Relaxation often comes at a price, and unfortunately with a strict time limit.

Whether it’s a 60-minute or 90-minute massage, it seems to go by in seconds.

For me, it’s hard to relax under those constraints.

The mathematician in me is constantly calculating dollars per minute for that massage and I typically end up spending too much time worrying, and not enough time unwinding.

Factor all of that in with juggling work issues, my kids’ schedules, what’s for dinner, and trying to figure out where I put the TV remote control and I usually walk out of spas with a loose body but a mind filled with mental gridlock!

But Spa Gregorie’s near Fashion Island on Newport Center Drive makes sure that your trip to the spa is a true getaway and not just an appointment.

And while you may only be getting a massage, you are invited to arrive early and stay late to lengthen your experience of tranquility.

You don’t have to worry about missing a meal either. The spa also has a lunch menu and a beautiful patio area to enjoy a serene eating experience.

Perhaps the most calming place at Spa Gregorie’s may be the Quiet Room, with comfortable seating, plush pillows, and an environment that really lets you find inner-peace.

One of the room’s newest features is the meditation station and owner Angela Cortright believes it is a vital part to having an experience of total relaxation.

She told me, “Our new meditation stations are like ‘meditation for beginners’. Essentially, the services we offer at Spa Gregorie’s provide manipulation of the body for stress relief, but we are also big proponents of relaxation of the mind for rejuvenation.”

This relaxation enhancement is just another layer of service that they have at the spa.

For a beginner like me, the tablets allow me to discover what meditation is all about.
And I’m just the person Cortright was thinking of when she created the stations.

“Thanks to technology, we can now bring in a meditation ‘coach’ to our luxurious new quiet room as an opportunity for novices to experience the practice and for experienced meditators to try new methods,” Cortright said.

With easy to use tablets, and introductory meditations, it’s easy for a person to achieve that restful state prior to or after a spa service.

I could spend the whole day lounging there, and believe it or not, Spa Gregorie’s is happy to have me there.