Cielo

I just visited Santa Barbara's newest skin care spa -- Cielo. It's owned by a born and raised SB local Roxanne Zbinden. It's an adorable, quaint little place; she uses Babor products and she's all about pampering! Cielo is located on State Street behind Salon U, next to IHOP. Cielo will be added to Spa Defined in the next few weeks -- be sure to check it out!

Secret Beach in Kauai

I discovered a "secret" beach (it is used as a nude beach too) while I was in Kauai. Okay...well, it wasn't totally "undiscovered", but you do have to hike to get to it and it isn't on the maps provided with all of the beaches listed. This beach was AMAZING with LOTS of beach, great waves and almost secluded! So....I sort of want to keep it a "secret", so I won't publish the directions on this blog, but if you are going to Kauai and you want to weed through the tourists, email me at melissa@spadefined.com and I will give you specific directions on how to get there!

Le Reve

Today I enjoyed an oxygen facial at Le Reve. Mickey was my esthetician and she was wonderful providing facial massage movements throughout the facial (not just the massage part) and lots of massage otherwise -- back, neck, shoulders and feet. I've always liked getting a facial at Le Reve too because there's a lot of aromatherapy! I got a great dose of antioxidants which I really needed from the extra sun exposure from my Kauai trip.

Lomi Lomi in Santa Barbara

Since my 4-handed lomi lomi in Kauai, I am hooked! Does anyone in SB offer this type of massage?

Indulgence Home Spa

Upon returning from my vacation at 9am on Friday morning, that night I picked up my best friend Kiley,who is from Del Norte Colorado, at the airport. She just got out of the army and is a mom of two kids -- she really needed a little relaxation so I was excited to spend time with her and treat her to California wonders. We went to the beach of course, then to the Santa Ynez Valley. We went to Panino's in Los Olivos to eat lunch and then went to the Clairmont Lavendar fields. Our last stop was the Gainey Winery where we did some tasting -- was delicious especially on such a hot day! Yesterday we got pedicures from Carol of Indulgence Home Spa; it was a great day to end the day. Thanks Carol!

Grand Hyatt: Anara Spa

Back to reality...well, okay, Santa Barbara is an amazing place to come home to after vacation, but...my time in Kauai was wonderful! While there, I had the opportunity to get a treatment at Anara Spa at the Grand Hyatt. You can read my review on Spas of America in about a week.

I received a 4 handed Lomi Lomi Massage -- 2 people gave me a full body massage using not only their hands to massage, but also their forearms and elbows. It was incredible and so therapeutic, which I needed after the flight there. I also indulged in the spa ammenities including the eucalyptus steam room, sauna and hot tub. The spa is going through an expansion now and hopes to be done with that in Winter 06.

My favorite little town was Hanalei Bay and my favorite beaches were all north of Kapaa. These beaches were less crowded and more beautiful. I also splurged in Bubba's Burgers www.bubbaburger.com because they had delicious burgers and they were about the only thing on the island that was affordable!

Waimea Canyon was spectacular as was the sunset cruise by the Napoli Coast...hiking, beaches, waterfalls and so much more....it was a great vacation.