Photograph courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel at Westlake Village
Spa City: Hot Springs, Ark.
In the beginning there was water. Heated in the depths of the earth to about 143 degrees, the water bubbled forth from 47 mountain springs along the lower slopes of Hot Springs Mountain. Native Americans were probably the first to discover the water's healing properties, followed by settlers who, after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, spread the word and pioneered America's first health spa, albeit a frontier-rough and rudimentary one.
By 1832 the thermal mineral waters were so prized that our government officially set aside the springs and surrounding land as a "reservation," our nation's first-ever federally protected natural resource. (Hot Springs Reservation became Hot Springs National Park in 1921 and remains such today.) As the years went by, the therapeutic waters drew crowds, among them the famous and infamous: presidents, sports figures, opera stars and gangsters. Entrepreneurs built big and beautiful bathhouses to accommodate the elite, and America's first spa city flourished as a place where the well-heeled healed. Then along came modern medicine, replacing the hot springs as the hot cure-all.
Today Hot Springs (hotsprings.org) is more than just a place of historical significance. The low-lying Ouachita Mountains setting remains lovely. The town, the national park and the lakes beyond still provide ample activities to entertain visitors. And the springs continue to flow, keeping bathing in the hot, odorless water a top tourist attraction.
Several places within walking distance of one another offer traditional thermal mineral baths to the public. The Buckstaff Bath House (buckstaffbaths.com), on famed Bathhouse Row in the national park, operates as it has since first opening in 1912. The privately owned Arlington Hotel's bathhouse (arlingtonhotel.com) is newer (established in 1924), smaller and a bit more refined. Because the government pools the water and sells it to the different bathhouses, the water is the same no matter where you go, and the bathing experience is similar.
If you are new to taking the baths, plan on spending 60 to 90 minutes and $50 to $60 for "the works," which usually includes a tub soak, loofah rub, steam bath, sitz bath, hot packs, needle shower and massage. But beware: When it comes to the bathhouse experience, don't expect tinkling bells, scented candles or Buddha statues. Do expect bathhouses to run much the way they did in their heyday — with water the core and extravagant amenities reserved for other spa endeavors.
Destination Spa: Canyon Ranch, Tucson, Ariz.
Tucson's Canyon Ranch (canyonranch.com) hovers near the top of every spa-related readers' poll for good reasons: It is lovely, serene, pampering ... well, you slip in the adjectives — as long as they are positive, they'll fit.
Difficult to pigeonhole, the property, which opened in 1979, has become not only a classy, classic destination spa (an all-inclusive facility offering minimum stays of usually at least three days, with food, treatments and activities focusing on health and well-being), but also, in the words of founders Mel and Enid Zuckerman, a kind of "health resort."
In reality, the property can be almost anything a guest's healthy, wealthy heart desires. Spread over 150 acres in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, the ranch houses up to 240 guests in single-story, adobe-style cottages tucked amid flower and cactus gardens. Walking paths lead to the property's main buildings, which include an 80,000-square-foot spa and fitness complex; the Life Enhancement Center, a complete spa within the spa; and the Health and Healing Center, a facility offering a variety of medical services, from weight management to sleep assessment.
Guests from around the world, many of them celebrities and most of them repeat visitors, come solo, as couples or in groups with friends or family, and value Canyon Ranch for different reasons.
The oldest person I met, 84, liked the birding, the lectures and the quiet walks (cellphones are banned in public areas). The youngest person, 18, enjoyed the exercise classes, the biking in surrounding canyons and the opportunity to jump-start a diet. One man, 60, spent days in the Golf Performance Center while his wife, 56, conferred with doctors at the medical center. And one woman, 27, on break from her preschoolers, said she packed in as many yoga classes, beauty treatments and naps as her time allowed.
Take a non-regimented, individual approach to wellness, add a desert climate, a pampering 3:1 ratio of staff to guests and tasty, low-calorie, nutritious meals (yes, you can order butter for your bread, cream for your coffee, sugar for your berries), and you still only have a glimpse of the magic of this place. To understand the ranch's full draw, you will have to ante up a base minimum of $2,200 per person (based on double occupancy and depending on the season) for a four-night "spa sampler" stay, plus more for extra treatments, beauty services, individual counseling or medical assessments.
Hotel/Resort Spa: California Health & Longevity Institute
Don't you just hate it when you can't get your MRI scan, dental crowns, acupuncture and a caviar facial in the same day, at the same place? And did I mention Botox, fitness counseling and cooking classes? All that and more can be yours at the new California Health & Longevity Institute (chli.com) attached to the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village, Calif. (fourseasons.com/westlakevillage).
Opened in 2006 by billionaire David Murdock of Dole Food Company fame, this innovative facility, located about 38 miles north of the Los Angeles International Airport, combines a medical center, 270-room luxury hotel and 40,000-square-foot spa with a slew of other health and wellness amenities.
But let's talk about the medical first.
Originally designed for busy executives who want privacy, convenience and luxurious surroundings for their checkups, the California Health & Longevity Institute employs physicians, dentists, registered nurses and other healthcare professionals to provide complete screenings as well as personal lifestyle consultations. One can dip in for a day or buy a three- to five-day Ultimate Men's or Women's Health Package ($4,200), which includes both a physical exam and diagnostic testing, as well as an alternative-medicine treatment, personal consultations with healthcare professionals, a cooking class, wellness workshops and two 50-minute spa treatments.
One can partake in the institute's offerings without staying at the hotel (rooms start at $225 on weekends and $295 on weekdays), but that would mean missing the hotel's pizazz.
Murdock added all the charm money could buy to this complex, including a 16,000-square-foot fitness area, four dining areas (balancing healthy-haute and super-indulgent cuisines) and a designer's dream amount of chandeliers, murals, antiques and art. He also added one of the best day spas found in any spiffy hotel/resort anywhere.
With 28 treatment rooms, the spa is the largest in the Four Seasons system. Decor includes an outdoor pool with cabanas, water walls and waiting rooms filled with orchids (Murdock collects them; an orchid house sits on the property). A menu of delectable treatments and skilled technicians to administer them make for luscious pampering.
Remember the joke: People who say money can't buy happiness don't know where to shop. This wave-of-the-future medical/hotel/spa complex offers one-stop health and wellness shopping at its indulgent best.
The City These Sprang From
One can trace the roots of the spa industry to the Walloon region of Belgium and the village of Spa. As early as the 14th century, European aristocracy flooded Spa, indulging in the area's curative hot springs and burgeoning social scene. This first "health resort town" happily ever after lent its name to both places spouting natural waters believed to be healing and hotels offering health-enhancing treatments.
Today's tourists can experience the waters of Spa at Thermes de Spa (thermesdespa.com), a supersleek contemporary facility with indoor and outdoor thermal pools and a wide variety of therapeutic and beauty treatments. The nearby Radisson SAS Palace Hotel (palace.spa.radissonsas.com) sports a private funicular to the spa facility and sometimes offers spa packages.
