Days at the spa are such an everyday part of my life that I miss them. Both working and doing facials and going to unwind. A few weeks ago we drove down to see my dad. He hasn’t left the house since 2016 so we knew he was safe for Olivia to be around. Prior to our trip, we quarantined for 16 days just to be sure we didn’t expose him or my stepmom to anything.
We chose to stay at the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage for a few reasons. They had a safety and sanitation protocol in place, only booked out a small percentage of rooms, didn’t allow “day passes” and I had a bunch of points saved up. It was a great decision. We rarely ever saw other guests and the staff was VERY respectful about our safety requests.
Just to be safe I brought a commercial/hospital-grade air purifier and no staff ever entered our room. They left food outside and the housekeeping did the same with our towels. One night Olivia spilled an entire pizza in our bed and the staff was great about swapping the sheets through our patio instead of the enclosed hallway. All the way around the staff was awesome at no-contact high-end service.
When I saw that their spa was open my husband and I talked at length about if we should get massages. We both were tense and really wanted to go but we were concerned about safety. To minimize things we decided to go after visiting with my dad. We also decided to get outdoor massages even though The Spa was open for indoor massages and facials.
The Spa had a ton of amenities–all of which were closed due to COVID. It was a beautiful facility and I look forward to visiting again the next time we head south.
My massage was on a patio and could not have been better. When I arrived the front desk team had me answer questions about my health and then took my temperature before bringing me back to the changing area. I took a quick shower before meeting my therapist, Russel.
It was a warm day so I wasn’t worried about getting cold. Masks were required the entire time and Russel helped me to adjust it for safety and breathability face down. That was actually hard to do! The face cradle kinda pulls the mask back making it hard to breathe. The massage was amazing–Russel was really talented. We chatted a bit and then I zoned out.
Overall, the experience was great– a little different, but great. A few tips would be
- to shower before and after your massage.
- arrive even earlier than usual to finish extra paperwork and the check-in process
- don’t have expectations to use the water rituals
- keep your mask handy
- while in the massage and face down– unloop your mask from your ears. The face cradle will keep the mask sealed tightly in place and you will have an easier time breathing.
- just know that a spa day is a luxury and things aren’t going to be the same right now. Enjoy just being there!
