Page 73 - 2019 Travel Guide to California

weather, spectacular geography and mineral
springs. The 1950s brought yoga to the state,
and the 1960s ushered in a wave of young
hippies passionate about all-natural food
and intentional living. Today, California is
the nation’s vortex of personal health and
self-improvement, with spas and wellness
centers almost as ubiquitous as scenic
views. From five-star luxury resorts and
posh day spas to holistic healing programs
and “hippie hot springs,” the array of
retreats will dazzle even the most experi-
enced serenity seeker. Here are some of our
favorite spots for the ultimate escape.
Taking the Waters
Home to numerous large geothermal areas,
California has for centuries been a cele-
brated mineral springs destination, with
myriad spas statewide. Two hours inland
from Los Angeles, Desert Hot Springs offers
dozens of options, from the glamorous,
sprawling Two Bunch Palms (featured in the
movie The Player) to cozy boutique inns like
Hacienda Hot Springs. The Central Coast
also boasts famous baths, such as Tassajara,
the first Zen monastery built outside of Asia.
But small, funky Calistoga in the north is the
state’s oldest spa town, renowned not only
for hot springs but also abundant volcanic
ash used for therapeutic mud treatments.
Eight thousand years ago, the Wappo
Indians named the area “Ta La Ha Lu Si,”
meaning “Beautiful Land” or “Oven Place,”
and today spa facilities run the gamut from
luxurious to laid-back. The oldest in Calis-
toga—and likely California—is Indian
Springs, opened in 1862 by Sam Brannan,
the first Gold Rush millionaire. Today the
17-acre property remains a refuge, featuring
an Olympic-size mineral pool heated to 92-
102 degrees depending on the season ($25
extra on weekdays, $50 extra on weekends
and holidays), an adults-only pool with
dining and beverage service, plus mud
baths, eucalyptus-steeped steam rooms
and a meditation pond.
Wine Country Wellness
Though Napa Valley and Sonoma are
known for some of the world’s best grapes,
you can soak up much more than wine in
this beautiful region. Residents and visitors
alike have long enjoyed the area’s natural
mineral waters, and today’s spa menus
overflow with therapeutic ingredients such
as grape seeds and skins, rich in antioxi-
dants and polyphenols.
For first-class accommodations, a three-
star Michelin dinner and extreme
pampering, visit the 14,000-square-foot
all-suite Meadowood Spa and choose a
curated treatment package such as the
three-hour “From the Earth,” which
includes a hot and cold stone massage and
a black walnut scrub enhanced with
INFINITY EDGE hot tub at 1440
Multiversity, bottom
custom-blended aromatherapy oils.
Located on a private, two-hundred-fifty-
acre estate, Meadowood also offers golf,
tennis, croquet, hiking and swimming.
Many spas offer vineyard views, but at
Spa Terra at the Meritage Resort, treatments
take place below the vineyard in an under-
ground wine cave. Treat yourself to the
fifty-minute “uncork”: a grape-seed scrub
followed by a skin-regenerating wine and
rosehip mud wrap (rich in minerals and
antioxidants) and a sumptuous application
of cabernet grape-seed lotion. (Add on foot
and scalp treatments for an extra $25 each).
Use of the Jacuzzi and steam room is
included with services.
But it’s not all about grapes in wine
country. At Solage, an Auberge spa, the sig-
nature treatment is “the mudslide,” which
combines a lavish mud application with
customized essential oils from their “mud
bar,” a soak in a private geo-thermal mineral
2019 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA 71