In the teaching professional there are very few material perks. Sure you have the tender hugs and smiles from your students, but lets be honest with ourselves...wouldn't it be nice to feel appreciated with a dinner, gift card, or a day of fun on the school district's dime? If you work in corporate America you are probably familiar with these forms of compensation, but definitely NOT in the public education world.
On Thursday, Dallas's company treated a group of their employees and their spouses with a day at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley. Built in 1915, the Claremont has been a consistent award-winning recipient for decades. Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, and Tommy Dorsey were all regular performers in their jazz lounge. Fully refurbished, the Claremont was awarded the AAA Four-Diamond Award, Michelin Guide Recommended for 2011, and Millennium International Award of Excellence, while the spa was recognized in the San Francisco Chronicle Readers Choice Awards as "Best Place to be pampered." Needless to say, we were well taken care of.
It was such an amazing feeling to be totally pampered for the day! We started by all meeting up for a gourmet lunch at the Paragon Restaurant located on the main level of the Claremont. Dallas's coworkers were so nice and welcoming, even before all of the alcohol consumption! I have to admit that I have become a total food snob since moving to the Bay area. The cuisine is always so fresh and authentic and the Paragon did not disappoint. It was an entertaining lunch full of funny stories and anecdotes, who'd have thought accountants could be so humorous? Then the boys left for a game of golf, while the girls made their way to the Claremont Hotel Spa for the rest of the day.
If I had the money, I would go to this spa every day!
We started by each receiving 80minute deep tissue massages, followed be full access to the spa facilities where we spent time in the steam room and then made use of the waterfall and 9 headed showers. I told Dallas it gave me some great ideas about how we are going to remodel our bathroom when we own a house.
After we were all thoroughly relaxed, we headed back upstairs, sat out on the veranda under the heat of the sun, and ordered incredibly yummy gourmet desserts.
Does it get any better than this!?
What a wonderful day of relaxation after the trama of goodbyes at the end of another school year. The timing couldn't have been better. Glad you had a good day. The place looked beautiful. Great pictures as usual.
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That looks awesome! Glad you got to enjoy it - pretend it was a perk for your last week of teaching. (:
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. I would love to be pampered for a day!
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