Timeless Antiques in a Brand
New Setting at Cal-a-Vie

In keeping with the style of the rest of the property, the mood of The Pavilion, which opened in February 2005, is decidedly French country.  The new 17,000 square-foot building devoted to fitness and leisure activities is filled with the colors, light, and antique furnishings of southern France.  The lobby, a soaring two-story tower with clerestory windows and a large arched doorway, has antique terracotta flooring brought over from France, hand-plastered walls, and a water fountain with a 9-foot-high tile back-splash imported from an old Portuguese manor; another wall features pale blue 18^th-century French paneling and a stone sink with a purified waterspout.  Three spacious exercise rooms contain the finest machines and equipment; wood-sprung floors throughout the building provide maximum shock-absorption, and covered decks and patios accommodate outdoor classes.  The downstairs Billiards Room has a distinctly masculine flair, feeling very much like a gentleman’s club with its game tables, club chairs, and paneling salvaged from a Parisian townhouse.  Also downstairs is the lounge, a large comfortable space for entertainment and relaxation.  A 60” plasma television finds its home in hand-planed French oak cabinetry, and a grand piano and massive French limestone fireplace further anchor the impressive yet cozy space.  Outside The Pavilion, they have broken ground to build a large heated pool with a well for deep-water classes, and a man-made pond is the site of other water activities, such as kayaking.  This project will be completed in fall of 2005.  

A centuries-old stone chapel has been brought over from France and painstakingly rebuilt on a quiet hillside, stone by stone, to complete Cal-a-Vie’s program of meditative practices and offerings.  Illuminated only by candle light, the Chapel is a serene setting in which to reflect on and reinforce the positive changes one commits to at Cal-a-Vie.  Another splendid antique French structure, an Orangerie, is also being re-constructed on the property for special events and to host the weekly cooking classes in its open kitchen.   

Beauty comes from within, but one can always enhance the exterior, as well.  To that end, Cal-a-Vie’s new 1,800 square-foot Boutique is a warm and welcoming retreat from the exercise and pampering that dominates the days at the spa.  Daily tea service and a gracious reading lounge in front of a Louis Seize limestone fireplace make for a stylish haven among the antique display cabinets filled with fine jewelry, bath and body products, and unique handmade gifts.  Clothing and work-out wear are also featured, including the exclusive Asquith line of Pilates wear.  Cal-a-Vie is pleased to be one of the very few places to carry these comfortable, stylish garments; they are also available on the new Queen Mary.  Painted French and Italian antique furnishings and reclaimed hundred-year-old wide-plank pine flooring from Louisiana enhance the comfortable chic of the boutique’s interior, and create an atmosphere in which guests want to linger and relax.   

With such extensive renovations and new buildings, all in an ageless style underscored by French antiques, European furnishings and architectural elements, Cal-a-Vie truly has your complete well-being at heart.

The sun-drenched compound that is Cal-a-Vie may look like an age-old village in southern France, but don’t let that charming patina fool you: over the past few years, the luxury spa has been completely renovated, inside and out.  It has also gained two stunning new buildings, the Bath House and the Pavilion, now the heart of its spa treatments and exercise program, respectively.  The major renovations and construction have been completed, with the last carpet laid and sconces hung this spring.  A total of over $10 million has been spent, for an effect that has impressed repeat guests and new visitors alike. 

In October 2004, Travel & Leisure recognized Cal-a-Vie as #2 of the Best Spas in the World.  Let us take you on a visual tour through the description below.

Guests are assigned to one of the twenty-four private villas in a lovely garden setting, each with either a sun deck or a balcony that opens onto a breathtaking mountain view.  The newly renovated villas are individually decorated with imported chintzes, charming floral prints, and linen toile of centuries-old designs.  French antiques and hand-carved furnishings grace each villa, and down comforters and pillows, also covered in toile, cover each king-size bed.

The Morning Room, Dining Room, and Evening Room, three lovely spaces where guests can mingle and dine in their free time, have undergone recent renovations, as well.  The Morning Room’s cool yellow walls, Provençal textiles, and blue and white antique dishes bring cheer all day long. More formal is the Dining Room, with its beamed cathedral ceiling, antique French iron chandelier, imposing stone fireplace, and slip-covered chairs.  The Evening Room is a cozy gathering place for good company and Cal-a-Vie’s celebrated “mocktails.”  The beauty salon has been re-designed to look like a vintage European pharmacy, complete with fixtures and appointments from France. 

Afternoons at Cal-a-Vie are typically devoted to spa treatments, and guests find themselves in a luxurious environment inspired by ancient Mediterranean, Turkish, and Roman baths.  The Bath House is a tranquil, restful, and nurturing atmosphere filled with stones, tiles, and antique furniture. The main area is bathed in light and contains daybeds and sofas where guests can recline and gaze through a skylight in the wood-beamed vaulted ceiling.  Hand-plastered blue walls are dimly lit by antique gilded fixtures. In the jacuzzi area, a large Portuguese trompe l’oeil mural in azure and white tiles is surrounded by pale grey Provençal-style cabinetry.  The Vichy shower room contains a magnificent mosaic of gold leaf glass and stone nuggets. The whimsical fresco of mermaids and seahorses in the Hydrotherapy room is after the work of eighteenth-century French artist Jean-Baptiste Pillement. The Thalassotherapy room, with its polychromed pine doors and tole chandeliers, contains private showers with smoky glass doors bearing the Cal-a-Vie fleur-de-lis crest. The Women-only bath area is a charming boudoir, painted yet another soft shade of blue, with Pierre Frey’s “Les Camées” linen drapery cascading off of vintage French hardware.