The Lone Star state is not alone when it comes to spas. The 19-acre Lake Austin Spa Resort, overlooking the lake, is a case in point. The spa fronts shimmering Lake Austin, where a microcosm of the world’s most scintillating spa treatments are offered seven days a week, rain or shine.
I arrived after driving 12 hours, just in time for the late-evening, 80-minute Texas Starry Night gentle lavender-inspired massage, staged on a spacious screened-in porch on the second level of the 25,000 square foot LakeHouse Spa. Making this a favored destination for those who savor the personal attention of a smaller spa, take note there are merely 40 guestrooms. The high level of service extends to the dining room, overlooking Lake Austin, where executive chef Terry Conlan prepares spa-inspired cuisine that overrides the limitation of traditional spa fare. The menu, changing daily, goes as far as featuring barbecued ribs! If you sit in on his weekly cooking class, you will discover the secret ingredient in the sauce: blackberry jam.
The resort is surrounded by two acres of terraced gardens resplendent with more than 200 varieties of fruits, vegetables, spices, wildflowers and herbs. These pesticide-free delights find their way into the kitchen and can be found in specialties such as Migas, Mexican scrambled eggs with corn tortilla strips, tomatoes, onions, chilies, cilantro and (fat-reduced) cheese. And then there are choices such as Spicy Yellow fin on Wonton Crisp (50 calories) and a four-ounce serving of pan roasted Cherry Blossom Chicken (245 calories). There is, in a big Texan way, a great deal to keep bodies moving from the resort’s fully equipped gym with private trainers on call to poolside cabanas, tandem couples’ suites and, to say the least, the most treatments available in Austin’s Hill country: 100 types of body therapy from body scrubs and wraps to facials and pumpkin-inspired pedicures. It takes a team of more than 80 therapists to make it happen. The Lake House Spa functions as a day spa as well, so if you happen to be in Austin, you can sample the spa menu without spending the night.
An added bonus: every year, monarch butterflies return to Lake Austin Resort, flittering in the gorgeous gardens. During the month of October, the 13th Annual Gathering of Wise Women features topics on women’s health and wellness. November is the 8th Annual For the Love of Books month with visiting writers such as Sarah Bird, author of “The Flamenco Academy.”
With esoteric spas in mind, but for those who seek a closer spa encounter (geographically, that is), Cal-a-Vie in Vista, Calif. is the logical choice. Opened in 1984, it has been recreated thanks to the ownership of Terri and John Havens who brought to this spa hideaway a dash of Southern charm and French attitude at the cost of $10 million.
That’s because the Havens, with roots in Texas and Louisiana, took steps to transform this intimate spa, with 24 guest cottages, 40 miles from San Diego, into a slice of the South of France.
This vision is best illustrated at a 400-year-old chapel, utilized for meditation, for which stone by stone was imported from Dijon, France to the hills of San Diego County.
The medicinal herb garden here is innovative and, for gardeners, inspirational with flax, borage, apple, mint and feverfew available for discovery.
Beyond all this is the new, lavish, 17,000 square foot fitness center. Classes from cardio kickboxing to Pilates take place on the upper level.
The hiking program here is top notch with diehards coming up to Cal-a-Vie, Oct. 8-15 for golf week, and Oct. 15-22 for Women’s Wellness with Dr. Nancy Snyderman and Nov. 26-Dec. 3 for Pilates Week.
The friend trend in spa vacations is sweeping the nation, as well. Ask about seasonal rates at both spas which enable friends and family to share the benefits of a healthy holiday with you.
Info: Lake Austin Spa Resort: www.lakeaustin.com 800.847.5637
Cal-a-Vie: www.cal-a-vie.com
800.SPA.HAVENS (772.4283)
Pamela Price ( pamprice@dc.rr.com) is the co author of “100 Best Spas of the World” ( www.globepequot.com)