With summer temperatures swelling and the desire to escape from everyday life becoming an eminent need, there are few options that top a spa day. The mere thought of sweet-scented oil being kneaded into your sore muscles by a pair of well-enabled hands that know their way around your back is often enough to chase any summertime blues away, but if the thought just won’t do it for you, take it upon yourself to actually book an appointment. Be it a trip with friends, a romantic getaway or a solo adventure, Spa Villagio will stop at nothing to ensure you experience heavenly bliss on your day off.

Opening just two months ago, Spa Villagio has made a name for itself as Yountville’s premier pampering experience – and with good reason: the spa suites are warm, heated by stone fireplaces crackling softly behind cozy couches and chaise lounges covered in fabric soft as butter. Bowls of fresh fruit adorn the tables next to the fireplaces, and the ever-changing flavored water – today, lemon-verbena – sits, always full, to the other side. Little touches, including the classical background instrumentation and great works of Cezanne and Van Gogh’s impressionism flowing across the plasma TV screens, set the tone for optimum relaxation in a space reminiscent of one’s own living room – a principle aim of San Francisco interior designer Charles De Lisle’s work.

The new 13,000-square-foot space is a replacement to the original 4,500-square-foot spa built eight years ago. Now known as “The Retreat,” the original building includes a pool, sauna and steam room and is available for special events (sure beats office facials). The addition, built by Berkeley architect Bruce Pao, features 16 treatment rooms and five personal suites – the latter is what spa director Leslie Wolski says is an unparalleled draw to their wine country location. Each suite, be it Aqua, Mayacamas, The Den, The Loft or Stags Leap, features theme-specific spa treatments to be enjoyed next to an indoor/outdoor fireplace, deep soaking tubs, and private terraces with heavenly views of the surrounding vineyards of Napa Valley. In case these features don’t quite leave you breathless, consider the Swiss steam showers equipped with seven different showerheads and the spa’s own line of lemon-juniper bathing products: together, you’ll achieve blissful comfort before slipping into the softest, snow-white, terrycloth-lined bathrobe warmed by the fire.

A unique feature of the spa is its partnership with Comfort Zone, a natural spa product company based in Parma, Italy. Their products, including creams, masks and serums, are designed to unite the five senses (sight, smell, touch, taste and hear) and support the philosophy that the skin has a balancing effect on the mind. Comfort Zone’s eco-friendly packaging and charitable donating “really fits with the philosophy and culture of the spa,” says Wolski. “They’re fantastic.”

Spa Villagio offers an array of services, from facials and massages to body cleansing and treatments, providing an all-over holistic menu for the body. Massages, the most requested service, range from 50 to 100 minutes of pure stress-relieving, jetlag-curing contentment and include one of five scented aromatherapy oils most requested by spa goers: French lavender, grapefruit, eucalyptus, rose and lemon. For deep relaxation, a Wellness Massage does the trick, and the Aromasoul Mediterranean Ritual will leave your body floating above the stone floor for several hours. “Fifty minutes and you’re transformed,” promises Wolski. “It’s tried and true.” If you’re in need of a pair of well-trained hands no sore muscle or knot could hold up against, do yourself a favor: ask for Mario and prepare for a journey to paradise. He’ll caress your tired, oil-slicked curves with masterful skill and an expert intuition so tantalizing, he could make you forget your first name – meanwhile burning his into your eternal memory. Mario. Mariooooo.

Other services available include his-and-hers facials for skin clearing and hydrating (particularly helpful after a massage), manicures, pedicures, Monticelli mud baths and organic rebalancing body treatments, many of which incorporate products from the Comfort Zone line and leave your body glowing.

Spa Villagio is open seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Services are available to both hotel guests and day goers, but a reservation to “escape to Tuscany in the Napa Valley” is recommended – it would be a shame to miss out on something.

Spa Villagio
6481 Washington St.
Yountville, CA 94599
Tel: (707) 948-5050
www.villagio.com

- Written by Allie Schratz (ajschratz@gmail.com)

Ms. Schratz lives in San Francisco.

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