Refuge
27300 Rancho San Carlos Road, Carmel
620-7360, www.refuge.com
We’ve heard of visitors driving down from San Francisco and up from L.A. to spend three hours moving from eucalyptus steam room to cold waterfall pool to zero-gravity recliner to hot soak—maybe adding in the cedar sauna or one of six thermal mineral pools. Lucky Monterey County Weekly readers don’t have to spend that much time in the car or money on gas, which means adding a deep tissue massage is basically free. Besides, it’s so much more relaxing to lounge outdoors in an Adirondack by a fire pit overlooking the Santa Lucia Preserve when going home doesn’t involve the 405 or 101.