SpaRator
Treatments
Spa Facilities
Wellness Programs
Staff & Service
Experience
Value for Money
Spa Facilities
- Beauty Services
- Couples treatments
- Fitness center
- Full-service spa
- Hot tub/Jacuzzi
- Pool facilities
- Wellness programs
Hotel Facilities
- Air Conditioning
- Bar
- Bike Rentals
- Free Parking
- Garden Areas
- Pets Allowed
- Restaurant
- WIFI
Pricing & Availability
About
The Motor Lodge opened in 1947 as exactly what its name says, got a knowing retro renovation in 2017–18, and has spent the past three years as Calistoga’s case study in brand churn: independent, then JdV by Hyatt from July 2023, then independent again since September 23, 2025. Through all of it, the geothermal water never changed.
The Spa, Specifically
MoonAcre Spa & Baths runs treatments daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m. behind the pools, with the lowest age gate in Calistoga at 16+. The verified menu is contemporary and mid-priced: Signature massage $200/60 minutes and $300/90, deep tissue to $335, CBD and Himalayan salt-stone options, prenatal at $220, and facials from a $215 Custom to the $295 Beyond Botox.
The baths tell the positioning story — CBD, aromatic salt, Calming Cabernet, and the Mud Bake, each $100 for 30 minutes as add-ons to treatments: the Mud Bake paints Calistoga mud on, sun-dries it in the spa garden, and rinses it under an outdoor rain shower, weather permitting. It is the selfie version of the town’s ritual, and honest reviewers treat it that way.
The real asset is outside: three year-round geothermal pools — 20’×40′ main at 80–84°F, a warm two-foot wading pool at 90–96°F, and a 100–104°F whirlpool — with changing rooms, cabanas, and a hammock grove, open to hotel guests and to spa clients for two hours around treatments. No sauna, no steam, no day passes.
Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong
Book the Motor Lodge for the easiest-going geothermal weekend in Calistoga: casual couples, design-curious travelers who enjoy the camper kitsch, families using the warm wading pool while one parent takes a 16+ treatment, and dog owners in the Camper Rooms all get real thermal water at motor-court prices with Fleetwood downstairs.
Book elsewhere if you came for the canonical ritual — the Mud Bake is a painted-on postcard, and Indian Springs’ tubs are five minutes away — or if disclosure gaps annoy you: the post-Hyatt fee picture and the unstated 20% spa gratuity both surface at billing rather than booking.
Where It Sits in the Market
Against Meadowood, the Napa benchmark, no comparison applies — this is Calistoga’s casual tier, priced accordingly. Within the springs market it slots beside Calistoga Spa Hot Springs as the family-usable pole: CSHS wins on pool count and swim scale, the Motor Lodge wins on design charm, dining, and the warmest wading pool in town. Golden Haven undercuts it on price with the town’s only couples-mud format; Dr. Wilkinson’s and Indian Springs own the genuine ritual it riffs on. The reset TripAdvisor listing makes it the most under-signaled property in Calistoga right now — a quirk value hunters can exploit.
See less
What Guests Are Saying
No Review Available
No Review Available
Location
Guest Experiences
Frequently Asked Questions:
Where is the Calistoga Motor Lodge, and how far is the airport?
The hotel is at 1880 Lincoln Ave, at the east end of Calistoga's main street, a ten-minute walk from the downtown core. San Francisco International is 85 miles and about two hours by car; Santa Rosa's Charles M. Schulz Airport is roughly 40 minutes.
What is the Mud Bake?
MoonAcre's signature riff on the Calistoga mud bath: mud painted onto your body, sun-dried in the spa garden, then rinsed under an outdoor rain shower — 30 minutes, $100, weather permitting, booked as an add-on to a treatment. It is playful and photogenic, not the immersion ritual; for full-tub geothermal mud, Indian Springs and Dr. Wilkinson's are up the street.
How much do treatments cost?
Massages run $200–$340: Signature at $200/60 minutes and $300/90; deep tissue at $225/$335; CBD at $220/$330; Himalayan Salt Stone at $220/$320; prenatal at $220/60. Facials span $205–$295. Baths — CBD, salt, Cabernet, and the Mud Bake — add $100 per 30 minutes. Guest reviews report a 20% gratuity added at billing, though the official menu page doesn't state it — confirm when booking.
What are the three pools?
All geothermal, all year-round: a 20-by-40-foot main pool at 80–84°F (six and a half feet at the deep end), a two-foot-deep 20-by-20 wading pool at a warmer 90–96°F, and a whirlpool at 100–104°F — with an outdoor shower, changing rooms, and cabana loungers alongside.
Is there a minimum age at the spa?
Yes — 16 and over, the lowest treatment-spa gate in Calistoga (everywhere else runs 18+ except Indian Springs' accompanied-minor policy). The shallow, warm wading pool makes the pool scene the most family-usable in town after Calistoga Spa Hot Springs.
Can non-guests use the pools?
Not on a day pass — the property currently sells none, and its day-pass platform listing sits inactive. The workaround is a treatment: MoonAcre spa guests get up to two hours of pool and spa-garden time around their appointment.
Is the hotel still a Hyatt?
No. It joined JdV by Hyatt in July 2023 and left the Hyatt system on September 23, 2025 — it now runs independently. Practical upshots: book direct (no points earning or redemption), and note that its Booking.com listing still carries Hyatt-era branding and review history.
Why does TripAdvisor show so few reviews?
The listing reset when the property rebranded — the current count (around 39 reviews, ranked last in Calistoga) is an artifact, not a verdict. The Hyatt-era record lives on Booking.com: 7.7/10 across 393 reviews. Read both before judging.
Does the hotel charge a resort fee?
Unclear, honestly. Stale third-party data shows a Hyatt-era $30 nightly fee covering pools, bocce, coffee, WiFi, and parking; the hotel's current amenities page lists those items as complimentary without mentioning a fee. Confirm at booking — the post-rebrand fee picture hasn't settled into public record yet.
What is Fleetwood?
The on-site restaurant and bar: wood-fired Italian-Mediterranean cooking; daily breakfast from 7 a.m.; dinner nightly; weekend lunch; and Friday-to-Sunday poolside service. It survived the Hyatt exit intact and remains one of the better hotel kitchens in town at this price level.
What are the rooms like?
Renovated 1947 motor-lodge rooms with a deliberate retro-camp streak — including Camper Rooms that take dogs. The 2017–18 renovation did the heavy lifting; the register is playful roadside, not luxury. Families and design-curious travelers rate it higher than polish-seekers do.
When is the Motor Lodge cheapest?
December through February midweek, when rooms drop toward the low $200s. Peak-harvest weekends push higher but remain well under Calistoga's luxury tier. With the fee picture in flux post-rebrand, comparing the direct rate against OTA totals is worth two minutes.
Hotel People Love Most
Explore our editor's picks for must-visit spa hotels this season.
Dr. Wilkinson’s Backyard Resort & Mineral Springs
Dr. Wilkinson's Backyard Resort & Mineral Springs, 1507 Lincoln Ave, Calistoga, CA 94515, USA
Stanly Ranch Auberge Resorts Collection
Stanly Ranch, Auberge Collection, 200 Stanly Crossroad, Napa, CA 94559, USA
Carneros Resort and Spa
Carneros Resort and Spa, 4048 Sonoma Hwy, Napa, CA 94559, USA
Bardessono Hotel & Spa
Bardessono Hotel and Spa, 6526 Yount St, Yountville, CA 94599, USA
Silverado Resort
Silverado Resort, 1600 Atlas Peak Rd, Napa, CA 94558, USA