California Central West
(CLOSED)
1 small indoor, 2 large outdoor
Bathing suits required
$35 day use
notes: nice view, best for day visit (reader consensus)
address: Unknown
how to get there: located in Monterey County west of Soledad, CA off US 101phone: 831-678-2882 (updated 1/4/2004)
shelter: camping $35/person, mobile home or shack rentals.
food: picnic area/snack bar
payment accepted: unknown
massage: unknown
temperature: 106F, 96F, and cold
Lou. 2/2715
Our family used to go to Paraiso in the 40's. It was owned then by the Peterson family and it was totally fantastic. I had this dream that I wanted to go to the islands in the South Pacfic and Paraiso had the palm trees, warm water & beautiful weather that had the 'island" feel. It was old then and Mrs. Peterson wouldn'd spend any money to update it. There was The Annex (one floor hotel) No toilets, pots under the bed!! The mattresses were stuffed with what felt
Iike straw & we always complained about those, but we slept great anyway.. Across the road was the dining room. Great food. They had their own cows, chickens, & orchard. Ther were 2 outside pools & The Plunge with it's very hot mineral pool. The old cabins were old even then.they had a crochet court & hiking trails. Happy Valley Trail was one. At one end of the Annex were 2 toilets with a chain pull to flush. At the other end was the office & lounge & The Tap Room to buy alcoholic drinks. In the office was a crank telephone complete with a few partylines so you couldn't always get a line out & nosy people could listen in to other peoples conversations. That wad pretty antique even in tne 4o's but I'm glad I got to experience some of the old ways. I had so much fun with the other kids who stayed there too.there was no camping in those days. I went back in the 70's 90's but tne people who were running it were very unfriendly. I told them I just wanted to look around & remininsce & they said I could have a half hour & then I had to leave.
I felt like I was being kicked out as a piece of garbage.
Too bad.
I forgot to mention — pets were welcome, even in the lodge!
Sue Andre
Capitola, CA
Our family used to go camping at Paraiso Hot Springs almost every weekend. We even bought a '69 VW pop top camper to take to the springs. The temperature of the air and water was always perfect! Such a beautiful, relaxing place . . . . so sad what has happened – especially closing the gates and demolishing the victorian cottages. At one point, I was trying to get a group of investors together when Marge was selling the springs. Wish I had stuck with that plan!!
Sue Andre, Capitola, CA
I too had my best childhood memories there in the late 60's, 70's and 80's..My cousins and I couldn't wait to get there. Our parents would rent out cabins and us kids had the times of our lives…swimming, singing along to the jukebox, playing pool, baseball…you name it! I wish it had never closed down and my children and grandchilden could enjoy what we did.
…
back in the day…late 70's early 80's this place gave me some of my happiest summer memmories. It was run by a family and had lots of families from the Monterey/Salinas area visiting. Lots of kids in the pools, a snack bar that had pin ball machines, a pool table and a "juke box" where the kids could hang out! At the top of the grassy hill was a more sedate loungy type of area where the parents could go. We (the kids) even put on a silly show in the lounge, with a villain, music and lots of laughter! The kind of vacation where you could relax, soak up the sun and the hot springs if you wished, and the kids could be kids! What a concept! Wish I could find that now..
01/07/2004- Paraiso Hot Springs is now closed. Buildings demolished day after residences evicted. No permits obtained. Historical buildings lost.
Barry M, USA
7/03/2003- I was taken to Paraiso (in spring 2002) while visiting a friend who lives in Santa Cruz and frequents all the local hotsprings. The facilities are pretty basic/rustic, but I found it charming, with the same feeling as some simple hotsprings I visited in the mountains of Japan. It was a lovely place, with wonderful views, to spend the day. I recommend stopping for great food at the Mexican supermarket/restaurant in Soledad beforehand. I am enthusiastic enough about the place to have come across this website while looking for info to give to a friend who will be working nearby and to whom I had recommended a visit.
Sandi, Boston, MA, USA
02/24/02- This facility, which opened as a resort in the late 1800’s, has definitely seen better days. Currently, the facilities consist of a rather claustophobic indoor pool where sulphury 106 degree water pours in through a pipe and a much larger and more pleasant outdoor pool and patio area where the water is 96 degrees. Day use is $30/person. No discounts for kids, old folks, and NO pets allowed. Camping is available for $35/person/night and the other accomodations are a few mobile homes ($125-160/night plus $60/person over 2 people) and what can only be described as “shacks”, but are euphemistically called “cabins”. These are available for $80/night, plus $40/person 3 or more (although I can’t possibly imagine more than 2 people cramming into one of these things). There is a 10.5% tax on rentals less than one month. The only food available is a sandwich/soda bar. Staff is minimal, as is everything else. Overall, I’d say it would be o.k. if you were in the area and wanted to soak for awhile, but too overpriced to go out of your way or stay overnight here. Bathing suits are required.
Peter Mathews, Monterey, CA
01/17/2001- I have been to the Paraiso Hot Springs. It is an historical building and hot springs resort but my sense was that it was quite expensive for what they offered. It is $30 for day use and day use is only from 10am-5pm. They have one indoor pool that is hot. They have a large outside pool–one that is cold and one that is lukewarm. They have historical, tiled pools that they say open on the weekends but I have never seen them open. There is quite a bit of grassy area with some picnic tables, palm trees. It sits up on the side of a hill with a valley view. The area is quite lovely. It has not been busy the 3 times I have been there in the past year. Seems a bit uptown to me but I am an old Colorado hotspringer where the hot springs are cheap, hot and scenic so maybe I do not have the proper perspective.
Rebecca, Colorado, USA
08/30/1999- I lived there a few months, twice. I was last there in ’82. The water was the perfect temperature (104). It was clean, odorless. It is a special place, not really the buildings or culture. It was the healing springs for the natives, built the mission nearby for that reason.
Some victorian run-down, some low rent shacks, my isolated cabin was in the oak forest, about 10×12, elevated. Wildlife everywhere. Bobcats, foxes, boars…
Ray, CA, USA