SWIRLING WATERS AWAIT THE WEARY.

Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor

The figures appear like apparitions at all hours of the day and night, silently climbing a staircase up the steep slope, padding across a boardwalk, following pathways into remote corners of the oak grove.

They all seek the waters, the antidote.

Steaming-hot mineral water has been gurgling from a hillside near San Luis Obispo for more than 100 years, ever since two wildcatters drilling for oil instead struck an artesian well heated deep inside the Earth.

Today, the Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort stands on the site, accommodating visitors who have come to appreciate the water's properties of rejuvenation. There may be no better way to ease knots of urban stress, soothe overworked muscles or just escape the bone-chilling fog and drizzle that envelops this stretch of the Central Coast for so much of the year.

``People used to think immersion in these waters would cure ills like polio and gout,'' said general manager Charles Yates. ``They can't do that, but they sure can make you feel a lot better.''

Tests on the water reveal that the predominant minerals are white sulfur and sodium bicarbonate - essentially baking soda, Yates said. ``These are natural ingredients that really tenderize you, make your skin soft.''

The resort takes full advantage of the water's appeal. It maintains 19 jetted redwood hot tubs, seating from two to eight people, on a steep hillside behind the hotel. Each guest room has its own private acrylic tub on a balcony or deck. The swimming pool is heated with mineral water. And the Oasis Spa, accented with rocks and waterfalls, will seat 40.

The redwood tubs are open to the public as well as hotel guests, and they are open 24 hours a day.

It's not unusual to see figures in terry cloth bathrobes crossing the parking lot at 2 a.m., or weary professionals from San Luis Obispo stopping by after work on raw, misty afternoons.

For non-guests, the tubs rent for $10 per person per hour from Monday through Thursday, $12.50 on weekends (children's rates lower). If hotel guests want to leave the private spas of their rooms and step into one of the redwood units on the hillside, they're supposed to be charged half that rate - $5 and $6.25, respectively - but during a recent stay, outside demand was slack, and the spa personnel did not charge four guests for two different visits to the redwood tubs.

The prices might seem a bit steep for non-guests, but they probably reflect the operation's considerable overhead. Yates said each tub is drained and cleaned twice a day, and each has a filtering system that processes the tub's entire volume in five minutes. A computerized diode system also monitors and automatically adjusts chloride and pH levels.

The water is supposedly maintained at between 105 and 108 degrees, although one tub was found to be much cooler one evening. No matter. There are two faucets at each tub, one of hot mineral water if you wish to raise the temperature, one of cold tap water if you want to temper it a bit. Within minutes, you can raise or lower the temperature significantly.

The management has no quarrel if you want to sip an alcoholic beverage while soaking, it just requires that you make that purchase on the premises - at a gift store that also stays open 24 hours a day.

The tubs are particularly appealing at night, when you can sink into the waters and gaze up through the dark silhouettes of the mature oaks, the branches of which create a comforting canopy. When the coastal fog retreats, the stars are resplendent overhead - there is little urban light reflection to compete with them here.

In some ways, this is a slice of Marin County life, circa 1978. The hot tubs, each discreetly screened from its neighbors by redwood fencing and shrubbery, are named, not numbered: Enchantment, Paradise, Starlight, Gemini. Similarly, the resort buildings are named (Endeavor, Harmony, Eminence), as are the rooms. When charging something to your room, you have to overcome any self-consciousness while saying, ``Yes, uh, I'm staying in Intimate.'' (Among other room names: Sensitive, Patience, Hopeful, Tickle.)

A stay at the resort can be enhanced by some advance knowledge. It has one building that was constructed in the 1960s, another in the 1970s, two others that went up only two years ago, plus a separate bed-and-breakfast inn and a cottage.

Unfortunately, reservations clerks seem to funnel callers to the oldest building and trumpet a first-floor room as if it is desirable. It is not. In the creaking, wood-frame structure, water rushing through drains sends up a considerable din, and any foot traffic above comes off like a thundering herd - not particularly pleasant at the crack of dawn.

In fact, Yates said a future renovation project will involve tearing off the second floor and replacing it with lightweight concrete and steel.

These older rooms are priced at $109 nightly. Suites in the newer buildings range from $169 to $300, depending on time of the year and time of the week.

The resort offers other spa treatments, including a half-hour back massage ($45) and an hour-long European facial ($70). Each treatment comes with a presoak in one of the redwood tubs.

There are also various room packages available, including such amenities as spa treatments, golf at one of two nearby courses or credits toward dinner in the hotel's restaurant, the Gardens of Avila.

There are not a great number of fine-dining options along this stretch of the Central Coast, but this is certainly one - although a couple of glitches were encountered recently. Eleven main courses, priced from $12.95 to $23.95, are cleverly planned and presented by chef Christian Raia.

One member of our group found the prime rib to be closer to medium than the medium rare he ordered, but raves were heard for the veal tortellini, which was served with prosciutto, peas and marsala cream.

Short supply seemed to be an issue on a Monday night. When baked mushrooms were ordered as an appetizer, the server returned shortly to inform us that ``there isn't a mushroom in the house.'' The house also must have run out of crumbled blue cheese - that or a salad chef got distracted; one salad featured it, as advertised, three others did not. Espresso with dessert? Nope, the machine was on the fritz. Irish coffee then? Sorry, they were out of Bushmills.

At Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort, however, guests don't seem to get overly troubled if they get stuck on the first floor of the Adventure Building or if a dining experience is a bit uneven.

They come, after all, for the tubs. They come for the waters.

After just a few minutes of immersion in that water, concerns great and small magically seem to melt away.

Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort is at 1215 Avila Beach Drive, about 10 miles south of San Luis Obispo. Phone: [phone] or [phone]; www.sycamoresprings.com on the Web.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1 -- color) The Oasis Spa, accented with rocks and waterfalls and capable of seating 40, is one of several places to soak blissfully at Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort in Avila Beach. The hillside redwood tubs, right, are particularly popular.

(2 -- color) no caption (bottle of wine)

(3) The Sycamore Mineral Springs hot tubs are screened by redwood lattice and spreading oak branches.

Eric Noland/Travel Editor