An evening at the Sweetwater Spa
One of our favorite things to do on a chilly night
In the communal hot tub during the afternoon. Ok, so it’s not a picture of our evening experience, but it was too dark for us to take any pictures when we went. These photos are courtesy of Sweetwater Eco Spa, just to show you their lovely space.
Brrrr. It’s been chilly the past few days! Our run along the headlands early this morning was punctuated by the crunch of frosty grass beneath our feet, and as the sun started to peek out over the landscape, there were twinkling little pockets of icy white glitter flung everywhere along the path. It was beautiful. Now, if you know Mendocino, you know that so much frost on the ground is not a super common occurrence. We do get frost regularly during winter, but this much frost this early in the season was a bit of an anomaly. Which goes to show….. it’s been cold here!
Given how chilly it’s been, when we aren’t out running or hiking to get our blood flowing we’ve been spending a lot of time getting cozy – watching the golden glow of sunset from beside our great big fireplace, drinking tea and coffee by the gallon, curling up on the couch with a fuzzy blanket. It’s been pretty wonderful. Perhaps the most wonderful of all these recent cozy-fying activites was soaking the evening away in one of the old redwood hot tubs at the Sweetwater Spa in downtown Mendocino.
With the jets a-roilin’ in one of the private tubs. Photo courtesy of Sweetwater.
We met up a little after dark inside the warm office of the spa, paid at the desk, got our towels, and then hurried to make the transition from dressed to swimsuit to sliding into the warm water as quickly as we could. Mmmmm. That water was nice. The wood of the bench and sides was soft and silky under our skin. The steam curled upward around our heads as we looked up at the clear, starry sky and chatted about the day. The quiet rumble of the jets in our quiet little private tub provided soothing white noise as the jets themselves helped pound away that tension we somehow always seem to carry in our neck and shoulders.
We leaned our heads back against the side and slipped a little farther in, savoring the calming heat of the water. Maybe the crisp air outside was sharpening our sensation of cozy comfort a little more. Maybe our minds were simply unwinding from a long day. Whatever was going on, we could feel ourselves getting more and more drowsy and relaxed. Before we knew it our time was up and we were emerging from the steaming water like sleepy nyads. We laughed as we showered and dressed once again, so thoroughly warmed through by our soak that we were toasty all the way home.
Now THAT was a wonderfully cozy evening.
Sweetwater Eco Spa is open from about 11:00am to 9:00pm every day. Try out their communal 8’ redwood hot tub and red cedar traditional sauna for a real Mendocino experience – be aware this is a clothing-optional space. There are two private hot tubs if you prefer a more private soak. One of those private tubs also has a private infrared sauna. You’ll want to book your time slot in advance for the private tubs. The communal tub doesn’t always require a reservation. Cost varies from $25-$45 for the private tubs, depending on the day of week. The communal tub is less.
For the ultimate evening, treat yourself to a massage as well!!!