napa valley vacation

Free Mud Baths In May at Calistoga Resort

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas

Need a little destressing this month? How about slipping into a free mud bath at the Dr. Wilkinson's Hot Springs Resort in Calistoga, California? Now through May 27 mud baths are free at the resort for anyone who stays in a king or double queen Calistoga Classic room. The resort also has three thermal pools: an extra large pool with 80 degree water, a large pool with 90 degree water, and an indoor pool, a gigantic "hot tub" with 102 degree water. Massages and facials are also available.

The late Dr. John Wilkinson established Dr. Wilkinson's Hot Springs Resort in 1952. A practicing chiropractor for most of his career, and proponent of alternative health care, he arrived in Calistoga in 1946. He became fascinated with the restorative properties of the mud made from combining the region's hot mineral water and volcanic ash. His children Mark and Carolynn are the co-owners and have run the resort for more than 20 years, preserving the mud baths created and perfected by their father, protecting his "secret formula." The mud bath formula consists of a combination of local volcanic ash, imported peat, and naturally boiling hot springs mineral water from the resort's private source. The resort's original neon sign, erected in 1952, still glows outside Dr. Wilkinson's Hot Springs Resort. Rates for a room start around $150.

Tags: calistoga, hotel deals, mud baths, napa valley vacation, spa