There are times when one must just let everything go and spend some time at a spa being pampered and fawned over. This summer I spent some time at such a place in Encinitas, California, at a place called Bergamot Spa and Boutique. My cousin, sister and I booked ourselves to receive massages, a girl’s day out that included shopping, getting pampered and fondue.
To say that the Bergamot Spa and Boutique is beautiful is an understatement. Tucked away in a tiny shopping center filled with unique and one-of-kind boutiques, this is a full service medical spa that provides immediate appeal with its quiet, tropical decor and friendly attendants. While it doesn’t have the polish or the poshness of saying a Las Vegas or Beverly Hills spa, it possessed the one thing that is necessary for a successful spa experience: tranquility. The main spa building itself is not very large, as it is where the legendary pedicures are given and also serves as a waiting room, reception area and small coffee area. The best and biggest surprise, though, about the spa has to do with what is beyond a pair of double doors to the right of the reception desk. Beyond those doors lies a place that is a part Japanese garden, part secret garden.
When one is being personally led by their masseuse, who comes to meet and greet you at the reception desk, one is struck by the thought that he or she has just been transported to a place that only exists in dreams. The spa has several tiny, one-room cottages where the massages take place, and as a client soon discovers, one has to step over a miniature bridge covering a babbling brook complete with darting goldfish swimming around in order to get to your personal cottage. It is with delight and wonder that a client sees all of the lush, blooming grasses, tall trees, and soft groundcover, along with the explosion of color offered by way of exotic-looking flowers. The smell alone was incredible and intoxicating. Everything in this secluded garden was shrouded in privacy and automatically puts a client at ease.
The Caribbean-like cottages are done in darkly-stained woods with weathered doors and windows placed high for extra privacy. Inside is the regulation massage table with crisp white sheets and softly flowing music that one cannot seem to place as sounds of nature or as a recording. As the experienced masseuse worked my limbs and muscles with deft hands and fingers, all the tension that had been building up and stored in my back and other various places, melted away. Halfway through, the masseuse asked me to roll over, and discreetly held the top sheet to ensure total privacy, and began to work on the other half of me. As I drifted into that place where one is not totally asleep and still somewhat aware of one’s surroundings, I thanked the stars for gifted massage therapists.
As my hour of the “Bergamot Massage” came to a close, I had a sense of utter peace wash over me, ridding me of the last of my tensions and worries. My masseuse quietly told me to take my time getting dressed and savoring my relaxation, which I did as I slowly got dressed and powdered my nose. My cousin and sister wore equally happy, relaxed expressions when I met them in the waiting area and as we paid the bill, all of us agreed that it was money well spent.
The spa also offers products one can purchase such as Lotus Love Beauty, Epicuren and Pure Fiji, which all smell like the inside of ripe fruit or a summer flower. So, if you are ever in the area, try out the Bergamot Spa and Boutique, where one can come away relaxed and renewed.
