So, guess what? I just got back from a quick jaunt at La Costa Resort and Spa, while attending a meditation retreat in San Diego. I got a massage that set me back $292, but I wanted to see how it compares to the average rubdown at half that price.
The spa at La Costa is an experience in sensual awareness. The sprawling grounds are dotted with villas, upscale shops, restaurants, and an internet cafe with pricey sandwiches. A 10-foot fountain cascades right outside the spa entrance. The spa’s boutique greets visitors at the entrance. Yoga clothing, balms, and hair products strewn throughout the intimate room of ornate woods and turquoise tiles catch the eye from the outside and are available to anyone passing by. The spa store is also the waiting area for treatments.
The spa attendant took me inside and offered me the requisite plush white robe. I toured the ladies’ locker area, which lacks for nothing, with its steam room, massive jetted tub, sauna, brushes, combs, blow dryer, and even curling irons. The spa grounds include another whirlpool tub, gardens of rosemary, basil, and spearmint, and even a small reflexology labyrinth, which was piercingly painful on my feet. But all of these ambiance enhancers are designed to justify the massage cost, because the massage alone will not.
On a scale of one to ten, I’d give the 50-minute La Costa Custom Massage a six. It felt routine and formulaic, and when I asked her to go a bit deeper, she did, for about five minutes, and then slipped back into a light-to-medium reverie. The massages I receive at the Massage Envy in Santa Fe put this one to shame, at a third of the cost. I did not have time or the funds to sample any of the other treatments, since this was a one-day stop during the meditation retreat, which involved hours-long days of ohm-ing, stretching, eating, and listening to lectures on the neuroscience of meditation.
Today’s Tip
Before booking a massage, consider whether the treatment justifies the cost. At some resorts, only those booking a treatment have access to the swimming pool, whirlpool, steam room, sauna, and other cushy amenities. If you want to spend the day indulging in these luxuries and don’t want to spend a lot of money, book the least expensive treatment—usually a manicure or pedicure—and spend the day using the facilities.
2 Responses
What a great idea to just find the cheapest treatment so you can use the spa facilities. Although at a place like La Costa, it must be really hard to resist everything else they probably offer. Thanks for the tip!
What a great idea to just find the cheapest treatment so you can use the spa facilities. Although at a place like La Costa, it must be really hard to resist everything else they probably offer. Thanks for the tip!