After I had a brutal month of work stress and had taken a dozen airplane flights to speak at conferences around the country, my husband and I decided it was time for a weekend of quiet relaxation and restoration. So we hopped in the car and drove south down the Pacific Coast Highway, stopping to have lunch at the Moss Beach Distillery. When we arrived at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay Resort, it seemed we’d been transported to a remote bluff somewhere in mystical England even though we were only a short thirty minutes from our home in San Francisco.
The bright green fairways of the two Half Moon Bay Golf Links championship golf courses on either side of the resort were spectacular, and I wondered how a golfer could concentrate on his performance with such breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean.
We strolled along the walking and biking path that lined the dramatic coastline and went down to the nearby beach cove in hopes of finding someone brave enough to wear a bathing suit in the windy 60 degree weather. The tennis and basketball courts tempted us, but we opted for a lazy afternoon at the Ritz-Carlton’s Spa. After marveling at the gorgeous long hallway with about twenty treatment room doors, I rested in the women’s lounge area beside the fireplace, tested out the whirlpool, and saw many people headed to the co-ed Roman mineral bath.
While most massages I receive make me content, it wasn’t until I experienced the Ocean Mist Hot Stone Massage that day that I realized every single one before it was just plain average. This recently created combination massage was truly euphoric. The therapist started out by lathering my legs and back with a custom blend chardonnay scrub, then she used a horizontal pole with eight water spouts to run hot water along my body to cleanse off the scrub. The steam through my nose and warmth on my back felt so heavenly I kept wondering why this type of massage had only just now been invented. Next, while hot water continued to pour over my body, the therapist used smooth, warm stones to loosen up the knots near my shoulders. And at the end of the eighty minute session, she rolled me over, slyly removed the damp towels under my body, and I was left resting wrapped in warm towels. Pure relaxation and renewal had been achieved, and my husband could even gather this from the look on my face before I started to describe it to him.
Back in our hotel room, our bodies like puddy, we knew we were in for a treat when I read aloud the welcome card on one of the tables: “At the Ritz-Carlton, first we make the world revolve around you. Then we gently slow it down.” How delicious does that sound? I noticed—and respected—the recycling bin beside the desk, and remembered reading that the hotel had just completed a full soft goods renovation of its guest rooms. My only complaint about the updated room was that the feather bed felt like a hammock. I stepped out onto our private terrace, overlooking the 18th green of the Ocean Course, to discover two Adirondack chairs and our own fire pit. I clicked one button and—poof!—instant warmth. It was the perfect setting to test out the Do-it-yourself S’Mores kit the hotel had provided us.
That night we dined in the hotel’s Navio restaurant, which felt less stuffy and bland than most hotel restaurants. We had seats beside the windows overlooking a beautiful lawn and several large fire pits, and watched as people took photos of the purple sunset. The coastal cuisine was delicious; I loved my Caposaldo Pinot Grigio and we tried the Creekstone beef short ribs and butterfish, then shared a warm apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect ending to a blissful day.
