Monday, February 8, 2010

Pacific Waters Spa: Frankie Say Relax!

For you youngsters out there, the title of my post comes from the 80's band Frankie Goes To Hollywood. And it seemed appropriate given the fact that relax is all we were required to do when I and a bunch of other bloggers were invited out to a decadent day at the Pacific Waters Spa at the Huntington Hyatt. And it looks like my 80's reference is right-on seeing as our visit consisted of pampering and eating -- two things synonymous with that self-indulgent decade. Well, that and sex but there was none of that going on at this momblogger event. At least that I know of.

Before I get completely off-track and start quoting songs from all the other decades, let me tell you about my day. It started off with a great ride out to Huntington Beach with my good friends Amy and Bernadette. The whole way there we debated the underlying message of the movie Up In The Air, and by the time we got to the hotel I was fantasizing that George Clooney was going to be my masseuse or at least be walking around the spa in a robe. That wouldn't stay closed.

When we got to the spa there was no George, but we were impressed with the beautiful setting (take a virtual tour here.) After a quick orientation we were divided into groups that rotated to different parts of the spa each with its own pampering treatment. My group consisted of just two people -- me and Kim Tracey Prince, which was just fine with us, especially since we got first crack at the buffet table and we all know what kind of damage can be done by two mom bloggers left alone in a room full of food. Check out this spread -- I had to stop myself from stuffing the pockets of my robe with sandwiches:


We also got a 'cooking' lesson, where we learned to prepare some home spa treatments using all natural ingredients. Here's where we saw a demo of how to make a Mocha Latte Wrap for hands and feet using ground coffee, cocoa powder and coconut butter. Unfortunately being in this close proximity to coffee and not actually being able to drink it was somewhat tortuous for me -- I had to resist the urge to lick my hands and clean under my nails with my teeth.


The rest of the day was a hedonistic blur of massages, facials*, hand massages and sitting around in big fluffy robes lounging on luxurious chairs with snacks and tea at our disposal. Yes, I know it sounds horrible but we all suffered through it. I'm thinking of bringing my husband for his birthday in a few months -- they have great hotel/spa packages and special couples treatments as well. The spa itself is beautiful, and most important of all -- impeccably clean and organized. Also, it's located right across from the beach and they've done a lot to take advantage of the setting -- it's hard not to relax in these surroundings:


Also, while this was my first visit to the spa I've been to the Sunday brunch at the Huntington Hyatt numerous times and I highly recommend it. I'd say if you can follow the brunch with a spa visit you might just keel over and die from happiness.

Thanks to everyone at Pacific Waters Spa for a great day, and to Sarah Auerswald for bringing it all together.

(*I felt my facialist was a bit inexperienced and I can't wholeheartedly recommend this treatment from my encounter that day. However, it could have been due to the large number of people she had to work on in a short time.)

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1 comments:

Sarah Auerswald said...

Marsha, you're most welcome! Your post makes me wish I had been there -- oh, yeah, I was!

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