Treat Yourself at a Luxury Spa
The next time you’re traveling—whether for business or pleasure--treat yourself to a luxurious spa visit. Try a decadent diamond facial, a hot marshmallow-butter leg massage, or a rich body wrap made with Baltic red wine and virgin olive oil. Spas and resorts around the country and the world are just waiting to indulge you.
Aspira Spa
Aspira Spa, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Mindy Jacquat, Lead Massage Therapist at Wisconsin’s Aspira Spa, says the Sacred Waters Massage is her favorite. “It’s the Taj Mahal of services,” she says, to help align the mind, body and spirit. The massage uses water gathered from Elkhart Lake, considered sacred by the Native Americans who once lived nearby. Therapists collect the water in a traditional, ceremonial fashion, then heat it and pour it into deerskin pouches. The pouches are placed on different areas of the spa-goer’s body to stimulate various chakras. The treatment also includes an aromatherapy bath and an Envelopment of the Sea massage that uses algae-based cream masks.
Luxury Bahia Principe Cavo Levantado, Samana, Dominican Republic
This adults-only resort is located on Samana, an island in the Dominican Republic. Ask for the full body massage that uses oil from the country’s indigenous drink, Mama Juana, a brew of red wine, rum, honey, twigs, herbs and bark. After the massage, you'll enjoy a complimentary shot of the beverage, which is said to be an aphrodisiac. Later, step into the resort’s Turkish bath or Finnish sauna, or try its invigorating Sensations Shower, complete with thunder, lightning and tropical rain effects.
Terranea Resort
The Spa at Terranea, Rancho Palos Verdes, California
This southern California spa, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean, has won multiple awards. A “sanctuary of the senses,” it uses aromatic botanicals, sea salts, artisan-quality essential oils and other ingredients in its facials, massages, wraps and other offerings.
Try a signature treatment like the Ocean Prelude seaweed wrap, which includes a saltwater bath and warm laminaria oil massage. Or relax with a soak in a copper foot bath of crystal quartz. Other signature treatments include a full-body exfoliation and warm clay wrap made from volcanic ash; a lymphatic water massage with an algae wrap; and a float in a copper tub while you're surrounded by the perfumes of orange blossoms and vanilla.
Terranea Resort/Casey Figlewicz
Gainsborough Bath Spa (a member of The Leading Hotels of the World), Bath, England
This is the only natural, thermal spa you'll find inside a United Kingdom hotel, and its Freedom Massage is not to be missed. The massage is an in-the-water relaxation treatment, and the legendary waters of Bath are said to have healing powers. Housed in historic buildings that date to the 1800s, the spa offers three mineral-rich, therapeutic pools with differing temperatures. Other facilities include a traditional and an infrared sauna, a thermal water fountain, a double VIP room with a thermal water bathtub, and an ice alcove.
Regent Porto Montenegro, Tivat, Montenegro
Situated on the shores of Boka Bay, in the eastern Mediterranean, this luxury waterfront development offers “Le Vin est La Vitalite," a body wrap with locally sourced Baltic red wine and organic, virgin olive oil, to enhance your skin’s elasticity. It’s followed by a head acupressure treatment and a 50-minute massage. The spa uses Ligne St. Barth products, primarily made with natural ingredients from the Caribbean island of St. Barthelemy.
The Spa At Stein Eriksen
Stein Erikson Lodge, Deer Valley, Utah
The five-star Stein Eriksen Spa uses real gold and diamond dust and collagen serums to create a luxurious mask that brightens and helps firm your facial skin. You can also opt for a Stein Signature Gold Oxygen Facial, which hydrates and firms the skin with a blend of vitamins and antioxidants. The treatment supplies oxygen, which is often lost at high altitudes, to the surface of the skin, helping the skin retain moisture.
Spa Radiance, San Francisco, California
Forgo the facelift; the aestheticians at Spa Radiance promise to enhance your complexion with a Grand Luxe Facial. The facial starts with a thorough skin-cleansing, followed by a diamond facial peel. Next, guests receive a specialized lymphatic drainage massage and treatments with products by Biologique Recherche. Afterwards, there’s a rich, caviar facial mask, a protein and Omega-6 eye treatment, and LED light therapy. Don’t worry about what to do during this three-hour session; guests are also pampered with a soothing, anti-aging hand massage and a hydrating foot cream.
Canyon Ranch
Canyon Ranch (a member of The Leading Hotels of the World), Tucson, Arizona
The spa complex at this internationally acclaimed “desert oasis” covers some 80,000 square feet, and includes yoga and dance studios, private sunbathing decks, and much more. If you have to choose just one treatment, opt for A Slice of Heaven, a customized massage in which two masseurs use their hands, working in opposing directions, to relieve muscle tension. A signature Canyon Stone Massage uses warm, round, basalt stones and essential oils to promote relaxation.
The Spa at Hotel Hershey, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Chocolate fans—and who doesn’t love chocolate?—can indulge in their favorite sweet without gaining weight at this spa, where the "Everything Chocolate" treatments use products that reflect the rich history of this chocolate-making city. The signature, 3.5-hour Chocolate Escape Package includes a whipped cocoa bath, a chocolate bean polish or chocolate sugar scrub, a chocolate fondue wrap, a cocoa massage, and lunch at The Oasis, a guest-only lounge and restaurant. Opt for the Hershey Kiss or Hershey Hug packages if you’re watching your time and your budget.
Benjamin Edelstein/Acqualina Resort And Spa
Acqualina Spa by ESPA, Sunny Isles Beach, Florida
This first ESPA-branded spa in the U.S. features Finnish saunas, a crystal steam room, Roman waterfall, ice fountains, showers with both chilly Arctic and warm Caribbean mists, and much more. It also offers a Himalayan Salt Wall containing 84 trace minerals. Minerals from the softly-lit, pinkish wall are said to purify the air naturally by detoxifying negative ions, helping relieve stress and promote relaxation. Try the spa's Orange Blossom treatment, which nourishes dull, tired skin with ingredients from the orange family—signature products from the state of Florida.
Allegria Spa, Park Hyatt Beaver Creek, Beaver Creek, Colorado
Get into the spirit of the West with a Bourbon Cowboy Pedicure at this full-service European spa, located in the Beaver Creek's Park Hyatt. The pedicure begins with a warm, coconut cream milk bath to soften rough skin, followed by a brown sugar exfoliation scrub spiked with Kentucky whiskey. An agave nectar oil massage completes the skin-softening experience. Or try the Bourbon Marshmallow Butter pedicure, which is a nectar, whole milk and chicory root soak, followed by an exfoliation with rice bran oil, pecan-whiskey and brown sugar. It finishes with a drizzle of hot marshmallow butter over the feet and legs, which is massaged into the calves, heels and toes.
