Spa News

reprinted from San Jose Magazine online edition, July 2007 "Arrividerci Stress" - 5 Easy Pieces by Allison Block

Rugged and wild, the Sonoma coast is perhaps best known as the precarious perch for Alfred Hitchcock's classic The Birds. But there's nothing flighty about this idyllic Tuscan-inspired villa where Valley types flock to find peace.

Begin the day on a fragrant note with an aromatherapy massage at the villa's Courtyard Spa, then wind through tranquil gardens to the warmly-appointed dining room where owner and chef unleashes a blessedly fluffy, breakfast quiche.

If too much time at a workstation has your nerves in a knot, the nearly-two hour Net Release pinpoints acupressure hot spots of the cyber-inclined. Soothe repetitive movement injuries, put a lid on eye strain and stand up to deep-seated stiffness with this session of stretching and massage enhanced by special stress-reducing aromatherapy oils.

Still fit to be tide? Check out the churning surf at nearby Bodega Head, then float away with the villa's own marine marvel, the Ocean Wave. A head-to-toe slathering of Moorish mud primes the pores for a toxin-zapping blanket wrap, where body and mind blissfully limbo between daydream and sleep. Revel in a horizontal rinse (Stand up for a shower? Perish the thought!) followed by a skin-vigorating scrub with dead sea salts and essential oils. Heaven!