California Dreamin' Bacara Resort & Spa

Luxury Spas: Where else would you expect to find an all-organic spa café and 42,000 square feet in which to get peeled, polished, tightened, toned, relaxed and renewed? You guessed it: Santa Barbara, California. Like a Mediterranean village, Bacara Resort & Spa spans 78 beachfront acres between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez mountains.

In between spa treatments, guests relax in luxuriously-appointed suites with breathtaking views of the ocean, garden or mountains. Depending on where you flew in from, you might want to make getting a Flight Fatigue Facial a top priority. Traveling can leave you dehydrated and unbalanced; hydrating and self-heating mineral masks are just what the esthetician ordered to boost your skin's water levels, prevent cellular fatigue and detoxify the body.

Before dinner, take in a game of Champagne Croquet in the garden. Choose from two outstanding restaurants for dinner-The Bistro, offering Mediterranean cuisine, fabulous ocean views and indoor and al fresco seaside dining options, or Miró, named after Spanish artist, Joan Miró, offering stunning views of the Pacific Ocean, an artistic, luxurious interior and a menu filled with Basque-Catalonia cuisine to write home about.

Start Day Two of your relaxing get-away with a Bamboo Lemongrass Body Scrub or Citrus Avocado Body Polish (only in California, right?). For lunch, better go light after the previous night's indulgence. Head to the Spa Café, where every meal contains less than 20 percent calories from fat. No need to feel guilty enjoying a low fat or soy milk dessert (like a sugarless chocolate soufflé). Sit back, soak up the sun while noshing on granola trifle, low-fat yogurt, and fresh berries.

Escaping a salon or spa without an armful of unnecessary but absolutely luxurious products is about as hard as passing up a 50-percent-off sale at Neiman's. Bacara's spa shop will hook you up with scrubs, runs, lotions, and dream creams.

Bacara Resort & Spa 8301 Hollister Avenue Santa Barbara, California 93117 (877) 422-4245 info@bacararesort.com

For LxM Amy Covington