MYSTERY SHOPPER
JANE SCRIVNER » MANAGING DIRECTOR » SPARCANA
Glorious mud?
Calistoga, in California’s Napa Valley, is famous for its thermal waters and mud. Jane Scrivner tries out two very different mud experiences but found both had room for improvement in terms of staff and picking up on the finer points
INDIAN SPRINGS SPA & RESORT
BACKGROUND
Dating back to 1861, Indian Springs is one of the oldest resorts in Calistoga. Its 16 acres (6 hectares) are blessed with four geysers producing thermal mineral waters and a vast natural deposit of vol- canic ash which were used as a cure by native Indians over 8,000 years ago. Since 1998, the 41-bedroom resort has
been a family-owned business ran by hus- band and wife Pat and John Merchant and their children. Te spa was extended two years ago to include 10 new massage rooms. Tere are now 27 treatment rooms in total, plus a post-treatment lounge, an out- door veranda and a Buddha Pond. Tere’s also a newly refurbished mineral pool fed by the natural springs. Te signature treat- ment is a restorative mud or mineral water bath – costing us$85 (€70, £55) or us$75 (€62,
WHAT’S THE SCORE? Ease of booking
Facilities
Cleanliness/maintenance Staff – receptionist – therapists
Experience Treatment
Value for money Overall experience
The mudbath was ‘fabulously authentic’
£48) respectively – while standard massages start at us$125 (€103, £80) for 50 minutes and Pevonia facials go from us$85 for 25 minutes.
THE EXPERIENCE
10 7 7
0 8 5
9 9 8
Spread out over a large plot of open land with a separate pool building, spa and outdoor relaxation areas and inviting colo- nial-style lodges, the resort has a ranch feel. It was easy to find and to locate the spa. Unfortunately the visit didn’t get off
to a good start. My colleague and I were greeted by a receptionist who took full pay- ment on my card plus an extra us$95 (€79, £61) deposit for towels, robes and slippers. I would’ve liked to have been told/asked about this charge as I knew it would take three more days to reappear in my account. Dis- concertingly, she also kept one hand in her pocket the whole time. To finish, we were given a free pool pass to use at later date due to remodelling work –
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not much use as we’re based 5,000 miles away. Te pool was in fact lovely, it had a Great Gatsby-style colonial beauty, and I wondered why weren’t we told it was closed when we booked over the phone just 15 minutes before. We were asked to wait for our thera-
pist to collect us at 9.30am. At 9.45am, by which point we’d been sitting for 20 minutes, I went back to the counter to be told that Indian Springs ‘always set its clocks 15 minutes fast’. Very confusing. I was now concerned we weren’t going to be finished in time for our meeting. Tings began to get better with the
mudbath… aaamazing. Instructed to strip naked – that’s one way to get to know your co-worker! – we show- ered under warm water before moving
towards huge concrete baths full of volcanic ash mixed with spring water. While it wasn’t strictly mud, its jet black colour made it look like it and it squelched just like it too. Ini- tially, because it was so thick, we lay on top of the warm mud and handfuls of it was scooped over our bodies and daubed on our faces until the only thing showing was our mouths and eyes. Te experience was gor- geously warm and fabulously authentic and as I wallowed, the reception debacle leeched out of me and I began to relax. Tink ‘monster from the deep’. Tat’s what
we looked like walking over to shower cubi- cles that did little to hide our privacy. Having finally removed the mud, we were escorted to two fabulous, overflowing old Victorian baths. Te very warm water – made bearable (just) with tall glasses of deliciously cooling cucumber/fruit-flavoured water – was on the level of ‘it’s so extreme it must be doing me good’! Ten aſter a quick steam, we were taken to a cool wood cabin featuring low
SPA BUSINESS 3 2012 ©Cybertrek 2011
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