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By: Julie Keller
(page 2 of 3)
Red Mountain Spa
800.407.3002, redmountainspa.com
Adventure lovers with a penchant for pampering and peace will find perfection in this tranquil destination retreat at the foot of the red sandstone cliffs of the Mojave Desert in St. George, Utah. Red Mountain Spa is in a picturesque canyon- and mountain-filled setting, so myriad hiking, biking, climbing, kayaking and whitewater rafting opportunities are right outside the door.
A recent multimillion-dollar renovation added the three-story Sagestone, a 14-room spa and
salon housed in a geodesic dome with stunning views. More than 70 treatments, including several incorporating indigenous ingredients like canyon stones, mud, rosemary, sage and Utah salts, are available here. The therapies have themes: Red Earth, Desert and Botanicals, Ancients, Adventure, Romance, Teen and Luxury. Highlights include the Canyon Sage Warm Stone Massage ($150, 75 minutes), a rubdown with warm sage- and juniper-infused massage oil and warm canyon stones; the Mountain Glow ($105, 50 minutes), an invigorating body scrub with mineral salts from the Great Salt Lake Basin; and Four Directions ($150, 75 minutes), a Native American–inspired spiritual journey with a ritual burning of herbs and selection of an animal totem before a body scrub, massage and wrap.
Guests can also meditate while using Japanese rakes in the sand garden or get centered in the sacred spiral circle in the lava bed gardens. More than 50 fitness classes and a host of healthy living and creative expression classes round out the spa menu.
Accommodations include 82 rooms and 12 villa suites, all with views of nearby cliffs and canyons. The Canyon Breeze Restaurant serves Southwest-inspired fare and cooking lessons from the Red Mountain Spa School for Adventure Cuisine inspire guests to take healthy cooking skills home. Rates vary seasonally from $275 to $555 per person per night; teen rates are available.
Palm Springs Yacht Club
800.543.4300, theparkerpalmsprings.com
“We believe you are only young once...but you can be immature forever,” the resort’s manifesto reads. Spa-goers who don’t take themselves too seriously can set sail with nautical-themed relaxation at the Palm Springs Yacht Club in the Parker Palm Springs Hotel. The 16,500-square-foot, 16-treatment-room spa brings a hip, retro spin to the resort experience with a design that evokes the yacht and country clubs of the 1950s and a selection of fun yet elegant treatments.
The nautical theme extends to the hydrotherapy and marine-infused treatments. Other options like the Desert Stone Therapy ($135, 60 minutes) highlight the desert location by incorporating ingredients such as regional minerals steeped with desert sage oil. Still other spa standouts include the Voodoo We Do Thai massage ($150, 60 minutes), the skin-quenching Poseidon’s Confidant facial ($150, 60 minutes) and the magical Hocus Pocus Polish body scrub ($90, 45 minutes). Full- and half-day spa packages are available.
Outside the treatment rooms, guests can relax all day in the separate men’s and women’s clothing-optional areas, the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and the saunas and steam rooms. Inspired group fitness activities like croquet and pétanque supplement more typical offerings like outdoor yoga and tennis.
Parker Palm Springs’ 144 guest rooms are a throwback to the resort’s original incarnation as Merv Griffin’s celebrity-studded Givenchy Resort and Spa. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom Gene Autry Residence, onetime home of the renowned singing cowboy, offers the ultimate retro Palm Springs experience; other accommodations include poolside villas, suites, estate rooms and more, extravagantly conceived by
acclaimed designer Jonathan Adler. Prices range start at $245 per night, depending on season.
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