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It’s easy to stumble upon this strange building and not understand what it’s for. Interestingly, it only has a tiny amount of usefulness, in stark contrast to many of the other buildings around the valley. Here’s what the Spa is for, as well as who can be encountered inside of it.
How to Get to the Spa
To use the Spa, it first needs to be found. At the start of the game, the Spa is inaccessible to the player, since it’s located in the Railroad area north of Robin’s carpenter shop. An earthquake occurs on Summer 3 in the first year, clearing the debris that blocks the player from accessing this area.
After this, the Spa and the general Railroad area can be accessed at any time of day. The area is located north of town, through the entrance just to the west of the Backwoods and north of Robin’s shop. Once in the area, the Spa is easily visible on the western side.
What You Can Do at the Spa
There’s no obvious point to the Spa, and it’s easy to just forget about it altogether. The entire game can be cleared without going inside the Spa a single time. But, there are reasons to visit this building.
Recovering Energy and Health
The most useful function of the Spa to the player is the energy-recovering ability of the water inside. By heading into a change room and through the changing stall, the player avatar will change into a swimsuit that matches the color of their pants. Then, by heading into the pool-like area, the player can enter the water.
While standing in the water, the player character will steadily recover any missing health and/or energy. It’s not the fastest way to recover, but it’s free and doesn’t use up any food or resources. The healing waters of the Spa only activate if the avatar is standing still, so be sure not to move around too much.
Linus, Penny, and Alex
There aren’t too many villagers that frequent the Spa, but there will be a couple of familiar faces present from time to time.
During Winter, Linus can be found in the front area of the Spa, just before the changing rooms. He’ll hang around there between 2pm and 6pm every day for the season, save for when he visits the Night Market on Winter 15. Alex can also be found at the Spa during the Winter. He’ll be working out inside the men’s change room. If the player is male, they can visit him whenever he’s there simply by walking in. If the player is female, they can only access the men’s side by entering from the pool area repeatedly very quickly, which will eventually allow them in. Alex works out at the Spa from mid-morning until about 3pm almost every day in the Winter. If the player has fewer than six hearts with Haley, he won’t visit on Wednesdays. Finally, the last person that can be found at the Spa is Penny. However, this only occurs once during her ten-heart event, and she isn’t found here otherwise.
Secret Note #25 Solution
This is one of the few reasons that the Spa is a must-visit location, though it doesn’t even require the player to go inside.
Upon finding Secret Note #25, a strange mission is offered to the reader. It seems someone lost their mother’s necklace.
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The mystery note-writer, in this case, is actually Abigail, who lost a necklace belonging to her mother, Caroline. The necklace can be found pretty simply by fishing in the little basin of water at the front of the Spa (except in Winter, when it’s frozen). The player will fish up an Ornate Necklace.
By returning it to Caroline, the player will earn 50 friendship points with her and her gratitude. However, if they give it to Abigail, they’ll gain 100 friendship points with her.
More Fishing
Before reading Secret Note #25 or after solving it, the player can still fish in the Spa’s pond for a special item. Simply cast a fishing line in and there’s a chance to reel in the special painting “Vista,” which can only be found in this manner. The painting can be found as many times as desired, though the pond will usually only reward trash to any prospective anglers.
Stardew Valley is available on PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Android, and iOS.
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