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Tag Results: Body Treatments
4 Travel-Inspired, Travel-Size Perfumes to Try
I’ve always loved perfumes because they have the ability to transport you to another place without actually having to go there. It’s known that scents can sometimes remain in your memory even longer than images or sounds. You associate scents with people, for example, and before you can even see them round the corner, you know they are around because their perfume or cologne acts a step-ahead calling card. Naturally, certain scents or perfumes can also evoke memories of a physical place, or help you determine what a place’s characteristics are. Several artisan perfumists know all about that, and have created scents that are inspired by their travels and meant to help you experience them, too. The best part? They are travel-sized for some scent on the go! Here with a selection of our faves:
U.S. Vinotherapy Spas Offer Sumptuous Wine-themed Treatments
If enjoying a glass of Merlot after a long massage or deep, pore cleansing facial sounds like a great way to end a day, try combining the two. View of a vineyard nearby? Icing on the cake.
According to wellness magazine Healing Lifestyles & Spas, vinotherapy is quickly becoming one of the most popular spa categories in the United States. That’s because wine grapes are rich in antioxidants, stimulate circulation and also help heal damaged skin when applied topically.
While the concept originated in France and is especially popular in European spas, there are several great spas in the U.S. that specialize in wine-based treatments. You can take a bath in wine, exfoliate with wine, and even moisturize with wine! Some are located on properties with vineyards, while others are not. Some are day spas and some are destination spas (meaning you can sleep on the property, too). We always like a reason to travel, so here are four destination spas for oenophiles worth checking out:
Indulge at Newly Opened Paradisus Resort’s Yhi Spa & Health Club
When you book a trip to the recently opened Paradisus Resort in Playa del Carmen, be sure to visit the YHI Spa and Health Club, a 20,000-square-foot luxury oasis. The spa boasts 14 massage cabins, two outside cabins, and a Whirlpool bath for water treatments.
As you enter the YHI Spa, you are greeted by a warm staff of spa professionals and personal trainers. Enjoy a luxurious treatment, then relax in the complimentary Whirlpools, dry and wet saunas, and steam rooms. You can also purchase massage oils, makeup, incense, and other essentials at the Spa Boutique.
The YHI Spa offers both couple and individual massages and personal outdoor showers. My favorite features at YHI were the array of burning incense that created a different ambiance in every room. The spa also offers a great full-service salon for hair, makeup, manicures, and pedicures, which is perfect for guests who are getting married at the resort or simply want to look special for an evening out.
For general trip-planning information, see our Playa del Carmen Travel Guide.
Travel Stress Be Gone: Aromatherapy to Go
Traveling can be both a blessing and a curse. Sure, seeing new places and experiencing new things can invigorate your soul, bring out your adventurous spirit, and nourish your wanderlust. But tight schedules and discomfort traveling on planes, trains, and buses can also drain your energy and knock the wind right out of you.
Luckily, there are a few affordable and all-natural solutions for days when travel’s tribulations get the best of you: Bring the spa with you! Keep these TSA-friendly essential oil combos on hand for on-the-spot aromatherapy treatments that will calm your nerves on the go. Read more
The Collective “Ahhhh” of Social Spa-ing
While many spa-goers want to channel a healthful, Zen vibe, there’s an entirely different group – group being the operative word – looking to turn up the volume a bit and raise more than just a glass of lemon water as they enjoy some pampering. Hence, the rise of the “social spa,” with public and/or private areas designed for pre- and post-treatment lounging, soaking, chitchatting, and sipping. They are ideal for girlfriends’ getaways and bachelorette parties, and here’s a small sampling:
Discover Mental Nirvana in Mexico’s Riviera Maya
Slathered in green, cool mud and wearing nothing but a bathing suit, I bow at the entrance to the crimson-colored clay hut and prepare for the curative sweat of a lifetime. As the chaman leads a deep-throated chant, I settle cross-legged onto the adobe’s dusty floor, my feet inches from a fire pit that will house a mound of scalding lava stones for the next 90 minutes. This is sweat lodge detox deluxe – Mayan-style.
The Mesoamericans have been practicing the art of el temascal practically since the beginning of time, with the goal of not only ridding physical toxins from the body but also the kind that have a tendency to invade our mental well-being. Although spas throughout Mexico claim to offer the ancient treatment, only a couple of places provide guests with the authentic, old school version – which is how I find myself purging my soul to seven strangers in a barebones igloo at the Aventura Spa Palace, located on a rugged patch of coastline in the Riviera Maya.
Cocktail-inspired Treatments Shake Things Up at the Spa
Cocktails are all the rage these days, so it was just a matter of time before happy hour moved from the tavern to the spa. We found three treatments to savor the next time you’re craving a tipple, but aren’t quite ready to belly up to the bar.
Hot Spiced Rum Stone Massage at Vegas’ Bathhouse Spa
A treatment room scented with sweet winter spices sets the stage for this soothing rubdown, which begins with an application of warm cinnamon, clove, and arnica oils, which rev circulation, even out skin tone, ease inflammation and, thanks to the arnica’s potent curative powers, deliver a dose of rum-like heat to the heart of your sore muscles. And whether they’re strategically placed to untie knots – or gliding over your oiled form – the hot, smooth stones let the work go deeper, doubling the benefit. Steaming towels wrapped around your hands and feet cocoon you in coziness. Bathhouse Spa, THEhotel, Las Vegas; 50 minutes, $165, $80 minutes, $215.
Zesty Treatments to Test at Lima Miraflores Park Hotel’s Spa
Foodie enthusiasts from across the globe are pouring into Peru’s capital city of Lima to celebrate and savor its provocative culinary culture. For centuries, waves of immigrants have long descended upon this key city.
As you explore Lima’s gastronomy today you see influences from the Spanish, African, European, Chinese, and Japanese. America’s own Nobu is known to have cut his culinary teeth and to be deeply and forever influenced by his time spent in Lima.
For the tasteful traveler in search of seduction both on and off the plate, check in to Miraflores Park Hotel in Miraflores, a trendy upscale neighborhood in Lima and the epicenter of the culinary movement. This Orient Express property in this exclusive residential neighborhood is by far the city’s sexiest and most sophisticated hotel.
Once the bags are dropped, it’s up, up and away. The expansive and picturesque views of the Pacific is reason enough to book a spa treatment at Zest. Located on the hotel’s 11th floor, Zest uses indigenous products sourced locally in Lima and from the Peruvian Rainforest.
Fairmont Banff Springs: A Spa Escape in the Canadian Rockies
Set in the heart of Banff National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Fairmont’s Banff Springs Resort and Spa has lured royals and celebs since its opening in 1888 – well before Kate and Wills crossed the Canadian border. Given the area’s stunning natural aesthetics and the grandeur of this iconic Canadian resort, it’s easy to see how this property singlehandedly kicked off tourism in the famed Canadian Rockies.
Today Fairmont’s Banff Springs continues to woo alpine and luxury enthusiasts alike, all in search of that decadent adventure in an otherworldly setting.
Slip in to one of Banff Springs’ 768 well-appointed rooms in the Scottish baronial-style castle property; no two rooms or views are alike. Each room offers cozy yet classic accommodations with sweeping Alberta mountain views.
Miami Spa Month Returns with $99 Treatments
After a popular run last summer, Miami Spa Month returns July 1 with $99 treatments at the best spas in the city. This year, however, the promotion lasts through August 31 – offering twice the time to take advantage of these cut-rate massages, facials, mani-pedis, and other indulgent treatments.
For the best bang for your buck, try one of these splurge-worthy treatments:
- A 75-minute customized massage and scrub at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach; regularly $210
- An 80-minute melting lavender massage at Agua at Delano; 60-minute massage normally starts at $140
- Combined hammam therapy (regularly $110) and fusion massage (regularly $95) at Exhale Mind Body Spa at Epic Hotel
Note that some spas do not offer the promotion on Saturdays. Tax and tip are not included in the price of the treatment. For a full list of participating spas, visit www.miamispamonth.com.
For general trip-planning information, see our Miami Travel Guide.
