Spa Back in History ~ The Homestead, Hot Springs, Virginia

The Homestead, Hot Springs, Virginia

Serving guests since 1766, the Homestead, in the beautiful Allegheny Mountains of Virginia, offers guests a historic luxury vacation resort experience combined with sporting pleasures, outdoor activities and relaxation. All year round, endless adventures await at this premier mountain resort steeped in the rich tradition of Southern hospitality.

Built in 1892, the Homestead Spa is one of America’s most historic luxury spas. Still fed by the historic hot springs that have attracted travelers since the 1700s, the spa provides the ultimate in rejuvenation and relaxation. Treatments and amenities include massages, mineral baths, aromatherapies, steam and sauna, and skin, scalp and intensive facial therapies. The Homestead Spa Suite caters to families and groups, and the not-to-miss Jefferson Pools offer a soothing soak in the famous mineral-rich, naturally warm spring waters.

You deserve the Highlands Honeysuckle Experience. This tranquil experience begins with a honeysuckle soak, followed by a full-body exfoliation, a honeysuckle oil application and a warm body wrap of muslins steeped in fresh honeysuckle. Feel as though you have been napping in the meadows of the Allegheny Highlands.

A true retreat in the Virginia countryside, the Homestead offers acres of fun for the entire family. Sports enthusiasts will revel in a host of outdoor activities, including golf on three championship courses, skiing and snowboarding, horseback riding, carriage rides, shooting, tennis, hiking, swimming, fly-fishing, falconry, ice skating and mountain biking. The resort features 10 dining options and a movie theater for evening entertainment. There are 483 guest rooms and 88 suites, most featuring mountain views and all equipped with plush terry towel robes.

The Homestead received Mobil Travel Guide Three Stars 2007 and Spas of America's Top 30 Spas of 2008.

You Are Here: Fly to Roanoke airport (ROA) and drive north along US-220 North. Total driving time is 1½ hours.

The Homestead, Hot Springs, Virginia

California's Golden Door Spa Celebrates 50 Years

The San Marcos, Calif., health club opened its doors 50 years ago this year, and it wasn't long before men-only weeks began luring the rich and famous for some serious pampering.

Aldous Huxley's eyebrows are so caked with mud in the black-and-white photograph they look as though they might snap off. But the novelist hardly appears concerned with the future state of his eyebrows. More pressing, perhaps, is whether actor Jim Backus, encased in a coffin-like steam box nearby, might melt away more than a few extra martinis.??Officially, Huxley was participating in one of the first "men's weeks" at the Golden Door Spa in San Marcos -- 50 years ago this year -- to give a lecture on the "mind-body as one word." But like the 14 additional spa guests, Huxley was really there to experience the benefits of hula-hoop calisthenics, herbal wraps and alcohol-free "cocktails." It was a Brave New World of masculine mud masks.

"Taking in the men just fell into place, really," says Deborah Szekely, the energetic 87-year-old founder of the Golden Door, about five miles north of Escondido. "We had always been about coeducation at the ranch."

Szekely and her late ex-husband, Edmond, founded the Golden Door in January 1959 as an upscale version of Rancho La Puerta, the couple's coed, self-described "health camp" in Tecate, Mexico. In its earliest years, the ranch operated as more of a commune where visitors brought their own tents, tended the vegetable garden and attended Edmond's group health lectures. Clients looking for a little more pampering -- those with deeper pockets, such as Huxley and Backus -- ponied up for the Golden Door.

Within six months of its debut, the San Marcos spa offered its inaugural men-only weeks to guinea pig recruits. It was the first facility to open its doors to men in the United States.

Read the complete article at: The Los Angeles Times

Fall into Spa - Six October Escapes

Fall is an ideal time to renew, reconnect and rejuvenate

Autumn is an ideal time to seek out a spa and wellness escape, an island of time between summer holidays and back to school, and Thanksgiving and Christmas. Just in time, Spas of America, the fastest-growing spa travel website, has announced their Best Spa Escapes for October. The list is a cross-section of resorts, hotels and destination spas from across the continent. Four spas are from the United States, one from Canada and one from Costa Rica. 


Eau Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach, Florida
Celebrate Fall at Eau Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach and experience touches of wet, wit and whimsy. Palm Beach, the legendary playground of the rich and famous, invites you for indulgence, decadence and overall fun. A glamorous retreat that allows guests to engage in magical spa experiences with a variety of sensational beauty treatments and surprising touches throughout.

Eau Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach

Aspira Spa, The Osthoff Resort, Wisconsin
Renew your Autumn spirit at a spa created as a place to take one's journey -- a place to move forward in nature and peace. Nestled on the shore of a lake considered sacred by Native Americans, Aspira Spa offers a holistic treatment philosophy that promises balance, peace and harmony.

Aspira Spa, The Osthoff Resort, Wisconsin

The Heartland Spa, Illinois
Nestled in Illinois farm country around a spring-fed lake is an unpretentious 32-acre destination spa focusing on fitness and well-being. True to its name, the Heartland Spa emphasizes 'heart health' through its nutritious cuisine, personalized programs, and full range of fun and challenging fitness activities.

The Heartland Spa, Illinois

Sante Spa, Westin Bear Mountain Victoria Golf Resort & Spa, B.C
Santé Spa Bear Mountain offers nurturing spa treatments and medical esthetics in a tranquil resort spa environment. All medical aesthetics are administered by an experienced medical team of doctors and nurses, committed to the highest standards of safety, quality, and hygiene. Located at the Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa you are just minutes from Victoria, B.C.'s beautiful downtown inner harbour.

Sante Spa, Westin Bear Mountain Victoria Golf Resort & Spa

Spa InterContinental Costa Rica
Enjoy an experiential oasis for rejuvenation of the mind, body and spirit in San Jose, Costa Rica. This luxurious spa experience will delight your soul and deliver results. Offering spa therapies drawn from ancient wisdom and the cultures of Central America, as well as the latest developments and technologies. This team of caring spa professionals will share with you their secrets of wellness, health and balance.

Spa InterContinental Costa Rica

Bacara Resort & Spa, California
Hugging the Southern California shore at Santa Barbara lies the Bacara Resort & Spa, an expansive destination dedicated to refreshing and reviving you. The spa offers 36 individual treatment rooms, private sunbathing with breathtaking ocean views, and open air or indoor massages. Afterward, relax in the heated zero-edge pool, enjoy the swiss showers and dine at the all-organic Spa Café.

Bacara Resort & Spa, California