Celebrate National Honey Bee Day on Saturday, August 17, 2024, with Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado Santa Fe. Established in 2009, this day unites beekeepers, clubs, and associations to honor honey bees and their vital role in our ecosystem.
At Four Seasons, guests can enjoy a honey-infused cocktail at Terra Bar, indulge in a honey-inspired spa treatment, and join tours showcasing the honey bee production and the onsite apiary, “Betty’s Bees.”
General Manager Melissa Sims highlights the significance of their apiary: “Our onsite apiary not only supplies estate-produced honey, but also connects back to the property’s original founding as a working ranch. We have plentiful acreage to welcome our native pollinators and are excited to share this special offering with our guests and local visitors.”
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The day kicks off with a “Fly By” tour of the apiary, providing a 10-minute overview of the honey bee operation during the complimentary morning hike, led by the Adventure Center team. Later, guests can visit Terra Bar for a Beekeeper’s Tonic, a delightful concoction of house-infused honeycomb, citrus, lavender, Aviation American Gin, lavender syrup, tonic water, honey, lemon, and thyme. The Spa will offer the Healing Honey Ritual, an 80-minute treatment featuring local honey for a scrub and massage, priced at USD 295 (excluding tax and gratuity).
Adventure Center guide and resident beekeeper Amy Fredericks was pivotal in establishing the onsite bee program in spring 2023. She started with two colonies from a local bee stock, aiming to produce honey for use throughout the property. Fredericks has worked tirelessly to create a pollinator-friendly environment, reducing pesticide use and planting a native pollinator garden.
She collaborated with Reunity Resources to source sustainable compost, enhancing the existing partnership that donates food waste for composting. The bee colony supports the onsite Chef’s Garden, boosting the yield of organic produce like squash, peppers, and herbs used in Terra and throughout the Resort.
The property now boasts four hives in the apiary. An established hive can produce up to 60 pounds of honey per season, depending on rainfall. A typical hive houses 40,000 to 60,000 bees, with each bee producing one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime. Fredericks remarks, “It truly takes a village to produce a jar of honey!”
Fredericks is eager to share her beekeeping passion with guests. The “Fly-By” complimentary tours, offered seasonally, provide a glimpse into the onsite bee production. For a deeper dive, guests can book the two-hour “Hive Dive” tour. Participants, donning bee suits, will join Fredericks for a weekly hive inspection, learning about the critical role of pollinators and tasting fresh honey straight from the hive.
For more information about Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado Santa Fe or to book a stay in the enchanting Land of Enchantment, click here.
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