Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with spa

Bad-at-Romance-Filter: Chicagoland Weekend Away

Oktober — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:05:00 -0800

Gotta-Get-Away Filter: I'm trying to book a weekend away with my darling fiancée in late september or early october for our combination birthdays/two year anniversary. We're looking at more of a spa/resort type of situation more than a B&B. We'd like to get a couple's massage, relax in a hottub, and generally lounge around a lake with a good book. We're trying to fit this into a regular weekend, so a max, 4-5 hour drive from Chicago. One of our friends recommended Heidel House, but the reviews seem to swing wildly, especially off-season.

Help three old girlfriends find a weekend getaway in the Washington DC area.

CelloGal — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:57:19 -0800

Help three old girlfriends find a weekend getaway in the Washington DC area. I want to get together with some college friends for a weekend retreat in the general Washinton DC area, preferably spa, hiking, healthy eating, smaller resort-type holiday. Help me oh hive mind.

Silicon Valley Girl

bread-eater — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 13:13:16 -0800

San Jose/Silicon valley recommendations for spas *or* veggie restaurants for getting a gift certificate. Please help me! I am trying to get a gift certificate for a friend leaving the east coast to work in Santa Clara. She's vegetarian and from India, so one idea was to get a gift certificate at an Indian restaurant (don't worry, she won't find it offensive). I'm having trouble figuring out which ones are actually good. And it would have to be one that actually bothers to do gift certificates (by mail, no less).

An alternative is to get her a spa gift certificate. Any recommendations for spas with good service? We want it to be a treat!

Other information: She'll be working in industry research, is generally proud of her nerdiness, is really really looking forward to the good weather but isn't a particularly outdoorsy person.

I would really appreciate any recommendations for Indian restaurants or spas or any other things that you can think of for me! Thanks!

Boston spa recommendations?

chihiro — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:31:24 -0800

Need recommendations for a great day spa in Boston. My friend and I are having a girls' weekend in August and we'd like to go to the spa for the day - have pedicures, massages, maybe a wrap. We're looking for more of an "urban oasis" than a salon/spa setup. Proximity to good food is a major plus, but that's not too tough in Boston. This is yet another time I wish there were more American equivalents of the onsen or sento, but the results when one googles "Asian spa Boston" are NOT what we're looking for!

Is there a scientific reason for a menstruating woman not to use a hot tub?

dahliachewswell — Wed, 13 May 2009 13:22:55 -0800

Is there some scientific or medical reason why a menstruating woman would be banned from a public/shared hot tub or pool? (I'm talking actual findings, not just general cultural ickiness.) I've come across this women's health spa in my area that claims it will not admit women to its facilities (soaking tubs and saunas, etc.) if they are having their period.

Does anyone know if there is science to back this up (transmission of diseases in hot tubs, etc.)?

Obviously, you don't want large amounts of blood contaminating a semi-sanitary environment but menstruation is not equivalent to hemorrhaging. Likewise, menstruation is not equivalent to having a contagious infection or skin condition. It seems like if a woman had showered and is using a tampon or menstrual cup it would be a non-issue. The ban mostly seems like a continuation of a taboo or cultural distaste for menses, "eww, women on their period are unclean" sort of thing. Am I missing some hard facts?

Low Stress Vacation

BrotherCaine — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:33:03 -0800

Where in Northern or Central California is a good place to vacation in late April/Early May with swimming pools, ~~movie stars~~, hot springs, massage, day hikes and/or B&Bs with vacancies? My wife and I are thinking of taking a road trip this year from eastern SF bay area to somewhere between Cambria and Mendocino or inland with the aforementioned amenities. We like to travel cheap, but with hot showers. Three stars at two star prices kind of thing. 7-10 mile day hikes would be fun, below freezing nights less so. Also, extra bonus points for B&Bs with hosting pets, small towns with cozy used book stores, and restaurants with at least one vegetarian (not vegan) item on the menu.

Hot Tub/Spa Advice for Second Home

jbradley — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:26:55 -0800

Considering getting a spa for an Oregon beach house and have never owned one. We don't rent the house out and family is there about twice a month in summer/fall and perhaps less than once/month in the winter/spring. Interested in advice, considerations for such a set up particularly around necessity of hiring someone for maintenance and temperature/circulation settings while we are gone. BTW, freezing is not an issue, but it does stay pretty consistently cool (50s) most of the time.

Spa or nah?

hayvac — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:42:11 -0800

My girlfriend and I are going to Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic) for a week, and she wants to book a day at a spa there. The spa wants payment up-front and via Paypal. Is this a scam? The spa has a real-looking website: Jasmine Spa.

However, it also has solid 5/5 reviews on tripadvisor and doesn't seem to appear on any sites that aren't self-submitting travel sites.

Maybe I'm too skeptical, but I'm suspicious this place may not exist. Is there a way to confirm that this is legit? Even better, have you ever been there?

Hot Tub Water Filter

Raybun — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:52:11 -0800

There is fine iron sediment in my well water. My hot tub has a water circulating system that cannot tolerate filter blockage. A service man told me that even minor filter blockage damages the pump seals. I do not have a piping circuit diagram for the tub and cannot describe how the filters operate in the system nor how the alleged differential pressure safety valve is supposed to function. There is a secondary filter that gets restricted after a few hours of initial use with iron buildup. The service guy told me that, even without my suspended iron problem, this secondary filter should not be in my, or in any other Coleman spa systems. Neither the filter packages or the spa owners manual have any micron specs for the filters.
All of this is just background for my question.

I need to be able to filter 300 gallons of water as the tub is filling and/or build a circulating filter that would be used before the main pumps are turned on. Filling the tub takes roughly about half an hour with no filtration. This is too large a volume of water for a household Ro filter to handle.

I have an unused small swimming pool filter system that could be used to either filter the water as the tube fills and/or use as a circulating filter before the circulating pumps are turned on. What is the smallest particle in microns that a sand filter can remove from water? I can also easily modify this system, if used as a circulating filter after filling, into a removable media filer.

I could also build a filter with stacked Scotchbrite pads. My parts washer uses a Scotchbrite polishing pad to filter sediment from the cleaning fluid.

Is it possible to use a hose mounted filter, such as the Gardenmate, that can be backflushed?

Any Form-Follows-Scrounge ideas?

Find me a Vegas Style Spa in Maryland

petethered — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 02:02:52 -0800

After a trip to Vegas, the desire to visit a spa like the ones there has come over me. The spa in Vegas was sweet. Pay for a day pass and get to use a Sauna, Whirlpool, Steam room, cold dip pool and more... Anyone know of one near Frederick, MD like this? Baltimore and DC would be options, but would prefer one closer.

More bathing, less sodomy

klangklangston — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:30:08 -0800

LA Baths? I went to the Kabuki in San Francisco and loved it. Now I'd like to find something similar in Los Angeles. Japanese, Korean, Roman, Russian baths, whatever, with the following caveats: I'm a dude, and I'm not looking to have sex there. All of the bath houses I've been able to track down in LA are either for ladies or for dudes pounding each other in the ass. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's not my scene. I do prefer nude, I don't really care regarding ethnicity, but mostly I just want that hot and cold baths thing for a reasonable price without all the folderol of a high-maintenance spa.

Seeking recommendations for US health spa

Daily Alice — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:10:45 -0800

Can you recommend a health spa in the US for a one-week getaway, especially one you've been to personally? I am considering taking a week's vacation to a health spa this winter. My aims are to celebrate (and recuperate from) finishing a master's degree in December, and to jumpstart my dormant weight loss efforts.

I want:
A relaxing and quiet atmosphere
Food that tastes good even though it's healthy
A well-structured program with a daily schedule
Lots of exercise, but classes or workouts available for those with a low fitness level (I am overweight and take high blood pressure meds)

I do not want:
Religion (whether Western, Eastern, or new-age woo woo). If they offer things like meditation and yoga, ok, but I am not seeking a "spiritual" experience or retreat.
Fasting, colonics, or crash diets
Medically unproven supplements or herbs
Snow or freezing weather

I can't afford the really fancy places like Canyon Ranch. $4000 for a week is my price ceiling, and I'd definitely like to hear about more economical places. Southeast US is easiest but I can travel anywhere in the lower 48. Hilton Head Health is an example of a place I found in my Google search that sounded pretty good to me, but there were so many different places (not to mention regular hotels and resorts calling themselves "spas" because they have a pool and a beauty salon) that I was overwhelmed. I'd like to hear about personal experiences.

How to prevent plastic roll static shocks?

attercoppe — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:33:40 -0800

How can I ground a large roll of plastic wrap to prevent static electric shocks when unrolling it? At my place of work (a spa) we have a large roll of plastic, perforated into sheets that are used in some treatments. Every time a sheet is unrolled and torn off, the person doing so gets a good shock from the static electricity. Is there any way to prevent these shocks?

The plastic is wrapped around a cardboard tube, which is strung on a wooden dowel. The dowel sits into a painted metal frame which is mounted on a wood trim piece in the staff room. It's high up, so the girls stand on a metal-framed stepladder with plastic steps and with plastic feet on one side, a metal bar on the other. The ladder sits on the carpeted floor while it's used. We're up in the mountains at about 9000 feet above sea level, a very dry climate, which seems to contribute, especially during cold weather.

The whole apparatus is pretty close to plumbing and electrical boxes, conduits etc, if that helps for grounding points.

Tel Aviv Weekend Trip?

howgenerica — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:23:16 -0800

I live in Jerusalem and am going to Tel Aviv for the weekend. I really don't know the area, and am looking for: 1) A good day spa in Tel Aviv Yafo. My solid foam mattress is slowly killing my back, and I am in dire need of a good, strong massage. 2) Discotheque recommendation 3) Other recommendation? Anything? Cool place to visit, shop, good restaurant, anything. I live so close there's a good chance I'll come back too, so it doesn't have to all fit into a weekend. Thanks

Portable hot tub

tonci — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:27:44 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good portable spa? Or have experience using a wood fired heater with a storage tank? I'm less interested in the jets than I am in the ability to keep the temperature very high and its comfort for a few people. Particularly interested in any hard folding frame items that could be mated with a wood-fired heater like the Chofu.

Would love to hear what you've found as I figure out what investment to make. Thanks

hip hippie honeymoon

TrixieRamble — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:01:15 -0800

Please suggest destinations for an off-the-beaten-path weekend honeymoon this June. Criteria: close enough to St. Louis to fit a trip into three or four days including travel time; $1,000 to $2,000 total; somewhere beautiful, ocean is best; romantic but not in your standard champagne-and-strawberries way. We love the outdoors, arts and culture, great food, the environment, and discovering unexpected treasures when traveling. We will probably take a big international trip in the next year but want to do something fun and relaxing right after our wedding. We are considering a few places we already love or think we would love: Ten Thousand Waves, Orvis Hot Springs, or Ojo Caliente, but we'd like to try something new and maybe get a little less land-locked. (Hot springs are not required, it just happens that some of our favorite places have them!)

We did an all-inclusive resort vacation in Mexico once and had a great time, but we would prefer something a little more unique that lets us make our own way and maybe meet other people like us.

Is there somewhere perfect on the west coast we don't know about? A resort in Hawaii that doesn't feel too corporate resort-y? Funky towns in beautiful places we haven't thought of?

Thanks for your ideas!

Dayspas in Dubai

padraigin — Sat, 10 May 2008 09:36:00 -0800

Point me (rather, my sister) to the best day spas in Dubai My younger sister is a Naval officer who is currently deployed. They'll be visiting Dubai soon and she is jonesing for some spa time--massage, a decent haircut, etc. Any suggestions of where to start would be appreciated.

Tanning beds a plus: Sis is feeling pretty pasty after a couple of months of being confined to an aircraft carrier and is willing to accept the risks.

Anniversary in Ensenada

billtron — Mon, 05 May 2008 10:37:57 -0800

Where should I take my partner for our anniversary in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico? We're looking at the two-night packages at Las Rosas, but would like suggested alternatives, preferably smaller and more intimate. Also looking for good spa and massage recommendations. If San Felipe is waaay better, please let me know. I researched it online and it looks like a marina and golf courses for American weekenders, which is sort of what we want to avoid. Oh, we're also interested in a day hike, maybe inland in the mountains.

Do you cancel a massage if your back is zitty?

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:08:39 -0800

Massages and pimples. I have an appointment this weekend for a massage at a fancy spa (yay), but I have recently had a very very nasty break out on my back. And some of those pimples have been popped and are still sort of scabby. Should I cancel the appointment? Or has the masseur seen worse and I'm worrying for nothing? Help!

Help me find a spa in Virginia!

silverstatue — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:55:08 -0800

I'm looking for a nice, decently priced spa in Ashburn, Virginia... My friend is moving to Ashburn, VA, and I thought it would be a nice surprise to get her a spa certificate, since I know she'll be really stressed from the move. Of course I'm in NY, so I know absolutely nothing about spas in Virginia.

Can anyone recommend a place around there? Somewhere with reasonable prices, that isnt too intimidating.

Thanks!

Pick & rub in LV & NYC

i_cola — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:59:19 -0800

Recommendations for a good place to watch NBA playoff games in Las Vegas and good spa deals. Also, NYC playoff options... I'll be in LV on 6 & 7 May and want to watch whatever playoff games are on. As a trade off, my better half wants a bit of a rub down.

We're staying at Bellagio so where do you think the best venues for each are?

Then we'll be in NYC for the weekend and staying in Hell's Kitchen. Again, good playoff viewing spots?

salons in savannah

pinkkitty — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:28:20 -0800

I need salon/spa recommendations in Savannah or Richmond Hill GA. Specifically, I'm looking for a place to get a brazilian wax and also looking for a new hair stylist. Bonus if I can find them in one location or close together. Super-bonus if there's a bit of interesting shopping near by.

Recommendation for a spa in the Kansas City area?

Mimzy — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:32:31 -0800

Recommendation for a spa in Mission Hills, KS area? I want to buy a gift certificate for a friend who lives in the Mission Hills/Shawnee area--the Kansas side of the Kansas City suburbs. Any suggestions? Need a place she can get a massage or a facial and the like. I don't want her to have to drive into Kansas City if possible.

Thanks!

Spa weekend near DC

chickaboo — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:18:04 -0800

I need suggestions for a spa weekend for three or four women in June -- preferably less than a 3 hour drive from Washington, DC... Someone had recommended Coolfont in Berkeley Springs, WV but I understand them to be closed for renovations.
The three of us are not so much the spa treatment types but someplace relaxing with a nice selection of stores and/or outdoor walking possibilities would be welcome. These would be for my friend and myself, both thirty something, and her mother, sixty something.

Relaaaaaaaaaaaaaaax

thebrokenmuse — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:02:46 -0800

What is your favorite spa in the Atlanta area and why?
For my 21st birthday I am planning a 3 day/ 2 night trip to Atlanta. For one of the days I would like to do a half-day spa package.

I am open to what the package includes but I would probably be interested in something like:

-about 4/5 hours
-glass of wine, possibly food
-massage
-facial
-something else relaxing

What is your favorite spa in the Atlanta area and why? It would be great if the spa was in a hotel, but if not it should be close to a moderatly nice hotel. (Hotel reccomendations will not be frowned upon either.)