February 1, 2005

Come and be pampered at La Choza Day Spa

Tired of stressful days? Want to find a place close to home where you can be pampered and well taken care of? Visit the new La Choza Day Spa at 1451 Foxworthy Ave. on the border of Willow Glen and Cambrian Park.

Angelica McCoy and Kathy Ramos discuss a facial treatment for a client at La Choza Day Spa.

The four-month old spa is the brainchild of Angelica McCoy, an esthetician who decided it was time to go into business for herself. She decided to find a place where it wouldn’t be hard to park and create additional stress when her customers left, hence the spacious spa at the strip mall on Foxworthy and Cherry avenues.

She left her job as an esthetician at the Dolce Hayes Mansion’s spa and started her own business. “I like to take care of people. I like to make them feel better. I came here [to this shopping area] because there are a lot of moms who can’t afford to get babysitters. We’re close to where they live and the dads can take care of them so the moms can get away for awhile and relax,” says McCoy.

Massage therapist Merissa Candelarea agrees. She worked with Angelica at the Hayes Mansion and is now a contractor at La Choza. “I’m here and I like what I do because it let’s people get out of the normal daily stress. It helps them relax and get away from their every day tensions.”

“I like making people feel and look better. When they feel that way they are more confident about themselves, “ says Kathy Ramos, an esthetician who also works at La Choza.

If you arrive at the spa in the afternoon or on weekends, you’ll be greeted by Kirstin McCoy, Angelica’s daughter and a sophomore at Willow Glen High School. Her quiet demeanor and pleasant manner sets the tone for the spa, once you walk into the sunlit lobby, you begin to relax.

A full suite of luxurious rooms is available for the spa goer. La Choza offers a number of services including massage, facials, makeup services, body services and special treatments as well as waxing, manicures and pedicures. Guests can determine their services from the spa’s brochure, which includes single services such as a facial or a massage and various packages. Or a client can create her own spa package and the services will be tailored to the guest.

Facials run from $65 for a mini facial to $115 for an hour. Among the different facials offered are an ANA Glycolic, hydrating, rejuvenating collagen and pore purifying as well as a men’s facial and the mini, which is tailored to the guest’s skin type.

Merissa Candelarea prepares to massage a client at La Choza Day Spa.

Massages range from $55 for a 45-minute reflexology for hands and feet to $115 for a 60-minute hot stone or deep tissue massage. There’s also body treatments to detoxify a guest’s system and restore and renew the body. These include a purification body mask and a salt grow. The La Choza Surrender, 60 minutes for $115, starts with a geranium sage scrub, warm mud and warm water to wash away tension. A light massage finishes the treatment or a pedicure.

Speaking of pedicures, La Choza does not use a spa chair. All pedicures include a foot soak in silver bowls filled with rose petals. The spa pedicure is followed by exfoliation, a peppermint mud masque, warm booties and an aromatherapy neck and shoulder massage. Finally, toenails are filed and finished. The treatment is safe and sanitary, says Angelica. The 50-minute procedure costs $45. Basic manicures and pedicures cost $25.

The spa also offers makeup services, with custom blended foundations, and makeup applications. It suggests a range of packages including a romance or doubles package for two, a total body package and the La Choza Package. The latter starts with a Salt Glow treatment and a pure relaxation massage followed by a mini facial and basic manicure and pedicure. The more than three-hour service costs $275.

Other specialized treatments include eye care, lip care and deep cleansing back treatment. Other services include waxing, from eyebrows to full leg waxing.

Walk-ins are welcome. Angelica notes that both Starbucks and George’s Restaurant have referred clients. A number of people see the spa while out walking or running errands. Ann Ivie who lives on the border of Cambrian Park and Willow Glen walked in and made an appointment for an hour later. It’s great to have a spa close by, she says, especially one that allows you to make same-day appointments.

La Choza also offers a number of specials every month. During February, spa goers can take $10 off all facials, body treatments and massages. This month, the spa also is offering a Valentine special of $50 off a side by side special for massages and spa pedicures.

To find out more about La Choza Day Spa, call (408) 448-0573. La Choza is located at 1451 Foxworthy Ave. in San Jose. For more information, visit the Internet at www.lachozadayspa.com.