Spa: Rancho Valencia Resort and Spa

Perhaps the most beautiful spa in all of California, the Spa at Rancho Valencia Resort is simply fabulous. Like the rest of this wonderful hideaway nestled in the hills of Rancho Santa Fe north of San Diego, the architecture of the spa evokes a quintessential California-Spanish Mission style, with its reddish adobe walls, lush green vegetation, gorgeous floral displays, and incredible, brightly colored and elaborate tile designs. Just entering the sun-dappled doorways to this stunning spa will bring a smile to your face – and the fun hasn’t even begun yet!

Once you’ve slipped into your plush robe and slippers and spent a few moments sipping warm herbal tea in the luxuriant relaxation room, your therapist arrives and escorts you into one of the Spa’s incredible treatment rooms. French doors open out to a private garden patio, where tile lined showers or old-fashioned bathtubs beckon. Some rooms even have a cozy fireplace, and room for two to share in a luscious treatment together. Couples will bask in the Terra Cotta Clay Bake, 120 minutes that consist of a soak together in your private garden pool, then a private mud-painting session (you slather the purifying, detoxifying mud on each other), then a bake in the year-round warm sunshine, and finally a moisturizing massage given by two therapists who really know what they are doing. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

Couples treatment room at Rancho Valencia Spa.

Plus, at Rancho Valencia Spa, you can choose the length or your treatment, too. Massages begin at 60 minutes and can be extended to 75, 90, or even (bliss!) 120 minutes of, say, the Warm Valencia Stone massage. And try the Watsu/Aqua Float water therapy in the spa’s special pool designed specifically for this slightly surreal treatment based on Zen Shiatsu, with a focus on simultaneous stretching and relaxing. The Reflexology treatment is also top-notch, as your therapist uses pressure points in your feet and hands to alleviate pain and stimulate your nervous system.

The spa offers complementary yoga, spin, and Pilates classes, and boasts an extraordinarily beautiful pool, large enough to swim laps and serene enough (adults only) to just chill after your treatment. Rancho Valencia is also a world-renowned tennis resort, with 17 hard courts and instructional clinics offered every day, as well as private instruction.

The pool and fitness building at Rancho Valencia Spa.

Stay the weekend and experience one of the resort’s beautiful casitas, which are fully appointed suites with private patios and Jacuzzis; and do not miss the top-notch fare being served at the Restaurant at Rancho Valencia. Chef Chris Powell deftly melds flavors into unexpectedly wonderful tastes – try the halibut wrapped in Serrano ham, served in a pungent tomato-spinach broth or the mesquite grilled diver scallops paired with sweet corn polenta raviolis. You won’t soon forget your meal here, or your spa visit, either. This truly is a wonderful place.

Rancho Valencia Resort and Spa
5921 Valencia Circle
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
858-756-1123
www.ranchovalencia.com