Red Mountain Spa is set on 55 acres of stunning scenery in Southwest Arizona, just two hours from Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s also a beautifully designed resort, with unusually good spa cuisine and a wine list. Adventure, health and creature comforts! It's a great combination!
Name: Red Mountain Spa, Ivins, Utah
Type of Spa: Adventure Spa
The Setting for Red Mountain Spa: Fifty-five acres of stunning scenery in Southwest Utah, just two hours from Las Vegas, Nevada. A gorgeous red mountain rises up behind a cluster of adobe buildings. You might see quail darting in the garden in the early morning, or hear owls hooting on the way back to your room at night. Hikes in spectacular Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park are offered as day trips.
Accommodations at Red Mountain Spa: The adobe buildings blend nicely into an inspiring landscape. Standard rooms are neat and tidy, while the lovely Villas have fireplaces that can be switched on with the press of a button. Everyone gathers at the elegantly rustic Canyon Breeze Dining Room. The food is unusually good, and you can even have wine with dinner – unusual for a destination spa.
The Spa at Red Mountain Spa: The new Sagestone Spa is located in a 60-foot high dome that was one of the original buildings when the spa opened as a fat farm in the early 1980s. Morning hikes are the heart of the Red Mountain Spa. Choose your level – Trekker 1,2, or 3 – based on your level of fitness. Trekker 1 might be a leisurely stroll, stopping to look at petroglyphs, while Trekker 3 is a serious, fast-paced hike up steep canyons and over rocks. Daily lectures on staying healthy, losing weight, and managing menopause are excellent, and classes in large sunlit studios include hip-hop dancing and cardio salsa. Some of the best activities are extra. Try rock climbing , GPS Orienteering or a bike ride to the charming desert community of Kayenta.
Signature Treatments at Red Mountain Spa: For the aromatherapy massage you fill out a form about how you’re feeling and how you want to feel – energized? inspired? Relaxed? The therapist enters the information into a computer and creates a custom blend (Unfortunately, it requires her to disappear for 10 or 15 minutes). The Red Mountain Revitalizer, the spa's most popular treatment is an eighty minute treatment that includes scalp massage, facial cleansing, full body exfoliation and massage.
Prices at Red Mountain Spa: Promotional rates start at $229 per night, per person, which includes your room, three meals per day and regular hikes and classes activities. (Tax and tips are additional). Rates go on up to $499 per person for the Villas. Given the quality of the setting, rooms, food and programming, Red Mountain provides excellent value. Check the website at www.redmountainspa.com for special rates.
What’s Special at Red Mountain Spa: The setting is spectacular, and the outdoors guides are fun, interesting people who love what they’re doing. For people seeking direction, the Native Indian card reading by Nancy Furst offers traditional wisdom from the ancestors. And the Meta-Beat test will give you valuable information on how to exercise most efficiently to lose fat. If you want to know exactly where you are in the world, a GPS Orienteering Class will show you the way. After some classtime you’re doing, it’s off into the field to find hidden geocaches – hidden boxes of knick-knacks that you find with your GPS unit. For more info go to www.geocaching.com.
What Could Be Better: The evening waitstaff was young and inexperienced. And my massage therapist stripped down the room while I was still in there, a definite no-no.
Bottom Line: This spa is for you if you are inspired by Southwestern scenery and love outdoors activities like hiking and biking. This spa is not for you if you need a big, luxurious spa facility and polished restaurant service.
Contact Info: Red Mountain Spa, P.O. Box 2149 St. George , UT 84771-2149. Toll-free reservations at 1-800-407-3002, www.redmountainspa.com
