Health January 13, 2009

Body & Soul: Rustic Riviera

Every summer, hundreds of Valley residents make an exodus to the Stanley area to paddle down a river, cast a fly rod, or soak up the breathtakng scenery. At one time the tiny rugged town served mainly as a spot to grab a bite or pick up supplies for our outdoor adventures. But these days, it’s also a place where you can slip into a plush white robe and get a first-rate massage.

With European health and beauty spas as their inspiration, licensed massage therapist Bill Hart and licensed skin-care specialist Peggy Jurgens have created The Meadow Creek Inn and Spa, a charming, six-room escape that offers relaxing spa treatments to fulfill your every whim.

How does a relaxing aromatherapy massage sound? Or if you’re aching—literally—for something a bit different, a rubdown with mango honey butter? Perhaps the hot stone massage is calling your name.

Skin-soothing body wraps, including papaya, mud, and seaweed, are also on the menu. A custom facial can be created especially for your complexion, or, for your tired feet, reflexology with Dead Sea salts and oil.

Hart, with thirteen years of massage experience, has worked at Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton spas in the Caribbean as well as at the former Tranquility Day Spa in Ketchum. His repertoire includes deep tissue, sports, aromatherapy, pre-natal, and trigger-point techniques. Jurgens has had extensive training at the Conservatory of Esthetics, with more than 3,000 hours of instruction and experience in the application of facials and other spa treatments.

Hart and Jurgens chose to open their spa in Stanley because it has always been a very special place for them. They purchased the old, four-room motel in 1999, and then completely gutted it, adding two guest rooms. “We built the spa area from scratch, and recently revamped all of the landscaping,” Jurgens says.

Each of the inn’s rustic rooms has its own theme and name: Fishing, Southwest, Cowboy/Cowgirl, Western, Rose or Caribbean. In the late afternoon, you can sip a glass of wine on the deck and take in the spectacular panorama of the Sawtooths.

“We are very fortunate to do the work that we do,” Jurgens says. “We find it very rewarding, and we’ve become good friends with many of our guests. Most come to relax and get away.”

The Meadow Creek Inn and Spa is open May through October, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Walk-ins are welcome, but reservations are highly recommended. The inn is smoke-free and no pets are allowed. For information, visit www.meadowcreekinn.com or call 800.811.5745.

 

This article appears in the Issue of Sun Valley Magazine.