Pleasurably Posh

The posh Rancho Valencia Resort, located in Santa Fe,  in southern California, has added a 10,000-square-foot spa on a 2.5 acre indoor/outdoor site. The 10 spacious treatment rooms (5 with soaking tubs and 2 couples' rooms with fireplaces) imbue an element of luxury that few other resorts are able to duplicate. French doors open out to private patios, allowing the sounds of birds chirping and wind rustling through the trees to create a natural soundtrack that accompanies the treatments. The treatments, inspired by the year-round sunshine that the area prides itself on, utilize nature's local bounty, including locally grown and collected avocado, grape seed, and healing ingredients from the ocean.

Couples get an extra dose of fun added to their treatments, including the Terra Cotta Clay Bake that encourages couples to prep their skin for their re-hydrating massages by playfully painting the detoxifying terra cotta clay on each other with paintbrushes, after soaking together in the private outdoor garden tub. For more information call (858) 756-1031 or visit www.ranchovalencia.com.

—L.H.

January/February 2007