THE SPA AT THOMPSON MIAMI BEACH
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA
Keep f it and stay pampered at the Spa Thompson Miami Beach and their unique tenth-floor rooftop indoor and outdoor spa and fitness center. Wake up and join one of the hotel’s group fitness classes held on the outdoor terrace daily, which ranges from full-body circuit work- outs and cardio classes to yoga sessions. In case you can’t take the Miami heat, there’s a fully equipped indoor gym with spectacular panoramic views of the ocean. On the same level is the spa area, which also makes use of terrace space and consists of six private spa cabanas and a couple’s treatment cabana. Filled with lush greenery and a bright and colorful décor, you’ll start feeling relaxed the moment you enter the lounge area. Travelers can opt for a treatment geared to target areas specific to your needs, after a long flight. The spa has one rightfully named the Jet Lag Therapy (60-90 min/$125-$155), which targets the neck, back, gluteus, hips, and legs. The treatment features the use of select oils, as well as Epsom salt and Arnica to enhance blood circulation, ease muscular pain, and relax muscles. After your spa treatment, depending on the time of day and the treatment you receive, continue the relaxation process by enjoying one of the two pools or the beach, then head to the Seagrape restaurant for a memorable Floridian-style meal with fresh and locally sourced fruits and vegetables. www.thompsonhotels.com/miami-beach
— Andrew Villagomez
Amara Resort and Spa
SPA MONTAGE KAPALUA BAY
MAUI, HAWAII
Considering Maui’s beautiful beaches and dozens of memorable out- door attractions, the last place you want to be cooped up all day is a spa. Yet, there’s always exceptions to the rule, especially at Montage Kapalua Bay, a 24-acre, five-star resort with all 50 residential-style suites offering a whopping 1,250-square-feet, multi-tiered pools, and, perhaps the most prized feature, the 30,000-square-foot Spa Montage. I spent hours here every day, and with good reason: it was like no other spa I had experienced in my several trips to Maui. As soon as you enter, you’re greeted by cheerful staff members and a gorgeous view of the coast. The expansive lobby includes a wonderful retail space as well as a juice bar, and the fitness center is one of the largest on the island. However, the magic of Spa Montage truly begins as you enter the designated treatment area. It’s equipped with an outdoor, cedar wood sauna, eucalyptus steam room, cascading whirlpool, bamboo rainfall showers, and a gorgeous infinity pool with sun beds and impressive views of the Pacific. I carved out hours of my daily schedule to indulge in wellness and relaxation. The treatments are also one for the books. My therapist, a petite British woman, lead me to a private, outdoor area deep within the rainforest. I was dubious she could offer the type of pressure requested, but she seemed to have hands dipped in aloha magic. My Hawaiian Lomi Lomi (90 min/$285) was so knackering it sent me into a blissful sleep. The Awa & Cacao Hawaiian Cocoon (90 min/$295) truly enhanced my body’s transformation. After an invigorating polish with the warm ingredients, I was cocooned in warm blankets, received a scalp, neck, and foot massage and hydrated afterward with local pikake (jasmine). While I’m prone to “quick fix” treatments in tropical destinations, Spa Montage Kapalua Bay taps into mind, body, and spirit with an experience that’s fully decompressing and oh-so Hawaiian. www.montagehotels.com
— Jimmy Im
THE SPA AT VIRGIN HOTEL
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
The first Virgin Hotel opened up in downtown Chicago earlier this year, and it brought along with it a number of must-visit venues. Along with a popular, chic rooftop bar there’s the travel brand’s first restaurant, Miss Ricky’s, which gives a tasty take on classic American dining and the brand-new The Spa, which just opened this summer and will be featured in all future Virgin Hotels. The spa’s lobby has a beautiful, rich oak fireplace that’s surrounded by ornate marble. After being greeted by an attendant, you’re led into the locker rooms that are stocked with plush bathrobes and encouraged to unwind in the steamy unisex space. Signature treatments include the Red Flower Hammam (90 min/$175), a detox ritual that includes a coffee-based body scrub, a Moroccan clay body wrap, a facial, and a deep-tissue body massage, and the Radiance Body Facial (90 min/$175), a six-step treatment that awakens and exfoliates the skin with antioxidant rich berry scrub, a wrap with collagen- boosting organic mushrooms, a scalp or foot massage, an organic milk cleanse, a mist with pure plant hydrosols, and a body massage with regenerating berry oils. You’ll leave floating on air with your skin glow- ing. Geared toward both guests on holiday and busy professionals, The Spa offers both lengthy signature treatments as well as quick fixes, such as an acupressure face massage (15 min/$25). www.virginhotels.com
— Andrew Villagomez
NAMASTÉ SPA
PROVINCETOWN, MASSACHUSETTS
Despite its well-deserved standing as one of North America’s great gay vacation spots, Provincetown, and it’s white-picket fences, starched local accents, and 19th-century architecture make it seem an unlikely location for the Indian statuary, breathy flute music, and Ayurvedic treatments of an New Age–styled spa. And yet, there, like a vision of Ganesh hovering over a lobster pot, is Namasté. Tucked away in a garden behind the formal front parlor of the Carpe Diem Guesthouse, where decanters of sherry and port are proferred round a hearth, Namasté offers unexpected respite from the seaside honky tonk of the Commercial Street strip, just a block away. The spa’s manicured outdoor patio area, with comfortable chaises and a hot tub is the perfect spot for naked napping, especially given recent reports of police anti-nudity enforcement on nearby Herring Cove beach. While the spa’s clientele is primarily gay men, women are welcome; so make sure your immodesty is gender neutral. The garden, two dry saunas, and a mosaic-tiled hammam-styled steam room are available for pre-and-post treatment relaxation. The hammam experience can be enhanced with a spritz of one of four complimentary aromatherapy essences that let you sink into a mist of eucalyptus or lounge in a cloud of lavender. Except for overnight guests at Carpe Diem, who have free access, there’s a $15 surcharge beyond treatment fees to access the common facilities; well worth it considering Namasté has surprisingly modest prices for some of the most outstanding massages this writer and his partner have ever experienced. Licensed therapists Robert and Matthew provided powerful deep tissue work as part of the signature one hour Namasté Fusion massage, showing the influence of traditional Thai techniques as they occasionally applied pressure with full forearms and elbows for a pleasurably intense, but never painful, experience ($270 for two, including amenity surcharge). Other featured offerings include reflexology treatments (30 min/$85), a Tibetan crystal sound bath (60 min/$120), and a two-hour Marrakesh Glow session, incorporating a sugar skin polish and argan oil massage ($285). www.namastespaprovincetown.com
— Jim Gladstone
LA PRAIRIE SPA, RITZ-CARLTON CENTRAL PARK
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
For many travelers, size matters and, in this case, “the smaller the better” is advantageous for Ritz-Carlton Central Park’s boutique La Prairie Spa, one of only three La Prairie Spas in the United States (and the first to open in this country). The unique and exclusive brand is well-known for serving high-profile clients in intimate spaces with ultra-luxurious treatments. It may not have the bells and whistles of a tricked-out wellness facility with the works, but therein lies its appeal. Considering the intimate nature of the spa with only six treatment rooms and cozy locker/lounge areas, privacy is a pillar and undeniably apparent. Upon check-in, guests are whisked away to the separate men’s and women’s lounge areas, where it’s likely they’ll have access to the showers and steamroom all to themselves. Feeling like a VIP extends further in the treatment rooms. The Advanced Marine Biology Facial (90 min/$350) is not only a decadent facial, it’s also an enlightening, sensory experience. While the La Prairie products used in the facial are the most antioxidant rich in the collection, guests, reclined on a water-filled mat, are also treated to full hand and foot massages with hot stones. Just as indulgent is the Caviar Massage (60 min/$265), a full-body massage treated with skin caviar that nourishes, energizes, and literally luxuriates the body. Of course, nothing tops off a long day of full pampering like a glass of champers, available in the spa lounge for all guests. This little oasis is so blissfully removed on its own level that you can’t help but feel you’re worlds away from the buzz of Manhattan. www.ritzcarlton.com
— Jimmy Im
EVIAMA LIFE SPA
PHILADELPHIA
In the heart of Philadelphia’s Gayborhood, Eviama Life Spa is a world apart from the bars and clubs. Here it’s all about healing, and the very construction of this “green” spa shows their health-conscious concerns: non- toxic materials are used throughout, the spa is built from recycled and sal- vaged materials, and they even buy their electricity from local, non-polluting sources (in a state where fracking is a major issue, this is not insignificant). So they’re looking after your wellbeing both short- and long-term. It’s all about escape. Once you’re on the second floor, you’re in a world presided over by a five-foot Quan statue, carved from a tree root. An atrium is filled with greenery. Timber gates welcome you into the Eviama atmosphere. Rooms are named after healing plants like rose and sweetgrass. Treatments continue the natural approach. You might select a Body Bee Enlightened Wrap (65 min/$149) that swathes your body in a soothing and stimulating honey concoction, or a Bio-Active Body Quilt (80 min/$162) that combines sea plants and essential oils for an aromatherapy wrap that will leave your skin aglow. Massage treatments, too, use Mother Nature’s own elements. A Hot Stone Surrender (70 min/$140) uses these heated rocks to soothe sore muscles, while a Thai Yoga Massage (75 min/$139) combines stretching with massage therapy to not just rub but position your body in various postures for maximum relaxation. Don’t want to leave the kids behind? Sign them up for a Little Face Facial (30 min/$57), while you straighten out your chakras with the help of a tuning fork and crystals in the Crystal Chakra Harmonizing (40 min/$89). There’s a wide-range of possibilities here unique to Philadelphia, in a setting whose very construction is designed for healing. www.eviama.com
— Rich Rubin
