Patch Picks: Spas

Patch Picks is a weekly feature highlighting editor and reader picks of great local businesses, destinations, services, organizations, ways to spend a day off and more.

You’ll find useful lists to help you, your family, friends and significant others find the best places for everything from Sunday brunch to New Year’s Eve celebrations, pumpkin patches, date-night destinations, florists, girlfriend nights out, kids party places, parks and more.

Spas: Relax, revitalize and restore. These three Rs can be just as important as the ones you learned in school. And while your kids are learning those other three Rs, why don’t you sneak away and get the royal treatment: a haircut, facial, massage, manicure, pedicure—or the entire package! And we don’t want to leave out the men. Spas have treatments for them as well.

The spa at Chaminade offers the ultimate luxurious experience in a beautiful setting with views of Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay. Just listen to some of these treatments: Mimosa Champagne Massage, Organic Mud Wrap, Sea Enzyme Facial, Organic Blueberry slimming Scrub & Wrap. Once you see the complete spa menu (12 pages), you’ll have trouble choosing a treatment. But you can always sneak away another day!

Sink into a soothing hot tub inside your own private room. Relax in the cleansing steam of a sauna. Let a masseuse work out stresses from your tight muscles. All this is available at the Tea House Spa, located in downtown Santa Cruz and hidden away from the hustle and bustle in a calming bamboo garden.  

This spa has been a Santa Cruz favorite since 1985. Well Within is tucked away in a serene setting near downtown Santa Cruz. You can enjoy private spas and saunas that overlook a beautiful, calming Japanese garden. Relieve your stress with a Deep-Tissue, Shiatsu, Cranial-Sacral or other style of massage. Or rejuvenate your face and body with a variety of relaxing treatments including facials and body wraps.  

Another long-time favorite destination, Kiva Retreat House has been offering Santa Cruz residents a unique spa experience since 1980. The spa was modeled after a Japanese bath house, a place for people to gather for conversation and meditation while relaxing and rejuvenating their bodies and minds. At Kiva you can enjoy hot tubs, saunas and the beauty of the gardens.

This full-service day spa offers the entire gamut of services to make sure you are properly pampered. Skincare includes the “Royal Facial” for the ultimate treatment specially created for your skin type. Choose from a variety of massage styles such as Swedish, Deep Tissue, Hot Stone, and a special Motherhood Massage. Other services include waxing, manicures, pedicures, cosmetic injections, peels, tinting and laser hair removal.