February/March 2016 83 massaged too. The session begins with exfoliating the hands. Next, a caviar face cleanser wipes away grime and hydrates. During your treatment, you receive a rose water mist, a fruit enzyme peel, steam to soften the skin, antioxidant serum and more. Kalinuk incorporates lymphatic massage, facial acupressure, and a lifting massage to relieve stress in the neck and décolleté. Sounding like heavy raindrops is the tapotment massage, a tapping motion on the face that instigates collagen production. While all this skin firming and collagen repair is going on, you feel utterly spoiled. That sense of being indulged heightens when your face is covered by two sequential masks, one a blue algae spirulina mask for blood circulation, and the other a cool, brush-on brightening product with rice bran to address pigmentation. Kalinuk layers a sheet of thin gauze soaked in rose mist over your face and sets down a pair of “cool beauty globes” resembling small light bulbs to rotate on top of the gauze. The session concludes with caviar eye cream and caviar moisturizer. After treating one client, Kalinuk was heard to observe, “Your skin is more luminous. which makes you look more youthful, and the oxygen is flowing. BERNARDUS LODGE AND SP A Guests receive a warm welcome and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc upon arrival at the Carmel Valley resort. There is more color to your skin so it looks as if everything is operating better and nothing is depleted. The tone overall is really even.” I can safely vouch for the feeling of rejuvenation her treatment created, since that client is also the writer of this article. INSIDE TIPS On site, stroll the redwood trail and try the uphill fire road hike, an exhilarating and not-too-strenuous climb. For downtime, find your favorite memento at the Coast Gallery, Hawthorne Gallery, Phoenix Shop, or the hotel’s Ventana Art Gallery featuring work from local artists. Keep an eye out for celebs, too. Bill and Melinda Gates, for instance. At night, savor sophisticated American comfort food with Big Sur coastal influences at The Restaurant at Ventana, helmed by Chef Paul Corsentino. The $75 Tasting Menu lets you select four courses from options that rotate every few weeks. Everything is made in-house: breads, pastas, desserts. Fish can include a grilled sturgeon with red cabbage puree. The New York strip steak comes with cheese bread pudding, creamed kale and Brussels sprouts. The restaurant’s lodge atmosphere with fireplace and wood beam ceiling embraces casual attire. In the morning, nurse your coffee and delight in the breakfast buffet of pastries, fruits, and egg entrees. Sit outside overlooking the coastline. Either way, day or night, you’ll easily immerse yourself in the unpretentious, natural beauty of Ventana , a true escape in a spectacular setting. RATES START AT $480. VENTANA BIG SUR, 48123 HIGHWAY 1, BIG SUR, 831/667- 2331. SEE VENTANAINN.COM BERNARDUS LODGE AND SPA CARMEL VALLEY l when you arrive at the vineyard hotel in carmel Valley you’re greeted with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, a smile, and attention to every need or whim. Awaiting are ranch-country-chic rooms with limestone fireplaces, stocked refrigerators, and extradeep tubs. Want to borrow the hotel’s Mercedes-Benz? Just be back in four hours. This rebirthed inn—or, pardon us, lodge—recently underwent a multi-million dollar transformation from Old World European to California Rustic. Out went heavy dark-wood furnishings that THE TUNING FORK RITUAL… RESTORES BALANCE AND HARMONY. COURTESY OF BERNARDUS LODGE AND SPA; OPPOSITE: RACHEL WEILL
South Bay Accent - Feb/Mar 2016
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