As time marches on in the pandemic struggle, the need to reconnect with oneself and enjoy some pampering and renewal becomes ever more important. Writers Carole Jacobs and Irvina Lew return with the second in their series on Socially-Distant Spa Vacations. This time, they take us to opposite sides of the U.S., California and Florida. 

Hungry for more? Click to read Part 1 in this spa series.

The Covid-era pandemic affects both our emotional and physical wellbeing. It’s a scary time that warrants a soothing and healing spa environment. You can probably feel the difference, during these past months. Perhaps you’re sleeping less; you may feel more anxious and notice that folks around you are on edge and over-react. Despite this greater-than-ever need for wellness, many–even long-term and dedicated spa-goers–resist being face-to-face, even with a masked provider; many fear being inside a smallish, closed–albeit sanitized–treatment cabin. For those who have, understandably, delayed beauty and body services, altogether, the spa world has provided welcoming relief by embracing super-safe protocols, including social distancing, one-on-one scheduled events and lots of outdoor activities. Some spa teams, such as at The Carillon Miami, have enhanced their menu of touchless services to assure the clients’ comfort. According to Tammy Pahel, Vice President of Spa & Wellness Operations, “The reluctance to return for services is with a specific demographic, such as 60 and over, and exactly why we have Touchless Wellness Technology. We are supplying wellness options to build immunity, assist with sleep and reduce anxiety levels.” The plan at The Estate Yountville includes modifications in check-in, housekeeping, dining, spa services, recreation and other areas to ensure guest safety. “As we open our doors and welcome guests back to The Estate Yountville, our guest and associate wellbeing remains top of mind,” says Estate management. “Together, with industry experts, we have crafted a plan of safety measures intent on cultivating an environment where safety is paramount.”

Socially-Distant Spa Vacation at the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort

Imagine an oceanfront spa, where you can frolic in a European-inspired Thermal Experience, soak and play in a Hydrotherapy Circuit that includes a variety of rain showers, a foot bath and whirlpools; work out in a super fitness facility overlooking the beach; and, retreat to 28 different treatment rooms to experience an array of familiar or non-traditional treatments. Here, you can swim in the ocean–or three pools–and schedule an outdoor massage, at the spa pool. Or, you can walk along the oceanfront boardwalk or on Collins Avenue, to shops and restaurants in Miami Beach.

Pool with a view! Swim in the Atlantic Pool at Carillon Miami Wellness Resort. Photo courtesy Carillon.

Carillon Miami Wellness Resort, is an extraordinary 70,000-square-foot, tri-level spa facility within a high-rise apartment complex, in which dozens of dedicated apartments, with oceanfront terraces, are reserved for spa guests. Originally, it was constructed for Canyon Ranch residents; among the current guests, there are residents, members, spa and day guests.

To address Covid-era concerns, the Carillon team has installed an air purification system that sprays hard surfaces throughout the hotel and spa with an electrostatic sprayer at 4am, daily; it’s the first wellness resort to rinse every laundry item with a solution of Applied Silver, which kills pathogens and lasts until the next wash. The Carillon strictly adheres to the safety protocols, including temperature checks for everyone entering the facility, it maintains 71% occupancy restrictions and eliminates entry to rooms by non-occupants unless it’s requested; they also maintain a 50% spa and dining room occupancy, where they’ve expanded outdoor seating.

The Strand, the dining room at Carillon Miami, serves delicious food inside or out, adhering to social distancing. Photo courtesy Carillon.

As for sleep deprivation, which some have newly dubbed: “Coronasomnia,” Carillon offers three touchless wellness therapies, for which you lie flat for two: The Spa Wave, a unique Quantum Harmonic Sound Therapy table, combines music, gentle sound waves and highly efficient vibration, to reduce stress and enhance relaxation; The VEMI (Vibroacoustic Electro Magnetic and Infrared Therapy) treatment induces a meditative state on an infrared bed, while it warms the body. The HALOTHERAPY + INFRARED Breath & Detox Suite takes place in a heated individual, enlarged-telephone-booth-sized cabin, that provides respiratory benefits and thermotherapy.

A man relaxes on the VEMI treatment machine at Carillon. Photo courtesy Carillon.

Salt water also stimulates relaxation, superlatively. When I visited The Carillon, pre-Covid, in mid-January 2020, I entered a small dark room and stepped into an egg-shaped, Epson-salt-filled, pod-for-one. I felt drowsy and relaxed; but, sitting there in the dark, my mind wandered back to one of my visits to the Dead Sea, in Israel. When my cousin and I arrived at a seafront hotel, there, we decided to take a dip in the sea; we raced atop hot sand and walked slowly into the water; when we returned to our hotel room, we felt tired enough to take a pre-dinner nap. Serendipitously, we both slept silently until the following morning. The following day, while I was literally floating-atop-salt-water in the hotel’s large indoor, Dead Sea Water pool, during the most amazing full body massage, I actually dozed.

Salt water certainly is strong.

Hungry for more? Click for Part 3 in this series.

These touchless experiences are just a sample of the program. The Carillon offers a full range of familiar services, Holistic modalities and Oriental Medicine, plus there’s a comprehensive medical program, called the NuLife Institute at the Carillon, which offers evaluation, consultation and recommendations.

What you eat is up to you. A nutritionist recommends, the chef accommodates. Vegan? Keto? Whole 30? Weight Watchers? Filet mignon or a huge steak on a plank? Your call. The spacious indoor and outdoor dining options at The Strand at Carillon Miami, feature various menus, including prix fixe, and a wellness menu, with healthy items.

Carnivore that I am, I ordered filet mignon, for my first dinner. Healthy options predominate at breakfast buffets: fruits, smoked salmon, scrambled or hard-boiled eggs. At lunch, the wellness menu incorporates 5-ounce portions of protein, plus vegetables and fruit. I enjoyed a great gazpacho; a special shrimp with mango salad, with dressing on the side, succulent roast chicken, fruit salad and, at one meal, I sampled the authentic, thin-crusted pizza.

A delicious chicken dish served at the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort. Photo by Irvina Lew.

What’s unique–if not paramount–about this beachfront destination spa is its location, mid-way between the glamour of South Beach and the exclusivity of Bal Harbour, and an easy taxi ride from Miami or Fort Lauderdale airports.

— Story by Irvina Lew

Hungry for more? Read Irvina’s suggestions for dining in Miami.

Socially-Distant Spa Vacation at Hotel Villagio, Yountville, CA

March is still the dead-of-winter in my High Sierra ‘hood. After enough of howling Arctic winds, below-zero temps and trudging through snowbanks, I hopped in my Subaru-turned-time machine and drove seven hours northwest to Hotel Villagio in Yountville, the culinary heart of the Napa Wine Country.

A hot air balloon ride is one way to enjoy the view of the Town of Yountville where you can experience a socially-distant spa vacation at Hotel Villagio. Photo courtesy Town of Yountville.

There, March had long gone out like a lion and come in like a lamb: Budding vineyards raced to the horizon, neon-green meadows burst with early spring blooms and the sweater weather hovered in the 70s.

(Covid alert: As of Feb. 12, 2021, all hotels in Yountville are open with modifications; restaurants and wineries are open for outdoor dining/tastings only; bars, breweries and distilleries remain closed, fitness centers remain closed; museums and movie theaters are open for outdoor use only; retail and shopping malls are open indoors at 25% capacity; and personal care services, including spas, hair and nail salons, are open indoors with modifications.)

Also since my last visit to Yountville, a multimillion-dollar renovation had added a layer of 21^st century cool to the former Tuscan-themed Hotel Villagio, now part of the 22-acre The Estate Yountville complex, with a sister hotel, 13,000-square-foot spa, 24-hour fitness center, tennis and bocce ball courts, heated pool with cabanas, on-site vineyard, The Shops at The Market Place, 15 wedding and meeting venues, and even an on-site vineyard. 

Do some shopping at The Marketplace while at the Villagio Hotel for your spa getaway. Photo courtesy Town of Yountville.

After a winter trapped indoors, my room was a breath of fresh air, with high ceilings creating a sense of spaciousness, plus hardwood floors, a balcony overlooking the first spring blooms, and a deep soaking tub in the sleek, marble-countered bath.

To stretch my legs and catch the last of the waning light, I borrowed one of the resort’s loner bikes and pedaled into Old Town Yountville, bumping along cobblestoned walkways past 19^th century brick buildings housing boutiques, bakeries, bistros, art galleries, tasting rooms, a flash-of-the-past burger and ice-cream joint occupying the historic train depot, and several world-renowned restaurants.

Yountville may be tiny (population pushing 3,000) but you could stay here for a week and not run out of Michelin-starred places to eat. No rez at Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry, which is often booked eight months out? You’re still welcome to wander its lavish vegetable gardens, complete with a chicken coup and beehives. Back home, my garden was still under three feet of snow. Here in California’s Mediterranean eco-zone, sprouts were already poking from the manicured beds.

Back on the streets, the air was electric in anticipation of Yountville Live and Taste of Yountville an annual four-day epicurean bash featuring world-famous chefs, the area’s revered wineries and Grammy award-winning musicians. (Both events were cancelled this year due to Covid.)

Having spinned up an appetite, I rolled into Keller’s Ad Hoc, a casual dining venue showcasing the American comfort food of his childhood, with a daily-changing four-course menu handwritten nightly on chalkboards and the fare served family-style. Seeing I was alone, a family of six waved me to an empty seat at their table. Together we made short shrift of the Buttermilk fried chicken with homemade biscuits, Caesar salad with grilled capers, black truffle mac and cheese and hot fudge sundaes – a big hit with the St. Louis family’s young twins.

Almost too full to pedal, I coasted back to Hotel Villagio in a carb-induced coma and fell asleep the minute my head hit the feather pillow. By the following morning, I was hungry enough to dive into the resort’s complimentary breakfast, a sumptuous spread of fresh pastries, fruits, yogurt, granola, and oatmeal. Then I borrowed another bike and cycled into the surrounding countryside to see some of Yountville’s many vineyards.

At Stewart Cellars, where stone structures mimicked Scottish ruins, I savored a late lunch at the bright outdoor patio café overlooking the vines, then cycled back to Hotel Villagio for some full-tilt pampering.

I’ve been to my share of spas, but beyond Villagio’s spurting fountains and cascading waterfalls were eclectic treatments I had never encountered before: The Hypervolt Percussion Device zapped away muscle soreness and stiffness; The Crush left me smooth and soothed with its combo grape seed extract exfoliation and grape seed body butter massage, and the sci-fi Zero-Gravity Oxygen Chair increased oxygen to my body and brain and left me feeling – weightless (quite a feat considering the hefty meals I’d been devouring).

After a soak in an outdoor tub, I was ready for dinner at Bottega, The Estate’s Italian restaurant. The Ricotta “pillows” with “old hen” tomato sauce and Pecorino Romano were almost as good as the kind my Sicilian grandmother used to make.

On my final morning at the resort, I woke at daybreak for a sunrise hot air balloon ride. As we lifted into the heavens with a whoosh! Mount St. Helena loomed to the north, the sculptured Vaca Range to the east, and to the west, the wall-like Sierra — drenched with brilliance, sequestered with snow, and with spring still a distant memory, silently awaiting my arrival back home.

— Story by Carole Jacobs

In addition to your socially-distant spa vacation at Villagio, there’s also a lot to see on foot or on bike in Youtville. Photo courtesy Town of Yountville.