California Destination Spa Expands Lifestyle Choices
By Bernard Burt
Revitalized by new owners, Cal-a-Vie tops my list of trendsetters for 2008.
Not only does Cal-a-Vie combine personalized programs with an expanded range of wellness services; it’s also the first destination spa with a golf course.
Revisiting this southern California destination spa last December revealed a new world of healing lifestyles. Secluded in a valley near San Diego, the 200-acre resort has had a major makeover.
Strength building and elegant aesthetics come together in the newly expanded Fitness Pavilion. With five exercise studios and a spacious Great Room, the 17,000-square-foot pavilion marked the first phase of the new Cal-a-Vie. Opening this spring, the aquatics center will include both an indoor strength-building pool and outdoor Olympic-length lap pool. Completing the complex, a wellness center will house specialists in complimentary medicine.
Overlooking a lake, with the hillside chapel in the distance, the Fitness Pavilion studios are furnished with French and Italian antiques instead of the usual gym equipment. Class options include Latin dance, aerobic circuit training, waterworks, and Pilates. Feeling creative? Make a souvenir in the fully stocked arts studio.
The new concept provides comprehensive well-being services, explains General Manager Deborah Zie. You can schedule acupuncture, see a chiropractor, and evaluate your diet with a nutritionist – all in one visit.
John and Terri Havens fell in love with Cal-a-Vie when they fist visited, and purchased the property eight years ago. One of their first improvements was purely romantic; they bought a 400-year-old chapel in Dijon, France, from a former monastery, which was reassembled on a hilltop overlooking the spa complex. Along with crates of furniture, chandeliers, and marble fountains, the Havens exercised their passion for collecting antiques to create a new vision of Cal-a-Vie where living well is the best reward.
Clustered around a swimming pool are twenty-four miniature cottages stocked with exercise clothing and upscale bath amenities, but no TV. The “plaza,” a communal lounge, offers snacks, coffee and tea, newspapers as well as TV and computer access.
Settling in, I discover personal laundry service is offered daily. So you don’t need much clothing. The standard-issue sweat suit took me through the day and dinner. Robes are provided for reading on your private terrace or at the pool. Cottages feature glass-enclosed baths and showers, and marble-top vanity space. The bed is a cloud of comfort, while the furniture is minimal.
Each day is different. Spend your morning on a hike or walk, join an exercise class, or rest. In the afternoon, indulge in spa and salon treatments; and in the evening, join other guests for gatherings and lectures by a variety of guest speakers. In between, take time to swim in the heated pool, get in some tennis, or stroll the labyrinth. And now you can add golf to the fitness options.
Join the spa chefs in the cozy Cal-a-Vie kitchen one night as they create your dinner. And later this year, you’ll also have the opportunity to create your meal in a hands-on cooking class at the new culinary center. The culinary center will offer both one-day programs and programs exclusively for resident guests.
Get down and dirty in the organic gardens that supply the kitchen with fresh vegetables year-round. Meals are served al fresco on a shaded terrace, by the fireplace of the chandeliered dining room, or in your cottage. One evening we were seated in the kitchen as Executive Chef Steve Peretti demonstrated how gourmet spa cuisine can be low-cal. On the wall there is a chart listing every guest’s meal plan, as well as food preferences. Meals are plated according to that chart, I discovered, ensuring that you don’t overeat. However, portions are ample, the food flavored, complex, and delicious.
Destination spas are your private world, focused on staying well and looking your best. Cal-a-Vie creates a sense of community and camaraderie that helps you unwind and revitalize. The caring staff make it seem easy to set and exceed goals.
The recommended one-week program ($7,395) is structured and tailored to your fitness level, with intensity gradually increasing as the week progresses, which is balanced with body-and beauty services. The Short-break La Petite package (from $3,195) includes six spa services with program for three or four nights. Most guests arrive on a Sunday and are met at the airport by a spa van. On the return ride, we were handed a lunch box for our flight home.
For more information call (866) 772-4283 or visit www.cal-a-vie.com
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