A small waterfall spills into a large whirlpool in a secluded grotto. On the other side of the adult pool, a wall of cascading water fills the air with a cool mist and relaxing white noise. You would never know that on the other side of the wall is the activity pool and 950-foot Ramblin' River with its own gentle current and man-made sand beach - a four-acre water playground for kids of all ages.

In quieter part of the 200-acre resort is a whirlpool and 20m pool overlooking colorful fields of wildflowers - all part of Windflower, Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort's spa. Windflower, named after the first spring wildflower to bloom in the Texas Hill Country, does not look like a typical spa. In fact, Windflower looks like a barn - actually quite a few "outbuildings" joined together - an historic tribute to the property's original Rogers-Wiseman ranch that once covered over 2,800 acres. In keeping with architectural traditions of the area, the spa incorporates native stones, authentic wood beams, rough-hewn timber salvaged from abandoned structures and a standing-seam metal roof. With a series of interconnected buildings—including the conventional red barn—Windflower appears to have been built in stages by successive generations, each structure built with materials that would have been appropriate in time periods stretching from the late 1800s to the early 20th century.

A front porch lined with homey porch rockers welcomes you to the spa. Inside, a large reception/retail boutique is filled a large, wood-burning fireplace, wooden display tables, handcrafted cabinetry and antiques reminiscent of an old Texas country store displaying spa products to take home such as Windflower, Jurlique and Biotone. The flooring is antique Texas longleaf pine, the distressed ceiling was decking salvaged from a whiskey distillery and the pine timbers were rescued from a peanut mill in Brady, Texas.

The sprawling spa has separate men's and women's changing areas. Each offers similar facilities and amenities. An attendant provides a terry robe and sandals and gives you a tour of the spa. The lockers, made from antique pine, are equipped with a plastic bag for a wet suit and a padded hanger. The wet area included steam room, sauna, oversized whirlpool, and showers. (Hint for women...be sure to use the shower in the rear left corner in the shower area. It has five heads!) Towels are logically and generously placed in the locker, vanity and wet areas. The lounge , furnished with comfortable western-inspired and Arts and Crafts pieces, offers water with lemon slices, cranberry juice and orange juice. Between the locker areas is a smoothie bar that offers variety of fresh fruit smoothies, made-to-order freshly squeezed juices as well as beer and wine. The co-ed lounge is located next to the smoothie bar and opens onto a quiet spa garden. The walls of the spa are covered with collections of work from Texas Hill Country and Southwest artists and photographers.

Windflower has 21 treatment rooms. Sixteen of the rooms, including a couples room, are used for massages and conventional spa treatments, while five of the rooms are designed for "wet" treatments, such as hydrotherapy baths, body wraps, and Vichy showers. Old-fashioned “medicine cabinets” line the walls and quilts hand-made by San Antonian quilter Patti Centeno top each treatment table to give added color and warmth to the rooms. Wrought iron towel holders, curtain rods, the sculpture on the reception firplace and other accessories were made by local artisans. Windflower has an extensive menu of treatments including Texas Tea Baths (Lavender Lemonade, Texas Cooler, Wildflower), Yellow Rose Bathing Ritual, Peach-Pecan Body Scrub, Lemongrass Salt Glow, body treatments (Black Gold, Aunt Mary's Body Butter Remedy, Sunless Tanning, Vichy Shower), massage (Windflower Signature, Swedish, Deep Tissue, Therapeutic, Reflexology, New Beginnings, Hydro Combo, Couples, Hill Country Stone, Synchronized), facials (Windflower, Yellow Rose Moisture, Perennial Beauty, European Deep Cleansing with add-ons Reflexology, Aromatherapy Eye Rescue, Eyelash Perm, Paraffin Facial Mask, Aroma Scalp Treatment), gentlemen's treatments (The Last Armadillo, Golfer's Massage, Men's Skin Care Treatment, Hill Country Ultimate Shave, Guy Mani, Guy Pedi), and packages (The Whole Enchilada, Bed of Roses, Sampler, Romance, Tee Time, Hill Country Essentials).

The Salon includes two hair-styling stations, makeup area, two manicure stations and three pedicure stations. It offers hair, nail, make up and facial and body waxing services. Highlights include: Invigorating Peppermint Pedicure, Uplifting Peppermint Manicure, and Yellow Rose Manicure & Pedicure.

On the first day of our visit at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort, my husband played golf at The Hill Country Golf Club on the 6,913-yard, 18-hole course designed by Arthur Hills and Associates. I had a spa day which started with a soak in the whirlpool and a stint in the steam room before having a Windflower Facial. Windflower's facials use the Jurlique aromatherapy product line which is derived from natural sources and botanicals that are organically grown, free of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Patricia escorted me into a facial room with a fabulously comfortable treatment chair/table. She analyzed my skin, cleansed, cleansed and cleansed some more, steamed, extracted, massaged, masked and moisturized my face with light lemony-rose scented products. I had chosen to have two add-ons with this facial - a paraffin facial mask and an aroma scalp treatment. When the mask was applied to my face, Patricia overlayed it with warm strips of cloth then brushed warm paraffin over it. While it was cooling, she massaged my hands and arms. The mask came off easily and left my skin soft and smooth. For the final add-on, Patricia brushed warm peppermint scented oil through my hair and massaged it into my scalp. The sensation was cool and tingly, and it felt great!

My second treatment was Aunt Mary's Body Butter Remedy. Janet brought me into the treatment room and asked me to smell a number of small bottles of botanical extracts. Choices included Mango and Mandarin, Pomegranate and Cranberry, Milk and Honey and Green Tea and Lime Leaf. I chose Green Tea and Lime Leaf. Janet said that it was rich in anti-oxidants and good for cellular rejuvenation, reducing anxiety and improving circulation. She blended the extract with an ultra-rich body butter. The treatment started with an exfoliation. The body butter was blended with a gritty substance and massaged on my body. When it dried, Janet dry brushed it off then wiped it off with a warm, moist towel. She then applied the body butter (without the grit) and massaged it in. Finally, I was covered with warm, moist towels and wrapped loosely in a sheet. While the body butter soaked in, Janet massaged my face and scalp. Now the skin on my body was just as smooth and soft as my face!

After my spa treatments, I had room service deliver lunch to me by the spa pool. I stretched out on lounge chair and enjoyed my Cobb Salad. The resort offers other healthy choices such as Red Lentil Chili with Sour Cream and Baked Tortilla Chips (~280 calories); Vegetarian Purse with Cous Cous - Sauteed Tofu and Fire-Roasted Pepper Sauce (~270 calories); Seared Scallops with Paella Rice - Grape Tomatoes and Asparagus (~330 calories); Grilled Salmon on Hearts of Romaine - Yellow Peppers, Plum Tomatoes, Feta Cheese, and a Citrus Vinaigrette (~330 calories); Chicken Portabella Burger on a Toasted Bun with a Cucumber-Dill Salad (~430 calories).

By the time I was finished at the spa, my husband had finished his golf game. He had a great time. Normally a walker, he particularly enjoyed the Global Positioning Satellite System on the cart which made playing an unfamiliar course much easier. This computerized yardage system uses golf cart displays to help golfers measure how far their balls are from the hole. The system also allows players to communicate with the pro shop, relaying information about medical or weather concerns. Players are also able to utilize the GPS to place food and beverage orders with Cactus Oak Tavern, the resort's 19th hole grill -which Jeff took advantage of. We retired to our suite to recover from our busy day.

We started our next day in the Fitness Center which offers cardio equipment, recumbent bikes, Precor cross-training machines, StairMasters, Lifecyles, Paramount workout equipment including a weight-assisted chin dip, free weights, inclined and flat benches, and more. I spent 45 minutes on an elliptical and a few more minutes using the weight machines. We had a nice breakfast and headed for the spa.

We had scheduled a 50-minute couples massage (80-minute is also available) and arrived in time to enjoy the wet areas in the separate changing areas before meeting in the co-ed lounge. Mark and Bobbie escorted us to the couples treatment room and gave us the choice of Swedish, deep tissue or therapeutic massage. We both chose Swedish and thoroughly enjoyed our side-by-side massages. While we normally would have lingered at the spa and probably had lunch there, that day we had planned to do the tourist thing in San Antonio, so we got dressed and headed out.

San Antonio's RiverWalk is a 2 1/2 mile stretch of beautifully landscaped waterfront lined with hotels, restaurants, clubs, bars, shopping centers and businesses. It was conceived in the 1920's by an architect named Robert H. H. Hugman. His vision was to turn the area into a beautiful urban park with apartments, dining, shopping, boat rides and walkways lit with old-fashioned street lamps. He wanted it to be just like Venice, Italy. The city approved the plan and It the first WPA project in the 1930s, but wasn't discovered as a major tourist destination until the 1968 World's Fair. Today, I imagine it is very much as Mr. Hugman envisioned. We had a great time walking along the RiverWalk, taking a boat tour, and listening to live music in the RiverCenter Mall courtyard. We also enjoyed learning about Texas hisory at The Alamo. If you have never been to downtown San Antonio, I highly recommend it.

There are lots of other things to do near the Hyatt Hill Country Resort & Spa. The resort is directly across from Sea World of Texas and 15 minutes to Six Flags Fiesta Texas Theme Park. It is close to Texas wine country and the charming towns of Frederickburg (Texas' self-proclaimed Spa City), Boerne and Gruene.

The Hyatt Hill Country Resort & Spa is family-oriented. Rowdy's Camp Hyatt have camp counselors trained to entertain children, so you can relax at Windflower - The Hill Country Spa, take in a game of golf or enjoy a quiet, grown-up dinner at Antlers Lodge. Meanwhile, the kids may head out to the nature trail and search for real Indian arrowheads, enjoy a game of wet and wild sponge tag, get creative with arts and crafts and more.

*For teens, there's The SPAhhhT - a spa just for teens. Open only during the summer, The SPAhhhT offers a variety of youth-designed services such as Henna Tatoos, Updo's, Mai-Tai party-knots for hair and basic salon services like pedicures and manicures and clothed massage treatments under the supervision of a parent or guardian. The SPAhhhT has three brightly colored treatment rooms near Rowdy's Camp Hyatt and the Fitness area - the location of the resort's spa before Windflower opened in 2002. Two of the rooms are used for massages, while the other room is equipped for hair and nail services. Some services, such as air-brushed nail art and hair weaving are also available at a special "poolside" cabana, set up just for youth-spa treatments. Youth spa-goers have locker access and are issued a "spa wardrobe" of a SPAhhhT-logoed robe and slippers. The SPAhhhT opened last summer and was so popular that this year, they are increasing the number of the hair braiders from seven to seventeen.