Saturday, August 30, 2008
Life, In this Issue...
Global goodness
Best-bet spas around the world
Photos/courtesy of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts
Spa treatment room at Las Ventanas al Paraiso
By Michael Andre Adams
Savvy Americans have arisen from Old World thinking that a spa is about luxury, realizing instead that it’s about wellness. Here’s a hot list to carry along wherever you go.
Viva Mexico
Just how old do you feel? Wonder no more when you arrive at Rosewood’s five-star resort,
Las Ventanas al Paraiso in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, where the Polar Body Age Report ($75 for 50 minutes) is used to evaluate your body age based on a series of fitness challenges. From there, you’ll have the opportunity to design a fitness plan to maintain or change your body status. The resort also offers the Visia Skin Analysis to remove the guesswork from which facial you really need, allowing you to take a snapshot of the art image analysis for final proof.
www.lasventanas.com
At
El Cocay Spa at El Cid in Riviera Maya, Mexico, the beating drum seeks permission from the spirit world for you to enter. Inside, herb-infused liquids combined by your personal shaman are poured over heated volcanic rocks to create steam and stimulate circulation. Along the way, you chant to forgive and release thyself so the perfect will of God can inhabit. At the conclusion of the Temazcal Sacred Bath Treatment, you exit the womb reborn and anew.
www.elcid.comEMERALD COAST
Red living room walls and rich velvet textures evoke a warm, passionate sensation from the moment you step foot inside
Lisloughrey Lodge, a lakefront country-chic resort in County Mayo, Ireland. The treatment of treatments is the $180 Body Strategist Cellulite Refiner, a heat-freezing treatment designed to rid the body of toxic cellulite in the most stubborn areas while contouring and firming at the same time. The principle product—which can be purchased in the United States—comes from Comfort Zone and incorporates ingredients such as caffeine for drainage and other marine-based ingredients for detoxification, to give the skin a more compact and elastic appearance.
www.lisloughreylodge.ieNO PAIN IN SPAIN
Girona’s Tramontana winds and oceanic breezes—once enjoyed by such hot shots as the great Salvador Dali—also produce great grapes, some of which to drink, others to crush for use in both the Merlot and Muscat Wine Baths ($70 for 25 minutes) at the
Wine Spa in
Hotel Peralada in Spain. Ampelotherapy (grape- and wine-based face and body treatments) also can be a fun group practice, considering the abundant hydrotherapy facilities at this resort thereby. Great circulation and nutrition to the skin and spirit are the principal benefits.
hotelwinespa@golfperalada.com www.golfperalada.comWEST COAST
Situated on a bluff overlooking playful dolphins and surfers of all ages,
The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Nigel in Dana Point, Calif., puts nearly all others to shame with its modern luxury appeal. Star estheticians such as Sunni perform the Collagen Infusion Facial ($265 for 90 minutes), wherein the skin is drenched by a veil full of precious nutrients that penetrate deep into the epidermis, resulting in erased superficial lines, velvety smooth, plump and luscious skin.
www.ritzcarlton.com
Stark shades of yellow really punch the white laden décor with silver and mirrored accents to place the overall design of
The Victory Palm Springs on the border between the glamour of yesteryear and the contemporary environment of the sunny desert today. The Green Tea Ginger Enzyme Wrap ($175 for 75 minutes) includes a grape-seed scrub, followed by a tantalizing green tea and ginger emulsion that you’ll want to smell for eternity. In it, you’re wrapped for the ointment to deeply penetrate the skin, invigorate the mind and rejuvenate the spirit.
www.viceroypalmsprings.com EAST COAST
The bar has been raised here in Atlanta as a new breed of indulgence made its debut last May with the arrival of
The Mansion at Peachtree. Not only does it feature stunning interior design, state-of-the-art luxury and sumptuous cuisine, but a spa with an exclusive on the grape seed product line from wine-world luminary Lydia Mondavi. Stress is guaranteed to surrender to the synchronized movements of all four hands that come with the Perfect Pairing massage ($270 for 60 minutes, inclusive of gratuity and valet parking), with skin-softening warm grape seed formula inclusive of essential oils.
www.rwmansiononpeachtree.com SP