Samantha B.
Yelp
What a relaxing retreat! I had purchased a $100 off coupon from a local radio show that had restrictions on when it could be used, so I checked in on a Sunday night and checked out on a Tuesday morning. Even though it was the first week of July, there were not a lot of patrons there, making it a very calm and quiet experience! At one point my husband and I had the entire Olympic sized pool to ourselves!
Checking in to the office, we were provided with a very detailed map of the grounds, including all the hiking trails. We booked a basic Mountain View Room. It was very small, but decorated very cute! I should note that the rooms do not have televisions, microwaves, or refrigerators. A huge plus to the lack of televisions is that you don't hear any tv noise from your next door guests!
Lack of refrigerator and microwave is a bit inconvenient, because the resort only offers breakfast, so you're on your own for all other meals. There are lots of great places to eat very close by though, in both Ukiah and Hopland. I picked up some non-perishable snacks at a local health food store to keep in the room. The breakfast buffet was amazing! They had bagels, yogurt, granola, scrambled eggs, fruit, and pastries.
The pool is kept immaculately clean. There were only two floating devices that appeared to belong to the resort, so if you're one to want an air mattress in the pool, I would suggest you bring your own. There are a good amount of lounge chairs, and sitting chairs, as well as an outdoor shower and bathrooms right by the pool. A small Rec room close by had two pinball machines, a foosball table, a treadmill, and a vending machine with cold drinks.
A few times we heard gunshots in the distance, and when we asked the front desk, they said there was a gun club very close by, and that they didn't have a specific schedule. Wanted to note this for any patrons whom this could be triggering for!
The mineral baths were neat! The water is around 90 degrees and once submerged, your skin is covered in tiny bubbles. After sitting in the mineral baths for a while, I would get cold, but in between both rows of mineral baths was an outdoor hot tub. We would hit the tub in between the baths, it was perfect! I will note that the doors to these mineral baths don't lock, but they all have open air windows, and if you hang your towel on the window ledge, people walking towards the baths can easily see which ones are occupied. Signs inside the baths remind you to keep your voice down. It was very quiet in the baths, except for one afternoon when a kid was playing basketball on a small gravel court that was somewhat close to the baths.
I also want to advise that if you're prone to mosquito bites, you'll want to bring some kind of repellent.
Walking back to our rooms from the baths there was a large open lawn with picnic tables. Cute little lizards were running around on the paved walkway. The Mountain View rooms all have a large porch space with nice shade, chairs, and hooks to hang your wet towels.
One morning we hiked to the waterfall and back. The fall was more like a trickle when we were there, but it was still beautiful! We saw lots of deer, frogs, and salamanders on the way. You'll want to have good shoes for the hike and I wouldn't recommend it for any feeble individuals. You will need to cross creeks in a few areas, sometimes on small and wet rocks, and there are also some steep portions of the hike that require good balance.
I absolutely loved my stay at Vichy Springs and I cannot wait to go back!!!
