What's your favourite spa and why?

pedicure. I don't have much time to go to a spa, so I find it very relaxing to get a pedicure. The Pacific Athletic Club is one of my favorite locations. The candles, flowers and dim lighting are a perfect combination for a relaxing atmosphere.

So many options..... I live in San Francisco and I'm a self-professed spa junkie, which is a little ironic, considering that I've moved away from the establishments that orient themselves as "spas" and am much more interested in places that have a more holistic model of health and wellness. I love Safronya Retreat in San Rafael, because it has a yummy treatment menu, courteous and talented therapists, and Ayurveda (the ancient Hindu wellness practice) at its heart. It's cozy (feels like you're walking into someone's living room), unpretentious, and has advantages that run way deeper than your typical impersonal, quick in/quick out pampering routine. But I also like smaller skincare and massage studios, where the people actually know you and the therapy is personalized.

Kabuki. When I need to relax I go to Kabuki (on Geary/Fillmore). For $25 on Sundays you can use their hot & cold baths, sauna, steamroom with salt scrub, & they have great teak chairs you can lay down on & relax with cucumbers over your eyes sipping lemon water. It is very zen-like & soothing, they have great cucumber lotion, and a big tea pot with yummy tea on your way out - I always leave feeling refreshed! You can get massages there also and I have heard they are great but I haven't had one yet.

Hands down -- The Greenbrier, in White Sulphur Springs, WV. They have a medical clinic on site, 2 pools, tennis, championship golf, exercise classes, Kate's Mountain you can walk up, locally grown black walnuts that they use for body scrubs. They have a sap restaurant and spa menus... but I hear people still indulge in the splurgy stuff!