I pulled into the Bacara and happily announced to the valet that I was there for a massage. “Enjoy!” he replied, and that’s exactly what I planned to do, thanks to an invitation from Natura Bissē to experience its supposedly “infamous” Bubble Pure Air, a bright-white tent filled, for purported health benefits, with “99.995% percent pure” oxygen. It was welcome week for the Barcelona-based cosmetics company, which the Goleta resort recently enlisted for its spa services.
After trading most of my clothes for the soft robe and slippers provided in my locker, I stepped into the poolside tent, where Ashley welcomed me and turned around, which I took as the cue to drop my robe and skivvies and hop on the massage table. (Naked, if you didn’t know, is how you should be massaged, although usually the masseuse leaves the room entirely for that process, which should have been a clue of what was to transpire.)
“Do you want me on my stomach or back?” I asked, sliding under the covers.