Aquapura Spa
The Ritz-Carlton Spa,
St. Thomas
Prada, which is the exclusive product line for several Ritz-Carlton spas around the world, has hit the Caribbean. The renovated Ritz on St. Thomas has a new 13,000-square-foot facility with 11 treatment rooms, a seaside massage cabana and a relaxation conservatory decorated West Indies–style with spice-infused scents. Featured, of course, is Prada’s signature facial, which is based on rhythmic hand movements and incorporates its high-tech skincare line. But there are also treatments for those less label-conscious, such as a gemstone Reiki treatment that can be conducted in the moonlight, a facial using the organic Eminence line, and something called the Boldijarre Signature Hungarian Facial, which boasts formulas chock-full of organically grown fruits and herbs—like apricot, stonecrop, naseberry and rose hip—to hydrate and invigorate
complexions. 340.775.3333
Mountain Lodges of Peru,
Cuzco, Peru
Despite the arguable sacrilege of fusing a Machu Picchu trek with a spa getaway, Pachamama (Inca-speak for Mother Earth) will forgive you. She’s the one, after all, who helped craft the Salkantay trail, along which the outfitter Mountain Lodges of Peru has just opened four posh outposts boasting hot tubs, down bedding and Peruvian wines. Higher and longer than the standard Inca Trail, this ruta less traveled starts with the dazzling Salkantay peak. Book the spa package, a six-day, quad- and lung-challenging trek with stops at each lodge and a schedule that includes massages, aromatherapy and nutritional counseling. Guests are picked up in Cuzco (where they are encouraged to spend two days acclimating; the pampering Hotel Monasterio is popular) and dropped at the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Hotel on the last night (for easy access to ruins—and the local Unu spa) before being shuttled back to Cuzco. mountainlodgesofperu.com
Day Spas
Tribeca Spa of Tranquility,
New York
While just about every day spa in Manhattan offers different types of massages, from hot stone to shiatsu, Thai massage—which requires therapists with acrobatic balancing skills and ancient knowledge—is still a novelty in this city. But at this secret gem, situated on one of TriBeCa’s quieter streets, owner Jeanie Chu performs this too-rare art to perfection. Her take on shiatsu massage is also pure heaven for stiff spines—her therapists walk on clients’ backs, steadying themselves with a bar suspended from the ceiling. Chu and her staff also do body scrubs, facials, reflexology and Ionithermie, a detox and cellulite-reduction treatment. tribecaspaoftranquility.com
Holts Salon & Spa at Holt Renfrew,
Vancouver, Canada
Hollywood budget-friendly filming prices have made this snowcapped northwest city a cool destination, and the “in” place to beautify while in town is the new 6,000-square-foot space within Vancouver’s chicest department store. Guests can select from 11 different facials (including the Paraffin Facial and the Men’s Facial) that use product lines like Sisley Paris, SkinCeuticals, B. Kamins Chemist and Kérastase; six massages; and a slew of salt glows and seaweed wraps. If maintenance trumps relaxation, the 16-chair hair salon offers cuts and color, manicures and pedicures. And if retail therapy trumps both, shoppers can sit back in the lounge, sampling products. holtrenfrew.com
