Best Spas By Specialty

Here are lists of the best spas for romance, for hiking, for detoxing, and more.

Best Spas For Hiking

Looking for a spa with great hiking? These spas won’t disappoint. Not only will their guided hikes pump up your heart rate, they’ll take you through some gorgeous countryside.

Red Mountain Spa , Ivins, Utah. Located at the entrance to Snow Canyon state park, Red Mountain Spa offers more than 60 hikes on 40 trails, making it the most extensive hiking program in the Southwest. Choose from three different levels every morning – trekker one, two and three – with the speed, climb and distance becoming more difficult.

Green Valley , St. George, Utah. Green Valley is right next to huge swaths of gorgeous federal lands in southwestern Utah. Choose from three hikes that leave every morning– trail, fitness or strenuous – and last a few hours.

The Ashram , Calabasas, Ca. This rigorous weight-loss spa accommodates just 13 people at a time for a one week program. It includes 10-15 miles of compulsory hiking each day in the Santa Monica Mountains, much of it uphill. Thank goodness for daily massages!

Canyon Ranch , Lenox, Mass. From leisurely nature walks to all-day 16 mile treks, Canyon Ranch Lenox accommodates all fitness levels. The rolling Berkshire Mountains provide a gorgeous backdrop for the four or five hikes that are scheduled daily.

Golden Door , Escondido, Calif. An ultra-exclusive destination spa secluded on 377 acres in northern San Diego county, Golden Door offers a range of hikes every morning. The hikes are customized to suit the client, ranging from a short flat meadow hike for someone with hip troubles to an eight-mile mountain climb for the super-fit. There’s one afternoon hike as well. 1-800-424-0777.

Rancho La Puerta , Tecate, Mexico. This spa has five different hikes that go out every day, including the popular Organic Garden Breakfast Hike, a hike to the garden, with a tour and breakfast. The challenging hike up Mount Kuchumaa includes an 800-foot climb that will leave you breathless, as will the dazzling views. 1-800-443-7565.

Miraval, Life in Balance, Catalina, Arizona. Located in the lush Sonoran Desert, Miraval offers two guided hikes (beginner and intermediate/advanced) every morning. Some hikes leave from the property and some you drive to. You can also use a spa credit towards a private guided hike customized to your fitness level and scenery desires. 1-800-232-3969

Best Detox Spas

Detoxing the body through fasting, colonics, and specialized diets and spa treatments can be done at some spas that have special staff and programs.

Our body’s natural detoxification system is designed to support our health by eliminating waste products and some doctors believe it benefits from periodic rest and support. Here's what you need to know before you detox and my picks for the best detox spas:

1. The Raj

The Raj is located in Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, started by the Maharishi who taught the Beatles how to meditate in the sixties. The fairly luxurious spa offers a shortened version of the classic Ayurvedic detox called panchakarma, which in India takes 14- 28 days. Just 18 people stay at the spa, which serves organic vegetarian meals of lentil soup, grains, vegetables and stewed fruits. The program detoxes the body through diet and specialized treatments like Abhyanga.

2. Elemental Embrace

This Canadian wellness retreat offers the best of East and West detox – colonic hydrotherapy and 7 to 21 day Ayurvedic panchakarma programs. It’s a family run wellness center in apple orchard country 90 miles east of Toronto. The food is mostly Indian and caters to vegans and vegetarians, but meat eaters can enjoy chicken and fish. It takes only 20 people at a time so you get a lot of individual attention. People tend to wander around – even eat dinner -- in their robes.

3. We Care Spa

is the classic California detox, where guests go on a liquid fast and get daily colonics to further flush out toxins. It’s relatively small and modest spa but in the beautiful setting of Desert Hot Springs. You can get detoxing spa treatments like lymphatic massage and they have yoga, meditation, and dance classes. It has a very loyal following with celebrities and the LA crowd.

4. Sanoviv Medical Institute

This holistic hospital about an hour south of San Diego in Rosarito, Mexico, offers a one or two-week detoxification and regeneration programs overseen by a medical doctor, nutritionist and detoxification specialist. A lot of people who come here have serious health issues like cancer, MS, lyme disease, and chronic fatigue syndrome, but anyone who wants to get healthier can go. You can get colonics, massage, and hydrotherapy, with fitness classes that are more spa than hospital.

5. Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center

This spiritual community in the Arizona desert south of Tucson is purposefully undeveloped – no TV, no phones, and minimal artificial lighting. You can do a 10, 17 or 24 day detox programs. The 10-day program starts with 7 days of 100% organic green juice, followed by three days of organic raw food. You can fast with a group or on your own. It’s do-it-yourself on the colonics front -- the “fasting pack” they recommend you buy has an enema bag. Guests also meditate, do yoga and get lymphatic drainage massage.

6. Hippocrates Health Institute

Bring your pen, paper and tape recorder. This health-oriented spa in West Palm Beach, Florida believes in healing the body through raw food and there are lots of lectures to make the case. Guests stay at least one week and up to three weeks, eating raw foods, taking spa treatments, meditating and exercising. This is about changing the way you eat, not a short-term cleanse. The Oasis Therapy Center offers colon hydrotherapy and a lot of different therapies aimed at detoxifying or rebalancing the body and mind.

7. New Age Health Spa

Neversink, NY. This all-inclusive destination spa with a rustic, bungalow colony feel has periodic five-night group juice fasts so you aren’t the only one at the table drinking raw juice and potassium broth. You can do your own self-guided juice fast anytime. The colon hydrotherapist is so cheerful you won’t mind what’s going on, and once a month, May through November you can purify at the Indian sweat lodge. Loyalists love it for being life-changing – and affordable. Read my review of New Age Health Spa.

8. Red Mountain Spa

Once a month this adventure destination spa in Ivins, Utah offers a seven-night Detoxification Program. It's detox light – no fasting, no colonics. It does cut out red meat, refined sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and allergens like corn, wheat and soy, and guests drink smoothies that aid in liver detoxification. There are lectures, cooking classes, yoga classes with detoxing twists, detox spa treatments like body wraps, and nutritional products to complete a full 28-day detox. Read my review of Red Mountain Spa.

9. Regency House Natural Health Spa

This seaside vegan spa near Fort Lauderdale lets you can do your own detox under the direction of Dr. Frank Sabatino, a chiropractor and nutritionist. It offers water and juice fasting year-round but you don’t do it in a group with other people. There is yoga and meditation – spa standards that are great for detoxing – and a popular water aerobics in the pool. But no colonics.

10. The Greenhouse

This super-pampering destination spa in Dallas has a luxury detox for the ladies who lunch. Its Fat Flush Residental Plan is built around breakfast in bed, poolside lunches and candlelit dinners with low glycemic index foods like lean protein and organic fruits and vegetables. It is designed to help you change your eating habits, lose weight, and gently detox through herbal body wraps and Swedish massage. No colonics here! Options run from two to 11 days.

Best Spas With Lakes

There are people who love lakes, and people who love spas – and often they’re the same people. Lakes naturally have the spirit-soothing properties that spas cultivate through beautiful design, calming music and the healing power of touch.

Here are the best spas on lakes:


1) Lake Austin Spa Resort
This Texas destination spa is one of the best in the country, with great food and classes, a friendly atmosphere, and a lavish Lakehouse Spa. It’s set right on a long, skinny (and cold) lake created by damming the Colorado River. Enjoy waterskiing, paddleboat workouts, kayaking, yoga on the boat dock, and pontoon boat birdwatching tours.


2) Mohonk Mountain House
This historic 19th century mountain house in the midst of a wilderness is just 90 miles from New York City. A magical fairy castle set on a tiny mountaintop lake, Mohonk has a new $13 million Victorian-style spa that looks like it's been here forever, complete with wicker porch furniture and plenty of fireplaces. Lake activities include swimming, canoeing, and kayaking, but most people hit the trails, too – 85 miles of hiking from the doorstep.


3) Ritz-Carlton at Lake Las Vegas
Just half-hour from the Strip, the Ritz Carlton at Lake Las Vegas is literally built over the lake, where celebrities including Celine Dion have built homes. Everything here is Tuscan-themed, including The Spa Vita di Lago with plenty of sun-filled balconies where you can basking in your own fantasies of being on a Mediterranean holiday. Lake activities include gondola rides (where you’ll be serenaded), kayaking, dinner cruises.


4)Spa Moulay at Hyatt Regency Lake Las Vegas Resort, Spa & Casino
Lake Las Vegas is the only lake in the county with two spas. Spa Moulay is inspired by Morocco, and signature treatment Harem's Blend Wrap features fresh spices, citrus, oatmeal and essential oils. Poolside massage in cabanas lakelasvegas.hyatt.com [/link]

5) The Abbey Resort
This 1960s-era resort on Lake Geneva in Fontana, Wisconsin, one of Chicago’s favorite summer vacation spots, has been restored to its former glory with a $40 million facelift. The 35,000 square foot spa has a real Swiss shower --16 head-to-toe shower nozzles, all shooting a wall of warm water from four corners. With 26 miles of shoreline, this lake offers waterskiing, parasailing, motor and pontoon boat rentals, sailing, dinner cruises and terrific boat tours past historic homes.

6) The Lodge of Four Seasons
This 1960s-era resort on 2,500 acres is set on Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks, one of the Midwest’s top destinations for boating and bass fishing. Spa Shiki is an Asian-themed 15,000 square foot spa with a combination of Eastern and Western treatments. Lake activities include motor and pontoon boat rentals, parasailing, scenic cruises and fishing guides.

Top 10 Romantic Spas

Are you looking for a romantic spa? A little corner of paradise for a sexy weekend getaway? Here are the top ten romantic spas in the United States. They range from big cities to island getaways, but all the spas have an intimate scale, a sense of privacy, and sensual surroundings to inspire romance.

If none of these spas are near you, here are the five questions you have to ask when you're planning a romantic spa getaway.

1. Calistoga Ranch, Calistoga, California
Secluded in a forest just east of the Silverado Trail in Napa Valley, Calistoga Ranch is a sleek, sexy hideway for lovers. Private cedar-shingle guest lodges on a 157-acre compound were built to disturb with nature as little as possible. The Ranch Bathhouse overlooks Lake Lommel and offers buttermilk baths, mud baths, outdoor massages with walnut oil and a natural thermal mineral pool.

2. Royal Palms Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Arizona
The Royal Palms Resort & Spa is a Spanish Mediterranean estate with an original 1929 mansion and 117 casitas and guestrooms decorated in jewel-tones. The Alvadora Spa has fountains, fireplaces, a Watsu massage pool, and a seductive, spacious indoor/outdoor Acqua Dolce couples’ compound.


3. Spa at The Mandarin Oriental, New York City
Located on the 35th floor of the luxurious Time Warner center, The Mandarin Oriental in New York City is just an elevator ride away from world class restaurants and shopping. The soothing rooms are very sexy. So is the seductive couples suite with an antique Chinese bed, private steam shower and fireplace, tucked away in the Asian-inspired spa.


4. One & Only Spa Palmilla, Los Cabos, Mexico
One & Only Palmilla is a 172-room resort in Los Cabos that can arrange a Latin guitar trio to serenade you on the beach. Or in the Casa Gardenia suite, a personal butler serves dinner on the moon-lit patio. A favorite of celebrities, couples and honeymooners. The 22,000-sq. ft. spa features 13 spa villas that are the ultimate in privacy and intimacy.


5. The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, South Carolina
Designed in charming Low Country style, the Inn at Palmetto Bluff has 42 large, comfy cottage rooms with water views, fireplaces and porches. The Spa treatment rooms have verandas and even outdoor baths. The Golf Course darts in and out along the May River shoreline.


6. Mauna Lani Spa at Mana Lani Resort, Big Island, Hawaii
Mauna Lani Resort has just 335 rooms, most overlooking the ocean. But for complete privacy, try one of five butler-serviced bungalows just a short walk from the beach. The spa is a small village of thatched roof huts, with exotic treatments like the Ginger Honey Body Therapy and an open-air lava sauna.

7. Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, Arizona
Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain is small and intimate, with sleek modern rooms. The spa features The Sanctum, a stone-wall hideaway couples can rent for the hour or half-day and enjoy the vitality pool, deluge shower and fire pit.

8. Little Palm Island Resort & Spa, Little Torch Key, Florida.
Little Palm Island is a hidden treasure in the Florida Keys, accessible only by boat or seaplane. Just 28 private bungalows decorate in English Colonial style look out to sea through leafy palms. Kids club? Forget it. The resort draws the line at 16 years. Canoeing, diving, sailing and fishing await the adventuresome, and Spa Terre specializes in luxurious Indonesian treatments.

9. MacArthur Place Inn & Spa, Sonoma, California
MacArthur Place Inn & Spa is a Victorian inn on 300 acres with its own gardens and orchards. Suites and cottages offer two-person hydrotherapy tubs, fireplaces, sitting areas, and patios or balconies overlooking the gardens. The Garden Spa features treatments inspired by wine country, like grapeseed scrubs.

10. Mirbeau Inn & Spa, Skaneateles, New York
Mirbeau has 34 chateau-style rooms overlooking gardens, each with a fireplace and a bath big enough for two. Located in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, this intimate retreat has treatments like the Orange parfait – a milk

Top 10 Destination Spas

Destination spas are a select group of spas that immerse you in healthy living. All-inclusive prices include rooms, meals, classes, lectures and sometimes treatments. Prices range from $250 per person, per day, (double) at the Red Mountain Spa in Ivins, Utah, to $8,000 per week at The Golden Door in Escondido, Ca. For budget travel, check out best cheap destination spas. Destination spas have minimum stays of two or three nights, and a few require you stay a week.

1. Canyon Ranch Tucson
Canyon Ranch Tucson is the ultimate “wellness spa” where people jumpstart a healthy new lifestyle. The staff and programming is unparalled, with medical doctors, exercise physiologists, movement therapists, etc. It also has fabulous facilities and outdoor programs. The Tucson, Arizona property accommodates 240 guests in adobe cottages on 150 acres in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains.

2. Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires
Canyon Ranch in Lenox serves the East Coast with the same commitment to wellness and healthy living as the Tucson property. Set on 120 woodland acres in Western Massachusetts, Canyon Ranch Lenox accommodates 200 guests in 126 newly remodeled guest rooms and suites.

3. Golden Door
Golden Door in Escondido, Calif., is a women-only spa that serves no more than 40 guests. Wooden walkways link a series of serene garden courtyards inspired by the ancient inns of Japan. It has 377 acres of Japanese gardens, orchards and waterfalls and a Japanese bathhouse. This spa emphasizes individualized service and guiding guests toward a balance of mind, body and spirit. Men are welcome during men-only weeks.

4. Miraval Life in Balance
Set on 135 acres at the foot of the Santa Catalina Mountains in , Catalina, Arizona, Miraval has 106 adobe-style casitas, most with private patios. buildings and great views. While it offers spa cuisine, it also serves alcohol and wine. Its signature programs is the “Equine Experience,” where working with a horse gives you insight into how you deal with people -- and life.

5. Mii Amo
Bordering a national forest two hours from Phoenix, Mii Amo in Sedona is a village of six adobe casitas near the Spa, within walking distance of the larger Enchantment Resort. The hottest service here is an “Aura-Soma” reading of your life based on the colored bottles you choose from more than 100. Read a review of Mii Amo .

6. Lake Austin Spa Resort
The food is so good at this spa on a lake outside Austin you'll have a hard time believing the calorie counts. With just 40 rooms it's easy to meet people, but the spa is lavish. Outdoor treatment spaces with screened porches, garden tents, poolside cabanas and a private couple's suite. Separate men's and women's wet areas, two swimming pools, native gardens, cascading streams and fountains, and more than 100 spa treatments. Read a review of Lake Austin Spa Resort

7. Red Mountain Spa
If you love adventure and are inspired by Southwestern scenery, Red Mountain Spa in Ivins, Utah, is for you. Try rock climbing, go kayaking or mountain bike through rugged terrain. The heart of the spa is its hiking program and outstanding outdoors guides. It’s also a beautifully designed resort, with unusually good spa cuisine and a wine list. And it's one of the most affordable spas in the Top Ten. Read a review of Red Mountain Spa

8. Green Valley Spa, St. George, Utah.
This spa is just a few miles from Red Mountain Spa and has a reputation of being a little more luxurious and pampering. Right on the edge of both town and public lands, it has an extensive hiking program. It also offers Tennis College on its 15 outdoor and four indoor courts, and has a Golf Learning Center. You can play on any of six nearby courses.

9. Cal-a-Vie, Vista, California.
This elegant weight-loss spa is set on 200 rolling acres north of San Diego. Its 24 guest cottages are decorated in elegant European style. Most people come to stay for an entire week and eat spa cuisine and follow a highly programmed exercise agenda, but shorter stays are possible It has both co-ed and women-only weeks throughout the year.

10. Mayflower Inn & Spa
One of New England’s most opulent inns, The Mayflower in Washington, Connecticut, has reinvented itself as an destination spa -- from Monday through Friday. It accommodates just 28 women at any one time in a super-luxurious atmosphere. There are co-ed and men’s weeks during the year.

Best Cheap Destination Spas

Are you looking for a cheap destination spa? There are plenty to choose from, as long as you don't mind modest accommodations.

At these cheap destination spas, prices include meals and classes, which are extra at most resort spas .

Spa treatments are included in some packages at these budget spas, or you can buy them "a la carte". Spa treatment prices are less expensive than at luxury spas because the facilities are more modest. Prices at the cheap destination spas on this list start at $750 per person per week for people who bunk four-to-a-room at Tennessee Fitness Spa in Waynesboro, Tennessee.

Best Cheap Destination Spas

Birdwing Spa in Litchfield, Minnesota. Just 70 miles from Minneapolis, this cheap destination spa is set on 300 acres with a private lake. Lots of hiking, biking and canoeing. Guests stay in a chalet or a converted red barn with guest suites. 320-693-6064

Echo Valley Ranch and Spa, Jesmond, Clinton, British Columbia, Canada. If you like horseback riding, this is the spa for you. This is a working ranch where you can help collect eggs, or go get a Thai treatment. 250- 459-2386

Fitness Ridgeis a weight-loss spa in St. George, Utah, with a serious hiking program on 1,200 calories a day. 20 comfortable motel-style rooms in a brown cinderblock building with an outdoor pool. 888-870-2639.

The Heartland Spa, Gilman, Illinois.. Just ninety miles south of Chicago, this health and fitness retreat is set on a 32-acre in farm country. Features include a spring-fed lake and a High Ropes course. Once a dairy farm, this spa offers quaint accommodations. 815-683-2182

Hills Health Ranch, 108 Mile Ranch, British Columbia.. Situated in the middle of 20,000 acres of ranchland, this spa specializes in weight loss, hiking and horsebeack riding. 800-668-2233.

New Age Health Spa, Neversink, New York. This is a friendly, rustic destination spa in the Catskills, just two hours from New York City. 800-682-4348. Read my review of New Age Health Spa.

The Oaks at Ojai, Ojai, California. This is a converted inn right on Ojai's main drag, with a real weight-loss focus. It's about a 90 minute drive from Los Angeles. 800-753-6257

Tennessee Fitness Spa, Waynesboro, Tennessee. . Located 95 miles from Nashville, in the lush woods of Tennessee, this is a small, cheap spa, especially if you bunk four to a room. Everyone gets a fitness evaluation and goes on a 1200-1400 calorie diet. Chalet-style accommodations are simple. Closed December to early March. 800-753-6257

Copperhood Spa, Shandaken, New York. Set right on The Esopus river in the Northern Catskills, near Woodstock, this well-kept inn offers lots of outdoor activities and classes.

Deerfield Spa in the Pocono Mountains in Stroudsburg. Pennsylvania., This small, homey spa on 12 acres in the Pocono Mountains has a weight loss focus. It accommodates just 33 guests at a time. Closed November through early April.

Spa Eastman in Montreal, Canada.Forty-four rooms are spread over seven pavilions It has many packages, including a three-night "naturopathic package" that includes a naturopathic consultation, hot stone massage and body treatments.