, and is obviously subject to availability:

• June 20, 21, 22
• June 27, 28, 29, 30

You can’t book the special online, although you could check the Inn on the Alameda reservations page to scope out the rooms and rates. (I’m seeing rooms starting at around $176, or with a patio or balcony at $189 for dates in this period.)

Then call reservations by phone at 888-984-2121, citing the second night at 50% off special.

Inn on the Alameda is located at 303 East Alameda, Santa Fe.

–Tania

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