Always trust your hair stylist.  Always.

If you have entrusted your hair to this person, and they’ve done a good job for your locks, then you can trust their judgment on other topics as well.  Like my hair stylist, Amber Foster, owner of Chocolates Salon and Spa in Roseville, California.  I’ve followed this gal for years, all over hell and half of California, from salon to salon… because, well, she’s the only one I really trust with my hair.  Thank goodness she finally bought her own salon because frankly all the driving was making me carsick.  But I digress.

I was sitting in Amber’s styling chair earlier this year and told her I planned to treat myself to a spa day somewhere in California’s wine country.  Amber said she knew just the spot… the Spa at Kenwood Inn in Sonoma County.

So a few weeks later I arrive at the Kenwood Inn, in of course, the town Kenwood.  It looks like a chunk of Italy flew across the Atlantic and plopped down on the side of a Northern California road.



I arrive a little early for my spa appointment so I can check out the place.  As I enter the courtyard, it is very serene and I instantly relax.  The rustic stucco walls, climbing vines, flowers, waterfalls, fountains, stonework and meandering paths on the property leave me with the impression that I have entered the courtyard of a private Mediterranean villa.

I check in at the spa, change into a very comfy robe and head out to the pool to soak up the sun for a few minutes.  This is the life!



After relaxing a little, I head into the spa.  The atmosphere is warm and inviting and the staff is very attentive.

Of course I decide to indulge in their special wine infused treatments.  I decided on the “Men’s De-Stress Package.”   We all know spas can be a little pricey, but if you get a package, you can save some money.  This package includes a 20 minute “Kenwood Wine Bath,” a 50 minute “Gentlemen’s Facial” and an 80 minute “Therapeutic Grape Seed Oil Massage.”  Of course I’m not a man, so I asked if I can substitute a “Wine Country Facial” instead.  The nice staff agreed.  (By the way, I think if you want to substitute a similar treatment of the same price, they’ll probably accommodate you… shhh.)

I started off with the wine bath.  I was walked up to a little indoor balcony with a Jacuzzi bath tub.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect.  Was I going to soak in a gigantic tub of wine?  Not quite.  The tub was big and full of bubbles.  But the water looked pretty normal.  Apparently they added a special mixture of wine extracts to the water.  



The soak was very relaxing.  I had an almost panoramic view of rolling hills covered with acres of grapevines.  Nice.  After a few minutes though, I started sweating… I mean really sweating.  If you like a good sauna or steam bath, then the wine bath is probably right up your alley.  But in the summertime, this treatment was just a little too warm for me.  I’ll save the wine soak for the winter.

My 80 minute grape seed oil massage was next.  Hello????  This is my idea of heaven on earth!  For an extra charge, you can upgrade your treatment to a deep tissue massage.  That’s exactly what I did.  Lynn, my massage therapist did a fabulous job.  I was sad when it was over. ?   

My three hours of pampering ended with a wine country facial.  The spa recently changed the skin care line it uses.  They are now using ARCONA.  According to the spa’s website ARCONA is used by celebrities such as:  Katherine Heigl, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mandy Moore and Diane Lane.

The facial was nice.  My facialist, Amy did a good job.  All of the products smell great, which is important to me.  The fruit enzyme exfoliator tingled a little, which Amy said was normal.  Of course I forgot all about the tingling because Amy gave me a shoulder and neck massage while the exfoliator was doing its thing.
As many of you know, a day at the spa can make you feel like heaven, but when you’re done, you look like hell.  Not good since I had an appointment in San Francisco in a couple of hours.  The staff at the spa was very patient as I showered and took forever to put myself back together.



I’m not surprised that the Spa at Kenwood Inn was named “Sixth Out of 50 Top Spas in the World” by Luxury Spa Finder Magazine.  The place is so adorable.  Next time I plan to actually stay in one of their rooms.  Hey, it’s a tough job… blah, blah, blah… you know the rest.

The Kenwood Inn and Spa is located at 10400 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood, California.  For more information, go to their website.

THE NITTY GRITTY
Men's De-Stress Package (3 hours) $350.00
Package includes:
-Kenwood Wine Soak (20 min) $70.00
-Therapeutic Massage (80 min) $180.00 – add $10.00 for deep tissue
-Gentlemen’s Facial/Wine Country Facial (50 min) $145.00
***You save $45.00 by getting the package.

Comments (3)

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written by mortgage loans, November 01, 2011

I would like to propose not to hold off until you earn enough amount of money to order goods! You can just take the loan or commercial loan and feel yourself free

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written by PattonSamantha18, August 17, 2011

If you are willing to buy a car, you would have to receive the home loans. Furthermore, my father commonly utilizes a car loan, which seems to be really useful.

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kenwood inn
written by suzie, October 30, 2008

looks absolutely beautiful, but pretty pricey, especially since you got a "mens" package, i'm assuming to save money.

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