La Bella Spa Salon is closing its ABQ Uptown flagship site in early April and will consolidate its operations at its Westside location at 10126 Coors Blvd. NW.

La Bella spokeswoman Joan Griffin said landlord Hunt Development came to La Bella owner Dawn Davide and asked her to leave to free up the highly visible space for a national tenant in financial services. She described the closing as a “rightsizing” for La Bella.

El Paso-based Hunt Development has lost several national tenants at the upscale life style center in the past six months and has been leasing space to retailers that have less cachet than some of the original tenants. The company had no comment today on La Bella’s departure.

Davide will retain all 60 employees and regroup at her Coors location where she plans to expand by building out a second level. Davide hopes to find a new Northeast Heights location in 2010, Griffin said.

La Bella Spa opened at ABQ Uptown two years ago and it was the center’s most upscale retail location in a stand alone building fronting the center’s east parking lot. Davide hosted several major social and charity events at the salon. Griffin said the ABQ location was breaking even, but added the difficult economy was a major factor in closing at ABQ Uptown.

La Bella’s closing is among the most high profile of local retail casualities since the start of the national recession. Other upscale retailers who have closed entirely or closed individual units in the Duke City include Little Black Dress, Diamond Tags, Ruby Shoesday and Seventh Goddess.

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Travel Q&A: Finding a spa in New Mexico

Q: I’m considering going to New Mexico for a high-end spa weekend. Any ideas?
- K.C. in CA

A: In my dream world, I could be paid to perform such public services as reviewing high-end spas in the Southwestern desert. Until then, we’ll have to rely on unbiased reports from those who do go to spas as regular ol’ paying customers.

Many spa magazines and Web sites are closely aligned with the spa industry itself. They may have terrific spa experts on staff, but I suggest you weigh their reports with the proverbial grain of salt.

Some spa sites lists only three spas in New Mexico: Hyatt Regency Tamaya, RockResorts at La Posada and Spa Sumadhi at Sunrise Springs. There is no mention of the dozen other getaway spas in the state. Another, offers blurbs on six New Mexico spas, with each write-up more adjective-filled than the one before it.

But plenty of travelers contribute opinions to Zagat surveys, and they regularly give high marks to Ten Thousand Waves spa in Santa Fe.

As do most spa devotees we know. Longtime travel writer Anne Chalfant calls Ten Thousand Waves, which is popular with both women and men, one of the best low-key spas anywhere.

“There are options for private hot tubs set under the pinon pines, or community hot tubs,” she says. “Don’t look for a facial or to get your nails done – it’s not that kind of spa. Instead, it’s a lovely, quieting place, like a Japanese onsen.”

Kyle Wagner of the Denver Post raves about Ojo Caliente.

“An hour southwest of Taos sits an oasis of sanity, and a true rarity: a reasonably priced spa, complete with four geothermal springs and a mud pool,” Wagner says. “It has wonderful American Indian spiritual undertones, and leans more toward the basics, but the full-service treatments are top-notch.”

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