20 - Spa at Pinehurst (Pinehurst, NC)

00:00
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Biscuits and Gravy podcast. I'm Michelle, I'm your host, and I'm taking you to all the quintessential Southern places. And today we're talking about the spa at Pinehurst. This is the first time I've featured a spa on the podcast, but this is a place that I used to frequent pretty often. A long, long time ago. I'm talking like decades ago, y'all, but it has.

00:30
changed very little actually over the past couple of decades and I recently went again to the spa to check it out and I was really surprised by that. So but in a pleasant way it wasn't like it was too outdated or anything like that. So I want to give you the lowdown today on the spa at Pinehurst. So the spa is located beside the Carolina Inn which most people refer to as the Pinehurst Hotel.

01:01
It's very grand with big white columns in the front and rockers on the front porch. They've got as you walk in, this is fairly new I believe, as you walk in there's a retail space so there's you know things that you can purchase from the spa, different products, different you know pine hearse memorabilia, different you know shirts and things like that.

01:31
Then there is a desk where you'll be greeted and you can sign in there. I would suggest making a reservation several days or weeks in advance. I assume they probably have some people walk in or guests at the hotel there that make a reservation after they've already checked into the hotel, but I would definitely make a reservation

02:01
just to make sure you can be fitted in. I think when I made my reservation, it was several days in advance and I think it was a little dicey whether I was gonna be able to get my 50 minute treatment on the day that I wanted anyway. So they asked if I had been before and when I said it had been a while, they gave me a little orientation. So they took me into the women's side.

02:29
I love that they divide it into a men's and women's side. I think it makes it a little more comfortable for people and there is also a coed place part in the middle with a hot tub and a lap pool and lounge chairs and snacks and all that stuff as well but they also have separate men's and women's locker rooms which I really like. They have I mean the snacks are are

02:59
pretty varied. They have trail mix, they have dried fruit, they have water, coffee, and probably what they're known for the most is they serve smoothies throughout the day. And they have these sweet little women that walk around and ask you if you'd like a smoothie. And they're constantly just going to make smoothies. They have a couple of different flavors that they make and they'll ask you which kind you want and they will deliver them to you poolside.

03:27
In the sauna wherever you are they will come and bring it to you if you've ordered one and then they'll be walking around With trays for people that didn't actually ask for one just you know they'll be offering them to you throughout the day which I think is really a nice touch and The the pool is salt water filtered instead of chlorine They said that this is important to some people and I said yes, I appreciate that You know because I didn't actually know that about these

03:56
pools here and I didn't expect it, but it was nice. I'm actually That's kind of been something that I've been working on this year was trying to find a saltwater filtered pool in In our area that is open to the public so I could take my kids over the summer because they love a good pool and I really don't And I think the main reason I don't love the pool is because of the chemicals

04:24
They're just horrible for you and I just, I just don't like the idea of myself and my kids being exposed to all those chemicals all the time during the summertime. So I have not had any luck though. So if you are local to me and you hear this podcast, can you please let me know if you know of a saltwater pool anywhere near us? I will jump on that. So the etiquette.

04:53
has changed a little bit over the past couple of decades. And I know, I'm trying not to make this podcast very negative, but I want, like I know you probably can assume that people have changed, we all know that. Etiquette has changed, rules have changed. And so,

05:21
One of the things that I remember decades ago was that people were you were not allowed to have your cell phone with you. You were not allowed to have a camera, anything like that, any kind of digital anything in the lounges like in the men's and women's lounges or in the common area that was just not allowed. If you brought your cell phone into the spa with you, you left it in your locker.

05:51
on silent because they have you know really relaxing music, the sound of the water, you know everything is just very chill. This is a relaxing environment and it's you know phone free zone. Well I remember back in the day that that was a thing like we put our cell phones in our lockers on silent.

06:15
And if we needed to go check in with somebody or whatever, we would go and look at our phones. We wouldn't make phone calls in there. We'd have to step out of the spa together to make phone calls. But we would certainly not bring our phones into the swimming areas, the sauna, relaxing, you know, all that not happening. Well, I was in for a big surprise when I not only witnessed people on their cell phones,

06:45
many people on their cell phones in the common areas, but also like, like they weren't just like watching things or texting or whatever. They were like actually on the phone, like having phone calls and stuff with other people. And I was just like, okay, this completely messes up the vibe y'all. And I still saw signs everywhere in the locker rooms that say your cell phones need to stay here.

07:14
cell phones are not allowed, like, you know, but people were just completely disregarding the signs and nobody was calling them on it. So, you know, I mean, I don't own the Pinehurst spa, so I can't say like, if this should be enforced or not, you know, um.

07:36
I'm sure that they would probably lose business over that, but I feel like they would probably lose business over the fact that they are allowing people to have their phones in there when they're not supposed to. So I think people just have become a lot more disrespectful over the years, and of course we know that we are tethered to our phones, unfortunately now, and they are just an extension of our arm.

08:06
unfortunately. So you know I live life trying my best every day to not make that the case for for myself and for my family. But I know that's not important to other people. Some people. I know it is to some. But anyways that's my only want-want that I will share about the spot Pinehurst. And that wasn't necessarily the spa's fault. But just the patrons of the spa are not.

08:36
not supposed to have cell phones and they do. So getting ahead of myself just a little bit, let me go back to when I was walking in to the women's locker room. So you walk in and they have like an attendant right there and she'll ask you what size shoe that you need and they'll give you a locker with a robe and shoes, little slip on shoes. Now I don't love

09:05
the shoes that they give you the little slippers but I'm sure a lot of people do. They remind me of like the Adidas slippers that we used to wear back in the day that had like the little like the little traction on the sole. I don't know if y'all even know what I'm talking about but what are they called? They're called something. Someone will be listening to this and will be shouting it out. I just can't remember what they're called but anyways.

09:32
That's what they were like and I did not find them very comfortable and maybe it's just because I'm old now But I did not find them very comfortable at all. They were actually making blisters on my feet once I was by the end of the day, um But I love the plush You know robes that you get and you get you can wear Um, if you're going to go swimming you can wear your bathing suit under your robe. Um

10:01
If you're not going swimming, you can just go all natural or you can wear your underwear under there or whatever. But it was very, very comfy. And there are lots and lots of places, like you have options of places to change. Some, I remember back in the day, being completely shocked as a teenage girl that women just change right in front of you and don't.

10:30
bad and I add it, like they just completely disrobe. And I've always been a little more modest than that. So I did, I always go into a locker room to change or whatever, but you know, you do you. So, you can change in the locker room in front of everybody if you choose. There are also big bathroom stalls, showers, and rooms specifically for changing.

11:00
The locker rooms and bathrooms are furnished with lotions, hair dryers, hair products, cloth, hand towels, which I think is a nice fancy gesture. Through the locker room, there's a women's only lounge, like I was telling you about, with a hot tub in the center of the room and some skylights, which are really nice for that room.

11:28
steam room and a dry sauna as well. The steam room is a little much for me. I tried it and I really did feel like I was suffocating so I didn't last very long in there and the eucalyptus was very strong. The hot tub is very nice and they have lounge chairs around the hot tub that are more comfortable than the lounge chairs that are in the coed part. Just FYI if you go. I like

11:57
hanging out in the in the women's locker room more than anywhere else at at this particular spa the smoothies constantly coming like i told you they have magazines for you i brought a book to read um i'm not i'm one of these people that i need quiet to read though so if people are having like loud conversations near me or um talking on their cell phone like i told you

12:24
then it's a little distracting for me and I don't enjoy it quite as much because I like, I love to read. So not being able to read or being completely distracted is not fun. If you choose, you can order lunch from the hotel restaurant to be delivered at the spa and they give you the menu and those options when you check in. I remember going a long time ago and this kind of, it brought back this memory when I recently visited.

12:54
that when we went a long time ago, I used to go with my sister and some friends, and I remember meeting a woman one time in the sauna, and she had asked me and my friends about our marital status, and at the time, I think none of us were married yet. I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think any of us were married yet, but then she said she wished someone would have told her when she was our age.

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that's why she wanted to tell us that a couple that prays together stays together. She just continued to talk to us about how when we did get married that if we were praying together that was very, very important for our relationship. And you know I just remember thinking that's so sweet but I didn't know the weight of that then that I know now. And she was...

13:53
exactly right. So I thought that was really sweet. But anyways, that memory came back to me when I was, when I was there this time. But overall I had a lovely day. I had a 50 minute massage and it was fabulous. And for the life of me, I cannot remember my massage therapist name. And I hate that because I wanted to, you know, give her a shout out and

14:20
you know, so that maybe if someone books a massage after hearing this podcast episode that they would be able to request her. But I can't remember her name, but she was great. And usually you can ask for, like you can ask if you prefer a woman or a man massage therapist.

14:43
I don't know if they even asked me that this time, but I remember a long time ago them asking that. But you can just always make that request known when you're booking if that makes you more comfortable to be able to choose. But she was very lovely. She did not talk to me too much. And I was just able to relax and have a good massage. And then I went back out to rest and read a little bit more and, you know, get in the hot tub.

15:13
that kind of thing. I will say I'm not a sugar person. I don't eat a lot of sweets. Things that have sugar in them are really very very sweet to me and turns me off from them. I will say that these smoothies are very very sweet. So if that's a concern to you then you can forego the smoothies. I ended up getting some trail mix when I got hungry. Just some nuts and um...

15:42
and some water. They usually have like a cucumber water there in a big cooler and that kind of thing. So there's lots of options for you for what you want to eat or what you want to snack on while you're there. And like I said, you're welcome to order from the restaurant. Or like me, I actually went and got lunch. I believe I got lunch.

16:09
It was like an early lunch before I went to the spa so that I wouldn't have to order, interrupt my day. I could just spend the rest of the day just relaxing. And I can't remember how long I was there. I was probably there about four hours that day. And as long as you have booked a treatment at the spa, you can stay as long as you want to that day. You can come in hours before your treatment and just hang out, swim.

16:38
whatever you want to do and then have your treatment and stay as long as they're open. So I think that's really, really nice. And Pinehurst Village is just a really cute place. I have probably mentioned Pinehurst on here many times and I love Pinehurst. I love Moore County. It's one of my favorite places in North Carolina and Pinehurst Village is very cute. So it's...

17:06
We love just walking around Pinehurst so you can park there's many many parking places there this is a little ways away from the from the hotel but we have also walked from the hotel to Pinehurst Village before too and it's not it's not a far walk and They've got lots of cute shops and restaurants and a park and everything. So You will not lack for anything to do. That's for sure on a day

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in Pinehurst and I hope that you will consider using the spa at Pinehurst if you are in the market for a day of relaxation and just rejuvenation. I think it's a really great option for you. Well, that is all for today's episode. I hope you guys are doing well and I can't wait to talk to you guys next time about the next place that I'm traveling. Bye!