Overnight accommodations, policy updates, expanded service hours, and Dances!
Greetings!

Just in time to help you more fully enjoy Northern California’s glorious spring weather, we’re again expanding and refining Harbin’s service hours and guest options – all to help make your visit easier, more comfortable, and more fun! Because Harbin remains A Work In Progress, our guest policies and services are expanding now, and will continue to develop and evolve throughout our rebuilding process. As always, please know that these and any future changes are made with the intention of fully restoring – and improving – Harbin’s pre-fire facilities and services. 

On a side note, if you’re planning a visit soon, please be aware that the walking path between the Pool Area and the Meadow is currently closed due to several small slides. We’ve had lots of rain this winter – which is great news; but we’ve also had some erosion, which is not. For now, if you want to walk between the Meadow and our Pool Area, you’ll need to take the road along the creek (a great opportunity to check out the new acorn sleeves we’ve begun installing on the Domes hillside... more details below). For the latest updates on this Meadow Path situation, and any others, please refer to our Current Construction Schedule .
Recent Policy Updates

We’re happy to announce that in the past month we’ve made these adjustments, which we think you’ll find helpful:

  • Registration hours expanded to 7am-8pm. You can check in at our Reception office for all types of Harbin visits any time during these hours. 
  • Walk-in guests are now welcome 7am-8pm, and telephone reservations are available 9am-5pm. We still encourage you to speed up your check-in process and save $5 per person per day by making reservations online... but it’s not absolutely necessary. Spontaneous visits to Harbin are welcome.
  • New overnight accommodations are available starting April 11th (see details below). Creekside Caravans (with mini ¾ baths and kitchenettes) are now available to reserve, with 6 of 15 Grove Cottages to open soon.
  • 6 Hour Day visits and 24 Hour Day visits / Overnight Tenting are available just like before the fire. (Register 7am to 8pm – all 6 Hour passes expire in 6 hours or at midnight, whichever comes first.)
  • The cancellation period for 6 Hour Visit and 24 Hour Visit reservations has been shortened to 24 hours. Room reservations have a 48 hour cancellation policy.
  • Pools are open 24/7 for registered guests. (Day Visit passholders must leave the property by midnight.)
  • Harbin Gift Cards are now available. Gift a loved one a Harbin visit or massage or both. At this time gift cards are only available for purchase over the phone (707 987-2477 ext. 1000) or at the Reception Office desk and can be purchased in any denomination.  
  • We have simplified our rates. The online prices you pay are unchanged, and the same as they were pre-fire. Walk-in prices and telephone reservations cost $5 more per person per day than the online rates. See our rate chart here. 
Overnight Accommodations Are Now Available!

We’re planning to have the first 6 of our 15 refurbished/reconstructed Grove Cottages open this month. We don’t have the exact date, but it could be very, very soon. Our 15 Creekside Caravans are ready for your reservations now!

Creekside Caravans (click here for rates and other info) are a wholly new and likely temporary addition since the fire, and offer a comfortable and efficient Overnight option for double occupancy (only 1 unit is designated to include children). Each unit features guest-controlled heat and air conditioning; a bed for two (queen width, full length); a tiny bathroom with shower, toilet, and sink; and a kitchenette with fridge and stove (cookware, tableware, and utensils are not included – you’ll need to bring your own).
Our Grove Cottages, which should be on line in the coming weeks, (click here for rates and other info) are spacious, lovely, and individually decorated. Each Cottage features guest-controlled heat and air conditioning; a queen-sized bed for 1-2 people, and ample space for up to 4 people total (only 1 Cottage is designated to include children); and a large ¾ bathroom with an oversized walk-in shower. (The Cottages do not have kitchens or food storage facilities.)

Over the next couple of months, we expect to complete and open ALL 15 of our Grove Cottages and by midsummer, we hope to have our Domes Rooms & Pools available to guests as well. Please remember that advanced reservations are required for these accommodations, and you can make your reservations either online or by telephone (telephone reservations are $5 extra per person per day).
Harbin Dances Now Offered In Middletown!

To help satisfy the many Harbin guests who are so eager to get their groove on, we are now sponsoring Harbin Dances every Friday from 8-10pm at a new studio in nearby Middletown. These DJ’d dances are held at DanceYogis, located at 21248 State Hwy 175, near the corner of Barnes St, less than a 10-minute drive from Harbin. It’s a beautiful space for dance, with an excellent floor and a great sound system. It’s also a relatively intimate space, and that means attendance at every week’s Harbin Dance is limited to only the first 35 who purchase $15 tickets online in advance. Please note that these Dances are a sacred space that is free of drugs, alcohol, scents, shoes, and media – and, clothing is required. Also, please remember that entrance to Harbin property is not included in your purchase of a ticket to the Harbin Dance. To learn more, and buy tickets for upcoming Harbin Dances, please click here .
Harbin School of Healing Arts.

It is with both a heavy heart and also a deep sense of closure that we announce that Harbin will be selling the Harbin School of Healing Arts. We are actively seeking individuals or organizations who may be interested in purchasing the school and carrying on a tradition of conscious bodywork education.  

If you might have an interest in this opportunity, please send inquiries to [email protected] or call (707) 533-5715.
Thanks To CalFire For More New Trees, And Owls.

This year’s tree-planting season has come to a close, and it has been a productive – and blissfully wet! – winter. In addition to the 4,500 evergreen plantings we detailed in our last Newsletter, we’ve also installed the first few hundred of 2,500 “oak sleeves” designated for the south-facing hillside between the Domes and our lower road. Each of these sleeves contains 1-4 acorns, all gathered from mature oaks on Harbin’s property. And to help ensure that at least one acorn from each sleeve takes root and grows, we’re also installing 40 “owl boxes” – alluring accommodations designed to attract barn owls. What’s the acorn connection? One of the biggest threats to acorn seedling survival is mice, who have voracious appetites for the tender young roots. The plan is to use these mouse-hunting owls as a natural, chemical-free way to help more of our acorns root themselves safely. The owl boxes were made for us, delightfully, by Boy Scouts; and they were paid for – as were the acorn sleeves and their planting – by a deeply appreciated grant from CalFire. It’s the grant we were able to apply for last year thanks to the donations of caring guests like yourself. We are so grateful for the generosity that so many people have shown in support of the reclamation and restoration of Harbin’s cherished land – and we’re happy to see Harbin’s watershed, hills, and forests getting healthier and better-looking every day!
Many Projects, Ongoing Costs.

Harbin’s restoration is a huge, multi-faceted, and ongoing work in progress. You, and all of our guests, have been so generous in helping us since the fire with charitable contributions, and since our reopening with the purchase of visitor passes, and by continuing to share your love and support for all that Harbin offers. We’d like to request again that you please consider setting up a recurring monthly donation, to help Harbin’s rebuild in an ongoing and cumulative way. You may choose any monthly amount that is comfortable for you, no matter how seemingly small: all recurring gifts can have a deep and meaningful impact over the long run. It’s another way you can help us to help you, by supporting the fuller restoration of the Harbin facilities and services that you hold so dear. To arrange a recurring donation now, please click here . And thank you!
Lastly, please know that you are invited and welcome at Harbin, whether you choose to make advanced reservations or not. We do appreciate it when guests reserve online in advance, because it’s considerably faster, smoother, and less expensive for everyone. But the most important thing, to us, is simply that you find your way here – whether it’s with some planning, or as a spontaneous adventure. However you choose to visit, we look forward to greeting you soon, and to a vibrant summer season. And please look for your next Harbin Newsletter – with more news of Harbin’s continuing rebirth.
Harbin Hot Springs, P.O. Box 782, Middletown, CA 95461