If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Doc Wilkinson’s has been going strong for 60 years.
“Natural, simple relaxation” was a lifelong mantra for John “Doc” Wilkinson, chiropractor and founder of Dr. Wilkinson’s Hot Springs Resort in Calistoga. While the notion sounds like a simple sentiment by today’s standards, in the 1950s when it was originally heralded, it became a revolutionary way to look at health and relaxation. It was an approach that ultimately led Wilkinson to develop a unique mud bath blend and solidified his title as the reigning “Mud King” to people near and far.
The baby boomer title has been bestowed upon those born between 1946 and 1964. It’s a generation known for rejecting or redefining traditional values—and we think Dr. Wilkinson’s Resort fits right in. It was birthed on July 2, 1952 by Doc and his wife, Edy, who, just like the boomer nomenclature implies, were pioneers in the health and relaxation industry. More than 60 years later, the evolution continues under the direction of Doc and Edy’s children, Mark Wilkinson and Carolynne Wilkinson-Clair, boomers in every sense of the word. “When our father came to Calistoga in 1946, Napa was filled with mainly prunes, walnuts and grapes,” says Mark. “He fell in love with the area, and leased an existing resort [Pacheteau’s Hot Springs, now Indian Springs] for five years, which is when he met and married my mother, who was visiting. They went into business together in 1950.”
When the doors of Dr. Wilkinson’s opened, the signature service, dubbed “The Works,” went for a mere $3.50 and included a combination of mud bath, mineral whirlpool baths, mineral steam room, blanket wrap and massage. While the prices have changed, the core principles of the business and service have remained largely untouched, including Doc’s secret mud bath formula. “It’s always been important to carry on the traditions that our mother and father started; our name is on the sign, which we remember every day,” says Mark. “We learned at a very young age that the customers were something you didn’t take for granted; you took care of them as best as you possibly could with absolute courtesy and professionalism. That was instilled in both of us at all times.”
Without unlimited access to funds, the Wilkinsons opened with just a bathhouse, hot springs building and an overarching mission to redefine therapeutic health and relaxation. Along with growing their fledging business, Doc and Edy believed in giving back to the community and promoting tourism in Calistoga. “Our parents were very active in the business and the community. Mother was the first woman police commissioner and my father was the mayor,” says Mark. “As a result, neither of us are very involved in those aspects,” he chuckles. In addition to Doc’s stint as mayor from 1966 to 1968, they both served on the city council for many years, and were awarded “Entrepreneurs of the Year” in 1998 by the California Association of Travel and Tourism.
The next generation
While Edy passed away in 2000 and Doc in 2004, their legacy continues to thrive under the younger Wilkinsons’ direction. “In the ’50s when Father and Mother started, what we were doing was extremely alternative, whereas now, any hotel that’s built has a spa. The concept of stress reduction is much more mainstream. We’ve seen that evolution,” says Mark, who’s quick to make a distinction about the word “spa.”
“We’ve found that Americans misuse the word, which is really a town in Belgium, famous for its waters.” Carolynne continues to discuss the terminology, and then clarifies, “We refer to ourselves as a hot spring, because of our use of the hot mineral water and the more natural elements of the operation. That was Dad’s original attraction, to use these natural elements in his practice.”
The Wilkinsons continue to honor their roots in the overall look of the resort, which Carolynne refers to as mid-century modern. “We’ve deliberately maintained that look without overdoing it. Mid-century modern, but real,” adds Mark. The down-to-earth charm of the resort’s owner-operators seems to agree with customers, many of whom have been coming back for six decades and counting. “We have a huge return clientele, anywhere from 60 to70 percent of our business is repeat customers.” Mark credits those same customers with helping to keep the business booming, even during the downturn. “Starting in 2008, hospitality has been touch and go, but our base has kept us going, and we don’t let that go unnoticed.”
Dr. Wilkinson’s functioned as a day use resort with mud treatments and hot springs service until 1962, when the motel was added and visitors came to recognize the iconic sign that emblemizes the Lincoln Avenue strip in Calistoga. Other expansions followed in 1974, 1976 and 1985; in 1981, Hideaway Cottages was added two blocks from the main resort.
While much has changed over the years, including the industry’s migration from a summer, seasonal type of business to year-round, other things, such as the mud baths, have remained constant. “We’ve been expanding as the years have gone along, yet we also continue with our tradition. Cautious, conscious expansion,” says Mark. While intimate details about the mud bath formula remain a tightly held secret, Mark divulges some of the elements. “We use a special formula of locally obtained volcanic ash and then use imported [from British Columbia] organic peat, which adds buoyancy and is designed for better heat penetration. The ash alone is too cementy or soupy, but the addition of the peat gives it an oatmeal bath sort of feel.”
The popularity of the mud bath treatments at Dr. Wilkinson’s—and throughout Calistoga as a whole—are a point of pride for the Wilkinsons. “We started that [movement] and continue to help promote it,” says Mark. “But mud isn’t for everyone, which is why we added facial treatments and a line of products in the 1980s. It’s the biggest single addition to my father’s treatment.”
The magic of mud
In addition to the relaxing merits of mud treatments, Mark and Carolynne credit much of the resort’s success to what they dub the “human touch.” “We’re very old school in our approach to hospitality, in that we see the importance of human touch and seeing familiar faces. People like that, along with our consistent level of service,” says Mark. “We’re always making improvements and innovating basic conveniences for our multigenerational guests, who’ve been coming for decades.” From Carolynne’s perspective, “We’re also constant in our mindfulness of moving forward. We have a unique product, but we’re always moving it along and keeping the facility and services up to date. It’s a combination. You can have consistency, but if the place wasn’t up to par, it wouldn’t work.” Mark adds another key ingredient, “Part of our success is not resting on laurels and history—and we keep our prices moderate.”
The siblings acknowledge some defining moments that shaped success early on. “The location is excellent. Our folks had foresight and vision about the location and decided to erect the sign,” says Carolynne. She sees it as one of the truly iconic symbols of downtown Calistoga. “When you pull into town from either side and look in the distance, we are the furthermost point.” Mark adds, “People can come park their car and swim, walk down the street, listen to music and go to a tasting, all in a five-mile radius.”
The Wilkinsons also enjoy the diversity of clientele who’ve frequented the resort over the years. “Our socioeconomic base is all over the place. We have everyone from winery owners to people who save up for a year to visit us.” When asked about how the business continues to thrive after all these years, Mark says, “We’re always doing something to make the experience better, yet we haven’t deviated from our original formula. We’re not completely reinventing ourselves, just nourishing ourselves and making sure things stay in good shape.”
Carolynne’s husband, Howard Clair, who serves as facilities manager, shares his big picture take on the success: “Calistoga is the only place in the country that has this unique experience [mud baths]. You’ll never go anyplace else in the world and be offered an experience like this.” Having partaken in my very first mud bath, I can concur that there’s nothing quite like it. Mark exudes, “It’s the most unforgettable experience you’ll ever have.”
The day-to-day duties are divvied up between the three of them. “We each have our niche and I think that helps,” says Mark. “Us all working together, it’s not like coming to Disneyland, but we pull it off.”
Gilligan’s Island
While Mark and Carolynne enjoyed working around the resort from an early age, each opted to leave Calistoga, she to earn a degree at University of San Francisco and he to attend UC Berkeley, yet the business would ultimately draw them back in the mid ’70s. “We were fortunate enough to have done lots of traveling, but we both chose to be here,” says Carolynne.
“There’s very little the three of us don’t know how to do. We’ve done every chore from mud baths to accounting,” says Mark.
Carolynne reflects on her first duties as a laundry room girl at age 11, “We did whatever needed to be done.” Talk turns downright giddy when they discuss the inherent draw of the family business. “It’s sort of like Gilligan’s Island here. I signed up for the ‘three-hour tour’ by promising to help my folks develop one of the buildings…and I’m still here after 35-plus years!”
Much like Gilligan’s Island, life wasn’t all fruity pineapple drinks and luaus; there were perils that had to be addressed. “One time, after having a massage, I remember getting across the street to buy something and thinking, ‘Did I put my clothes back on?’” says Mark, “because I was so relaxed.”
“We train our people to watch the exits to make sure our guests are ‘together’ before they walk out,” says Carolynne, “because you are very relaxed, you could end up rolling out the door lacking something you need to be wearing. So our staff is trained to be on the lookout for that ‘floaty feeling.’’’
The king of mud
When conversation returns to the late Doc Wilkinson, the mood grows both stoic and, at times, silly, as the group shares remembrances. “He’d sit in the office, welcome the guests and enjoy the notoriety,” says Clair. While Mark, Carolynne and Howard enjoyed an adventurous life ripe with travel, Doc was most at home in the heart of mud city. “He was our ambassador. He used to sit in the bath house office, where lots of people saw him. Even now, he’s still there [in spirit],” says Mark, caught up in reflection. “Father was very engaging, not loud, more soft spoken and plain speaking. He was always interested in where people were coming from, though he wasn’t much of a traveler. He’d say, ‘The world comes to me.’ Once in a while, someone would give him some attitude when he was talking and he’d say, ‘See that photo up on the wall? That’s me.’ He’d get a kick out of that, because then they’d often say, ‘Can we take a picture of you?’”
Over the years, Dr. Wilkinson’s garnered much attention, attracting the likes of entertainment/celebrity reporter Robin Leach who did a segment on the resort on his "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" television show, along with Robert DeNiro, Brooke Shields, and even baseball legend Willie Mays, among many others. In celebration of the resort’s 60th anniversary in July 2012), the Wilkinsons reached out to the Queen of England (also celebrating her 60th anniversary—as queen) and offered to bring their mud bath experience to her in London. While the Queen politely congratulated them, she didn’t take them up on the offer. No matter: More than a million guests have taken the Wilkinsons up on their offer of a truly transformative mud bath experience. “Just like the queen, we’re still here!” says Carolynne.
With all this nostalgia, I wonder what the future holds. “We’ll see. We don’t know,” says Mark. Everyone shares a laugh but then Carolynne laments, “Our father would still come and sit in the office, even a few days before his passing. Who knows, you might find us sitting in the office when we’re 80 years old….” But before Carolynne can quite finish her thought, Mark amends his answer, “We’ll continue to do what we do, improve upon it and, maybe, make some new friends.” Everyone turns and looks up at the black and white photo of Doc sitting at his perch at the front of the bathhouse, as if seeking his input, one last time.
