Point Reyes Station. Northern California.
One of my all-time favorite things is oyster-shucking in Tomales Bay and this is where I would like to shuck them. A massive, modern getaway, with a 92” projection screen, 75’ lap pool, spa and steam room. Slurp.
About $700-800/night for 4,000 sq ft.
(Source: homeaway.com)
Berkeley, California.
32 Ft. high windows and a dome skylight with unobstructed view of San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge you may “Lose Your Heart” in the Berkeley Hills. Designed by protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright the 5 bedroom/4 bath Villa hidden in the green hillside and terraced gardens blended with natural materials is reminiscent of Wright.
5 bedrooms at about $10,000/week (1 week minimum). Youch!
Napa Prefab in Napa Valley Wine Country, California.
Featured in Dwell Magazine and on HGTV, this modernist hilltop retreat is a peaceful retreat in Napa County. Unique in its design aesthetic and construction.
Sleeps 6-10. About $800/night.
itHouse in Joshua Tree, California.
The Off-grid itHouse is an architecturally significant house, recently listed in the Los Angeles Times as one of the best houses of all time in Southern California. This is the prototype for the pre-engineered system known as the itHouse that has had much acclaim.
The fireplace alone makes me cry. From $350/night, sleeps 4.
Rosa Muerta in Joshua Tree, California.
My eternal fabulous friend, Travis, was generous enough to share this place with me last year when he spent the holidays here. The house is rooted in modernism, but details are both structural and ornamental with hearts and flowers everywhere… all in shades of black.
Luke, come with me to the Dark Side. Sleep 4 people. From $220/night.
Acido Dorado in Joshua Tree, California.
This is the gold incarnation of darkside Rosa Muerta. Acido Dorado - sits in a 180 degree nook of a small mountain of rocks and presents on the outside a long and low chopped and channeled profile with huge mirrored overhangs, hearts, flowers, and 3 colors of acid-tinged metallic gold. Inside, it’s all preppy-glam; a beige and tweed country club strung out on gold and mirror accents.
I think Midas was here…at least he had a sick party.
Sleeps 6. From $420/night.
Treebones Resort in Big Sur, California.
My cousin, Grace, had the privilege (and foresight) to stay here. It’s clearly the future: recycle, reuse, sustain, maintain, eco-this, eco-that. Tilling the soil, tending an organic garden, reverting to a yurt, or a human-sized nest that overlooks the ocean will get you so close to Nature (and what truly matters) that you will undo all compulsions to go back to your senseless corporate job on Monday morning.
Camp for $65 (dogs OK!), Yurts for $160-$290/night, The Human Nest $95 (priceless.)
I’m always game for any new spa experiences, no matter how outlandish it may seem. I was, however, a bit wary of the cedar enzyme baths at Osmosis Day Spa near Occidental, California because I had once had an allergic reaction to cedar oil that was added to my bath (stinging ants!!)
But thankfully, after testing my arm in to a large box of what looked like fluffy grated brown parmesan cheese, I stepped in fully nude, was covered about 10 inches deep and relaxed into the most supportive and deeply heated bed of cedar pulp. The scent was musky and pleasant (enzyme-y? Like Bragg’s?). My attendant dutifully wiped my brow every 5 minutes with a lavendar soaked cold washcloth, I sipped refreshing water from a straw, and I gazed out into the serene zen garden outside. I could imagine the toxins from last night’s glass of wine leaching out from my pores.
This is the only cedar enzyme bath house in the country, after the owner brought back the technique from Japan 20 years ago. The 6-acre property is laced with gorgeous traditional japanese landscaping, massage pagodas, a meditation garden and wonderfully skilled staff.
Though not a ‘design’ spa, one can’t help notice the elegant touches of contemporary Japanese inspiration. The spa’s retail library shows an obvious appreciation for modern japanese design, zen mindfulness and eco-movements.
After three hours, I was rested. I melted. I glowed.
Upon our return back to the East Bay, we stopped by the nearby Sebastapol and fed our now cleansed bodies with healthy organic fare at Peter Lowell’s.
My girlfriend recently stayed at Harbin Hot Springs in Sonoma County during the recent Summer Solstice. If you’re really into roughing it, you can bring your own tent. Me, I prefer to “glamp” it occasionally, so they have these really futuristic geodesic tents, complete with animal print rugs for only $75-95/night (middle-aged guy not included).
Be sure you’re cool with nudity (mostly of others’), and a little koombaya. In no time, you’ll be detoxed by the natural springs and running around in the woods like a good little pagan creature. She reportedly soaked away 3 lbs!
If you feel like you need to REALLY UNdo, Harbin is the ‘birthplace’ of watsu (an in-water massage technique). It literally makes you feel as if you’re still floating around in the womb.
For slightly more ‘substantial’ accomodations, you can also stay in one of the DOMES, which look strangely similar to Anakin’s home planet of Tatooine.
May the Force UNdo you…
