When you’re a regular traveler, it’s pretty common to make—and break—New Year’s resolutions for healthier living. Happily, spas at resorts and hotel chains are helping guests stay on track. TPG Contributor Michele Herrmann has assembled a selection of spa properties with some delightful new programs and relaxing services that will have you starting 2015 on a completely refreshed foot—or feet, as the case may be.
Swanky treatment suite at the Hotel Palomar San Diego’s Nature’s Spa by Jurlique
1. Hotel Palomar San Diego. Last fall, this Kimpton property in downtown San Diego opened Nature’s Spa by Jurlique, the first spa concept in North America designed by the Australian botanical skincare company. Designed to provide the utmost privacy, guests here can change in their own designated dressing areas (rather than locker rooms) and then hang out in a co-ed relaxation lounge before entering one of the seven self-contained treatment suites or using the private steam shower. Members of Kimpton Karma, the loyalty program of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, get a $30 spa credit that can be applied to individual spa services and packages. (Note that later this year, changes will come to this property’s rewards structure, as the brand has recently been purchased by InterContinental Hotels Group.)
The St. Regis Aspen Resort is offering a “Mountaintop Reboot program” in January.
2. The St. Regis Aspen Resort. “Mind, body and spirit” is the unofficial slogan of this Colorado ski town, and Aspen’s St. Regis co-opts the concept with a new package focused on all-over health and the outdoors. Set to begin in January 2015, the “Mountaintop Reboot Program” will feature private nutrition consultation and fitness training, a healthy cooking class, a guided snowshoe hike led by a local Aspen naturalist, and a customized hour-long facial at the resort’s full-service Remède Spa, which has been ranked #1 in Travel & Leisure’s World’s Best Spas list. A three-night minimum stay is required to participate in this program.
Guest lodging at The Oaks at Ojai
3. The Oaks at Ojai. For this all-inclusive, female-focused destination spa resort in the mountain-rimmed Southern California village of Ojai, skincare brand Skin Authority has created an exclusive line of anti-aging “Fit and Firm” facials and body treatments. The Fit & Firm VitaD Fortified Lifting Facial, for example, features a cane-sugar alpha hydroxy resurfacing scrub followed by a Vitamin D and blue-green algae extract mask. Each selection from this particular spa menu comes with a personalized consultation, home-care recommendations and free access to a Skin Authority coach to provide tips and post-visit guidance once guests return home. The resort itself also features healthy cuisine and an extensive fitness program that includes daily hikes.
Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead
4. The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead. The suites on this downtown Atlanta luxury property’s ninth-floor Spa Level—the first of its kind at a Ritz-Carlton—are dedicated to wellness, offering the services of a spa concierge and health-promoting amenities like yoga blocks and mats, meditation DVDs, air purifiers and white-noise machines. For the new year, the Buckhead’s spa is offering a lavish, age-defying Caviar and Pearl Facial (80 minutes, $270) infused with a repair serum designed to oxygenate and stimulate collagen—and including a dollop of real caviar.
Spa pool at Hollywood, Florida’s Diplomat Resort , a Hilton Curio Collection property.
5. Diplomat Resort & Spa. Part of Hilton’s Curio collection of properties (HHonors Category 8), this sprawling Hollywood, Florida resort is set right on the Atlantic. A special “New Year, New You” spa package for TPG readers is being offered at a 15% discount, for a total of $539.75 ($647.70 with service charges); to get this discounted package, be sure to mention this article and The Points Guy. The package includes all of the following services, presented with their a la carte prices: a one-hour personal training session ($110), an 80-minute Diplomat Fit Massage ($250), a 50-minute Firming Facial ($135), and a shellac mani/pedi ($140).
Swim-up suites at Cancun’s Moon Palace
6. Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort. This Cancun all-inclusive, which was recently reviewed on TPG, has launched a Wellness Suites program that includes 24-hour room service of a health-centered menu, the option of in-room aromatherapy, an alarm clock that uses natural light, a two-person whirlpool, and individual terraces that provide direct access to a private pool. The Moon Palace’s spa features a Kukulcan Mayan balancing massage, a full array of body treatments and hydrotherapy experiences, and two state-of-the-art gyms with various fitness classes. Guests who stay five or more nights at the resort are privy to a $1,500 resort credit that can go toward spa/beauty salon treatments, among other amenities.
Four Seasons’ new “Energy by Four Seasons” wellness initiative includes relaxing, inspiring programs and treatments with a local focus.
7. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. Last October, the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts launched an “Energy by Four Seasons” experiential wellness initiative that includes a menu of spa treatments, dining options and uplifting activities inspired by the concept of a Blue Zone, a label used to identify an area of the world where people live longer, healthier lives. Each of the Four Seasons worldwide properties have a different version of an Energy Package, which begins with a pre-check-in consultation and includes a full array of locally-inspired offerings, such as the Four Seasons Hotel Beijing‘s Tibetan Spa Ritual, in which Tibetan singing bowls are used to promote relaxation and eliminate toxins; the Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, Tanzania‘s Mbuyu Experience, which incorporates juice and massage products made from local baobab fruit; and ocean-view yoga at Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. (For more on Four Seasons properties, see TPG reviews from Provence, Boston, Budapest, Santa Barbara and Beverly Hills.)
The Santa Barbara area’s Bacara Resort & Spa, set on a bluff beside the Pacific, is surrounded by hiking trails.
8. Bacara Resort & Spa. Set on an ocean bluff just north of Santa Barbara, California, Bacara is a newcomer to the Visa Signature Hotel Collection. Already popular for their Spa at Bacara, which offers a menu of 60 treatments as well as daily specials, the resort now offers an all-inclusive, four- or six-day luxury fitness vacation program that includes spa treatments, fitness training, personal coaching, daily hikes, and healthy snacks and meals. A Bacara Guest Special is currently available by registering with the code “BACARA4″ to receive a complimentary room upgrade and $300 spa credit during your retreat.
Poolside reflection at Massachusetts’ Canyon Ranch at Lenox
9. Canyon Ranch in Lenox. The Massachusetts location of resort brand Canyon Ranch is kicking off 2015 with a five-day, four-night stay program called “Jumpstart to a Healthier Life”, designed to give guests a guided, fun nudge toward healthier living within a supportive group setting. The package includes fitness and movement classes, workshops and group discussions, and an allowance to use toward spa and integrative wellness services. The first run of this program takes place this week (January 4-8), but future offerings are scheduled for April, July and October. Aside from this program, Canyon Ranch in Lenox is offering a 25 percent discount for a four-night-only stay from January 9-12, 2015 when you book by phone and mention “New Year Jump Start.”
Maui’s dramatic Montage Kapalua Bay
10. Montage Kapalua Bay. Maui’s first Montage property opened last June on the island’s northwest coast, and it’s Hawaiian-inspired Spa Montage, which has its own pool and overlooks the Pacific, and from now to May 30, 2015, when you mention this article, you’ll receive 20% off the Royal Renewal Treatment (regularly priced at $350). The 120-minute treatment includes a bamboo-and-enzyme polish and a ginger-oil soak, after which you’ll be swaddled in a warm blanket and given a customized facial and a foot, neck, shoulder and scalp massage. You’ll have to reserve your treatment with a credit card (or your room number), and you’ll need to give at least six hours advance notice for rescheduling/cancellation to avoid being billed at the full treatment rate. Note that a 20% service charge will be automatically added to all services.
Any plans to visit a spa this month—or even this year? We’d love to know where you’re heading and where you want to go!