Joyful Journey Hot Springs Spa — Hotel in Four Corners States

Joyful Journey (JJ) is a place where you go to unwind and get off the grid. Most people keep to themselves.The hotsprings are more like built-ins, not natural style in the ground, more like a pool style hot tub.The tubs all varying in temperatures, 100° avg, in one 103° avg, in the second and a 107° avg in the third built-in natural style tubs.The very hot, 107°average tub has "quiet" signs all around.They also have hot/cool tubs and a cold water shower outside. The two hot tub style tubs use the same mineral springs, but they don't constantly recirculate, and one was clogged with hair. The springs are natural minerals and had a very potent oder, the first evening, smelled like urine, which may be normal. The smell faded minimally by day three.They have showers inside and request you rinse before your soak, soap is supplied on the wall. There is a sauna as well you can use. There is a nice greenhouse on premises, respectively do not take or disturb anything. There are many different sleeping accommodations, camping, teepee (no heat), yurts (heated and a few are dog friendly), lodging (motel style, doors on the outside, and a Casita which houses six. There is a bath house to share for campers, teepee, and yurts. The water pressure was low and took a while to heat up (in both shower areas). It would be nice to have soap supplied in the shower and lotion on the wall in the bath house as many lodging does, especially how dry the mineral springs make your skin. The customer service was not super friendly, in my opinion, a few here and there. Jeanie or Jenny was very nice. Cute gift shop that sells Amy's burritos, ice cream, local cheese, local truffles, chocolates, other snacks, and merch available, too. The first yurt we stayed in six, had a king-size bed, also a twin. The king was like mashed potatoes, no support, and it dipped in the middle. They were kind enough to switch us the next day, since my husband and I could not sleep, we were so uncomfortable. We were moved to yurt five to a queen size bed. It was firmer, but maybe not better, springy, and still not super relaxing. In the yurt, there is a sphere window overhead to view the stars, which was pretty. Unfortunately, our two night anniversary getaway, we barely slept, because of the beds. Overnight guests, have breakfast and dinner included. The first night was soup, roasted red pepper or beef stew, and a cabbage slaw. Both were good. They have vegan, vegetarian, and meat options. The potions are small, which I'm sure is enough to sustain the average American, but we were extra hungry, and there are no second servings allowed. The evening woman server lacks social skills and is not friendly. We felt like we were bothering her, not even a smile. There are no instructions on how to order or what to do. In the evening, you get in a buffet style line. For breakfast, you order at the kitchen door. The breakfast server was bubbly and sweet. Breakfast was a much larger serving, and I left feeling satisfied. Eggs or tofu, meat or "Impossible," breakfast potatoes, and juice. Serve yourself pastries, bread, yogurt, even pancakes, and coffee at the wall to the left when you walk in. The second evening was a "Middle Eastern " theme, "shawarma" (again, veg and meat avail). Not really shawarma, but chicken strips and a tzatziki sauce (almond based), which is not typically used for shawarma, but a nice effort. The vegan meal was rice with caramelized onions, chickpeas, and both entrees accompanied pita. This meal was decent, but being our anniversary, I wished we had eaten dinner out instead. No alcohol on premises, JJ makes a lot of effort to serve quality food, and they're aware of dietary restrictions, so that's really unique. The overall vibe was not welcoming or comfortable, and I felt we paid a lot to pretend like we were poor, "camping." The grounds are well maintained, and I can see a lot of effort goes into keeping everything clean. Walking paths, meditation areas, and a maze. Peaceful location and the stars at night were phenomenal, with minimal...

I’m gonna do a quick summary and then break down why I pick three stars below. We spent three days camping in the RV hook up area. The food was fantastic and that’s worth five stars. The front desk was not the best and our interaction the last day prompted us to leave early. The camping was just gravel and dirt for tents or Rv’s

Pros A big shout out to Mary, Tumara, Brad and Michael for great food served with a smile. We are not “foodies” but we do know when we get food, and we did. Michael and Brad made creative dishes every day and the portions were just right. Mary and Tumara always had a huge smile at meals and were so friendly it made us smile. The resort is lucky to have them because I think without them they would not be doing so well. The bathrooms and kitchen area were clean.

Cons Camping/ RV sites we all gravel and dirt see picture. I wouldn’t expect too much more in the desert, but a tree would’ve been nice for some shade. The only hook up they had was electricity and you had to get water out of the bathroom.

Pools Access was from 7:30 to 10 PM that night. Day passes were from 930 to 10 so if you wanted to get the pools without day past people it was over breakfast which started at seven and ended around 10. There are three pools that are roughly 15 x 15 and two Jacuzzis that were set up, regardless of what time we went we never got a pool to ourselves and if you look at the picture of one of the pools, you’ll see one behind it there’s one to the right and the Jacuzzi behind the building. It’s very small quarters. Sometimes you just want a soak in a pool without listening to other people talk, but if anybody’s talking in any of the pools, you can hear them.

Front desk. Check in seemed to have gone smooth with the younger and older woman. When we booked our site, it said we had a fire ring however when we got to our site, there was no fire ring. So my wife inquired with the younger lady at the front desk and she seemed surprised. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. They only had about 25% fire rings and some built with rocks. When my wife asked if we could have one of the fire rings moved to our site, the woman said go ahead and get one. So my wife and I had to walk about 100 yards carrying a firing tour our site, not very good customer service considering they have a little truck that was running around and someone could’ve moved it for us. On day three the older woman that was behind the desk was walking about 25 yards from us and she saw our trailer hook up with our side tent, which comes attached to the trailer. She yelled across the camping area that we’re not supposed to have a tent, I told her we had cleared it because it’s actually part of our trailer like a push out, see the photo. The older woman went on to say that she was afraid we were going to get run over by a car, implying that that someone had drove over someone’s campsite with them in it. Talking to the people around us were all very cool and they were really surprised.

My wife went into the office moments after the older woman and there were six people behind the desk who all became silent once she walked in. It would appear that this woman was saying bad things about us. My wife apologized for not being told the rules because we’re not rule breakers. One of the men said thank you for coming in and clearing this up, our checkout time was 10 o’clock. And we were packed up and ready to go and we’re going to move over to the day parking so that we could enjoy the spa until 6 o’clock, butbecause of our interaction it just didn’t seem right and we didn’t feel welcome there anymore so I turned in our keys and we moved on.

Recommendations I wouldn’t recommend staying at this place for the reasons above. However, if you are when placing your reservations, I would ask them about who was run over by a car in a tent because that seemed like a very large concern of theirs. There’s another resort about 30 minutes from there called Valleyview with natural looking pools. I’d recommend checking out that...

I visited Joyful Journey because I wanted a relaxing, clothed hot spring experience (with a spiritual twist) before a big hike and the hot springs I usually visit was closed for renovations. I was reluctant at first because it's 130+ miles from home, but I am so glad I went! For what I paid for a day pass, I was expecting a more muted experience compared to what is included with an overnight stay, but that couldn't be further from the truth! $15 ($12 if you're a local) gets you access to the sauna and allows you to soak from 10 am to 5 pm. You don't need a day pass to visit the labyrinth, greenhouse, or meditation area.

The staff were all wonderful from the moment I opened the door to check in. Everyone from the manager to the pool staff was friendly, courteous, and very informative of not only the springs themselves, but also the local history of the land and the historical therapeutic qualities of the water.

The little shop in the chileck in area looked like it had a lot of wares from local artists and crafters, which I loved, and it didn't have any of the "touristy" stuff you can find pretty much anywhere in Colorado. Lots of pretty jewelry too without feeling too "woo-woo" in regards to the metaphysical aspects.

The locker and bathroom area were very clean (someone was spraying everything down every time I went in), but lacked privacy. There were two stalls, one being ADA, but the regular stall was little small for changing in. It also has a "group" type shower without dividers, so it's best just for rinsing off. If you're modest, shower before you arrive and come in your suit, or arrive early before everyone else does.

The pools and surrounding decks were at the perfect temperature, very clean, and nicely organized. It didn't feel cluttered at all and the hanging flower baskets were a nice aesthetic touch (the 2 hummingbirds I saw agree!). The cushions on a few chairs were a little sun faded, but they weren't dirty, stained, or in disrepair. Very comfortable! They also had water coolers by each of the pools, which was a nice touch, and they allow you to bring your own snacks.

The warmest pool filled up very quickly. I was the first one in and within 10 minutes there was about 10 people in the pool with me, so if you like the lobster pot, get there early! The medium temperature pool was very comfortable temperature wise and I really liked how deep it was. It made it easier to relax and stretch out a bit and it never got crowded.

I really enjoyed the other features of the spa and surrounding property such as the dry sauna, the greenhouse, the labyrinth, and Meditation Hill. The views were incredible and everything was extremely clean and orderly. Even the greenhouse, which one expects to be a little disheveled, was well kept and filled with beautiful flowers, herbs, and vegetables used in their kitchen for overnight guests.

While I didn't utilize their lodging this time, it seemed like they had a really good range of options. Yurts, teepees, something that looked like a tiny house, and a few people had their own tents and RVs. I was also informed that lodging includes breakfast and dinner. And the menu had some really tasty sounding options!

Overall, this was an amazing experience and I'm really looking forward to visiting again. This time with friends and possibly staying the...