Last week I got to spend a much needed day doing literally nothing. Now in all honesty, I'm really not very good at relaxing. Being still is not something I'm good at – so having it "forced" upon me in the form of visiting a spa to review, is somewhat of a necessity.

The Glen Ivy Spa is situated in Corona at the base of the Painted Hills – the area is actually very gorgeous and tucked away from the hustle of the city – upon arriving you really feel as if you've discovered something that no one know's about – or rather you would if the parking lot wasn't brimming with cars.

Despite the amount of cars, and being at peak season, the spa didn't feel over crowded and the amount of people didn't disturb the tranquility too much. I'd be extremely curious to visit off season, however, as I'm sure the atmosphere is entirely different.

We started our day with lunch – it was only 11.30am but we took the advice of the staff and hit the café before the lunch rush – this was definitely wise – as we left the café the line was out the door. I opted for the veggie lasagna (though apparently everyone else in the café opted for the giant plate of chicken nachos) the food was extremely good. Despite being a "heavy" dish, I didn't feel bloated, but felt pleasantly full. Perfect spa food.

After lunch we changed and headed to one of the pools. This pool is around 2.5 feet deep and filled with "floaties" (or as we call them in the UK – "lilos") – this was probably my favourite space – lounging in the sun, but in the water was perfect on a super hot day. My only complaint here would be the bees – we kept finding dead or dying ones around us and my intern Gina did get stung (which she handled like a trouper…I would have whined soooo much) – this did make it a little hard to relax. Minus the bees this pool couldn't be more perfect.

Next we switched to our old bathing suits (as per recommendation as the red clay can stain) wearing an old bathing suit was quite an ordeal for me, being that I've gained 40lbs and 3 cups sizes since any of my old suits….this was the only one that covered my nipples, so I went with it.

We jumped in the mineral spa first to open up our pores – you have a choice between a group pool which seats about 10 and smaller pools which sit 1-3 people – we were lucky and got a small pool to ourselves immediately with no wait. The pool was hot and relaxing (as you'd expect a spa to be) and the sulphuric stench was evidence of it's natural minerals.

After the mineral pool we headed to 'Club Mud'. Club Mud features a mud pool with a pile of red clay in the center, if you're not brave enough to enter the pool there's also an area with misters and a pile of clay. The idea is simple – cover yourself with the refining clay bake in the sun or the stone hut, brush off the clay and shower! My skin felt super soft after the treatment and the element of fun in slathering yourself with mud is not to be missed.

 


We changed back into our far more appropriate swimsuits and spent the next hour lounging by the pool – we had every intention of participating in the water aerobics pictured above but chickened out and just watched the class instead.

Overall our day at Glen Ivy was wonderful, it's the perfect, quick, easy and inexpensive escape from Los Angeles and I highly recommend it. I cannot wait to visit again in the off season and perhaps sample one of their many wonderful treatments!

Our trip was courtesy of Glen Ivy for the purpose of review, but a day pass to the spa is really inexpensive – access to everything above is $46, Monday-Thursday and $59 Friday-Sunday and holidays. There is a discounted entrance fee when combined with a treatment and treatments (which include massages, manicures and facials) range from $49 to $159.

To learn more about Glen Ivy visit their website and follow them on Twitter.

Thanks so much for a wonderful day of much needed relaxation Glen Ivy!

Kelsi x