Pinole, CA Spa and Massage

Several Napa Valley residents may have visited Spa Terra without ever realizing that they were there—or rather, that they were standing on top of it. The 22,000-square-foot hideaway is entirely subterranean and has tucked its 12 treatment rooms into the Estate Wine Cave behind the Meritage Resort. This naturally sequestered locale echoes with the whispers of waterfalls, enticing guests to trace the brick arches and spiraling mosaics of its Florentine design. Chandeliers and candles cast a glow onto stone, tile, iron, and wood accents, all of which were built by craftsmen to fit the underground space without angering its slumbering dragon landlord. The light takes a smoky, ethereal shift inside the steam grottos of the ladies' and gentlemen's lounges, and private soaking pools radiate blue-green tones from beneath the water.

In keeping with the earthy environs, the staff draws from local and organic ingredients during its treatments. Olives, herbs, and honey brighten skin through a variety of body scrubs and facials, which also rely on products from Comfort Zone and Éminence Organic Skin Care. Unsurprisingly, wine has a role in many of the services—the signature Solo Vino package begins with a cabernet-grape-seed scrub, then segues into a wine-cave-mud body wrap. It concludes with a therapeutic Terra massage and a selection of cheeses, served with wine or champagne. Guests can browse a far-reaching menu of massage modalities, including targeted styles for headaches and sore feet, or schedule a romantic couples session complete with chocolates to share.

For more than four years, Ling Foot Spa has been luring guests through its doors with diverse styles of therapeutic massages. Clients may take a seat and let a therapist melt away tension in the feet or massage the back and shoulders as bodies rest in a specially designed chair. For full-body massages, clients sprawl out on tables to let experts unearth aches and pains with deep, hands-on strokes or the penetrating heat of warm stones. Ling Foot Spa also offers unique four-hand body-massages, which are administered by two skilled therapists to achieve more widespread relaxation, or by one skilled therapist to pay for his arm implants.

Whenever new clients enter Renew Face & Body Wellness, owner Penny Christie greets them with a smile and then just listens. It's only after she fully understands their goals that the aesthetician and massage therapist starts to work on a custom plan for treatment, which might incorporate facials or massage modalities such as hot stone. A certified prenatal therapist and mother of five, Christie also designs facials and massages for expectant mothers, which address many of the changes in the skin and body that can accompany pregnancy. During the A Star Is Born prenatal massage, her signature treatment, she kneads sore muscles and loose joints as clients lie face-down on a special table that supports the baby and all of his or her prenatal furniture.