The new Ranch Creek Spa at Devil’s Thumb Ranch is everything a Rocky Mountain spa should be – rustic and luxurious at the same time, like staying in someone’s beautifully decorated log home with a staff of highly trained specialists making sure everyone is comfortable and content.
Discreet on the outside, the Ranch Creek Spa looks like just another out-building at Devil’s Thumb Ranch, a stylish guest ranch/former cattle ranch nestled below the Continental Divide near Tabernash, Colorado, and a short drive to Winter Park Resort’s ski slopes and mountain bike trails. The spa building is constructed, like the original ranch buildings, of pine logs with big beams, heavy doors and a large porch. The environmentally unobtrusive exterior reflects the ranch’s commitment to sustainability and belies what’s inside.
Rich wood interiors, western artwork, antique and contemporary furnishings form a cozy feel throughout the two-floor building. A variety of rugs – intricate kilims, aged Orientals and geometric Navajo weavings – soften the floors. It has the feel of an oversized vacation cabin where anyone is welcome to snuggle up on one of the couches for a nap or sit by a window and watch moose in the distance.
While the overall look is intimate, even for a 10,000-square-foot building, the heart of the spa feels airy and spacious. The eight treatment rooms have high ceilings and plenty of space outfitted with western furniture, artwork and native blankets, making them feel more like guest bedrooms than treatment rooms. But the best feature is the hospital-style treatment beds that raise, lower and bend to elevate feet, knees, head or shoulders. No more bolsters shoved under knees or other improvised means of taking stress off the lumbar area.
Locker areas, shower stalls, steam rooms and saunas are huge. Towels and robes are thick. Instead of thin slippers, guests are given comfortable athletic-style flip-flops with rubber grips and arch support. Waiting and sitting areas have stunning views of the Continental Divide, Nordic ski area or adjacent fields of cattle and horses. Fireplaces add to the homey feel. Herbal tea and filtered water are offered in the sitting areas as is the list of wines available by the glass – this is my kind of spa!
With its location high in the mountains, the Ranch Creek Spa staff knows all about dry skin and other effects of dry climates. Their treatments are tailored to address those stresses with facials like the “Flush the Blush” that uses rose petals and antioxidants to remove redness from sensitive, dehydrated skin or the “Snow Bunny” combination of carrots, orange pulp, honey, lemon and vanilla to replenish moisture in mature skin. The “Turquoise Sage” body wrap sooths and detoxifies skin with lavender and sage while
the “Mountain Sunrise” scrub uses coffee to polish and tone dull, dry skin.
For details about the spa, its treatments, yoga studio, packages and specials, go to www.devilsthumbranch.com or call 800-933-4339.