by Frank Sabatini Jr.

If it weren’t for the sign out front, you might think that Balensi’s Institute Skin Care and Spa in Chula Vista is home to a conscientious property owner who likes to invite friends over for tea. The structure, built in 1910, was purchased and renovated a few years ago by Lorena and Jean-Michel Balensi to provide facials and massages. It features five rooms, a garden patio and French-Mediterranean accents. Among the new installments is a Vichi shower, where clients lay on a massage table built from stones as water gently cascades over their bodies from four separate shower heads. As for the facials, the spa uses the Sothy’s line of moisturizers, masks and scrubs from southern France, plus enzymes extracted from pumpkins and papayas that make for highly rejuvenating facial peels.

280 Landis Avenue • Chula Vista • 619-476-0706 • balensispa.com