Spa Day at Tenaya Lodge

A favorite reward to myself is to indulge in a massage every once in a while. I headed up to the Ascent Spa at Tenaya Lodge for a Spa Day!

Where: Tenaya Lodge, Ascent Spa

Date: July 1, 2015

Lightning had been predicted at the high elevations where I like to hike and it was just too darn hot and muggy to do much of anything. PG&E had called another Smart Day, so I tried to think of what to do where I could relax and enjoy someone else’s air conditioned facility. It was the perfect day for a spa day at the Ascent Spa at the Tenaya Lodge!

A friend of mine, Robin, had told me she had a wonderful spa day at Tenaya Lodge recently and that had been on my mind for a while. I headed north on Highway 41 up to the Tenaya Lodge, arriving in time for lunch.

The Tenaya Lodge has 5 restaurants and I headed for Jackalope’s Yosemite Bar & Grill. I had looked at the online menu ahead of time, so knew what I had in mind. I had seen an Asian Chicken Salad that had sounded just right, but I knew I could be easily swayed if something else struck my fancy. There were several people eating outside but I wanted to stay inside where I could enjoy their air conditioning and I was seated along the windows where I could watch the people, the birds and the building cumulus clouds.

They had some homemade potato chips waiting at the table and boy, were they good! I ended up staying with my original choice of the Asian Chicken Salad and it was a good decision. My picture makes it look like there is a pile of whipped cream along the back of the salad but that is not what it is. Actually I am not totally positive but it was cooked and molded like one of those taco shells that Mexican salads are sometimes served in, but I think this one was made from a rice product. The salad had Napa cabbage, red bell peppers, lettuce, carrots, almonds, sesame seeds and chicken. A lightly tossed Vinaigrette complimented the salad nicely.

I was able to easily make my massage appointment online and arrived early enough, planning on taking full advantage of Ascent Spa’s facilities before my massage was scheduled to begin. I had been here before but it had been several years and I really didn’t know what to expect but I was ready for just about anything, as long as it dealt with relaxing.

Ascent Spa takes up 10,000 square feet and has twelve treatment rooms, dry saunas, steam rooms and fitness facilities. The dressing rooms, restrooms, showers, saunas, steam rooms and relaxation areas are separated into male and female areas. I learned that Ascent Spa had been chosen as one of the finest wellness resorts in the world by USA Today and the Ascent Spa won the SpaFinder Wellness Readers’ Choice Award for best spa for outdoor adventure.

When I arrived, Sarah escorted me through the facilities, giving me a brief tour, and giving me a really nice, plush robe and spa shoes to wear. She also helped me set my locker code, which I failed miserably on, and had to get her help later to get it opened. It turns out I didn’t enter my code properly but it only took two lessons from her and I was set!

I headed for the sauna first and relaxed in there for a while, then the steam room. They had ice cold wash clothes outside those rooms and cucumber water to hydrate with. I then took a nice shower, using their bath products then headed for the relaxation room. It was a very relaxing place with some background music and magazines.

Facilities:

Sources:

http://www.tenayalodge.com/dine.aspx
http://www.tenayalodge.com/ascent-spa.aspx
http://www.pge.com/en/myhome/saveenergymoney/plans/smartrate/index.page