Best Wine Country Spas

Best Wine Country Spas

Wine Country spas have a natural edge on the treatments you can find elsewhere in the country. First, there are the natural mud baths and mineral water sources, concentrated particularly in northern Napa Valley's Calistoga. Admittedly, not everyone is enamored with dipping themselves in a thick, muddy paste. A mud bath sometimes smells sulfurous or peaty, and it takes a minute to get used to the intense heat as you submerge yourself. Once you've lounged in it for several minutes, though, you may never want to leave, especially if an attendant has cooled your forehead with an icy wash cloth. Second, there are all those grapes, which are increasingly incorporated into treatments and products like grape-seed scrubs. Below are some of the best spas of the bunch.

Dr. Wilkinson's. The oldest spa in Calistoga. Although it's perhaps the least chic of the bunch, it's still well-loved for its reasonable prices and its friendly, unpretentious vibe. They use a mix of volcanic ash and peat moss in their mud baths. 1507 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga. 707/942-4102. www.drwilkinson.com.

Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. The highest sybaritic profile in the Wine Country. The vast complex covers every amenity you could want in a spa, including several pools and Jacuzzis fed by local thermal mineral springs. 100 Boyes Blvd., /Rte. 12, Boyes Hot Springs. 707/938-9000. www.sonomamissioninn.com.

Health Spa Napa Valley. Focuses on health and wellness, with personal trainers and an outdoor pool in addition to the usual spa fare. The grape-seed mud wrap, during which you're slathered with mud mixed with crushed Napa Valley grape seeds, is a more decadent alternative to a mud bath. 1030 Main St., St. Helena. 707/967-8800. www.napavalleyspa.com.

Kenwood Inn & Spa. The prettiest spa setting in the Wine Country, thanks to the vineyards across the road and the Mediterranean style of the inn. It specializes in Caudalíe's "vinotherapie" treatments, with massages, scrubs, and facials based on grape extracts. 10400 Sonoma Hwy., /Rte. 12, Kenwood. 707/833-1293. www.kenwoodinn.com.

Lavender Hill Spa. Freestanding bathhouses with two whirlpool tubs make this a particularly good spot for couples. The nicest treatment rooms are in the rear, with views of the lavender garden. 1015 Foothill Blvd., Calistoga. 707/942-4495. www.lavenderhillspa.com.

Lincoln Avenue Spa. Inside a 19th-century bank building, a history suggested by elegant woodwork and a tiled steam room. House specialties include "body mud" sessions, in which you're coated with mud then laid out on a steam table (a way of trying that local mud without a full immersion). 1339 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga. 707/942-5296. www.lincolnavenuespa.com.

Spa at Villagio. At this writing, new spa facilities were on the drawing board. For now, you can count on treatments like the grape-seed and oatmeal body polish. 6481 Washington St., Yountville. 707/948-5050.