But don’t sweat it: We’ve identified the top 10…

1. The holistic haven…

Elemental Embrace Wellness Spa Retreat in Brighton, Ontario…

Trained vaidyas—ayurvedic doctors who practice India’s 5,000-year-old system of holistic medicine—oversee the cleanse-and-reboot treatments at Elemental Embrace, a small wellness spa 90 minutes east of Toronto…

The number of guests is limited to 20 to ensure a guest-to-staff ratio of about 1:1. Though you can get the usual facials and wraps here, most people come for the ayurvedic treatments (such as swedana, an herbalized-oil massage followed by an intense steam bath, $55) and for colonics ($100). The real standout, though, is the creative, Indian-inspired cooking; dessert is served first to give the body time to break down hard-to-digest sugars.

Best deal: The $317 nightly rate, which includes all meals, daily yoga and meditation classes, evening lifestyle seminars, use of the facilities, and a $136 credit to put toward treatments. 866/212-9355, elementalembrace.com.

2. The celebrity favorite

Cygalle Healing Spa in La Romana, Dominican Republic

Before she opened her full-service, ecofriendly facility on the grounds of the Casa de Campo resort last year, Cygalle Dias’s organic facials, massages, and mani/pedis were available only through her mobile spa business—and primarily enjoyed by boldface names like Rosario Dawson.

Now, those same services are available to anyone who makes an appointment at Dias’s namesake spa. The emphasis is on fresh, natural ingredients: “Pharmacists” mix up individual batches of potions using fruit, honey, flowers, herbs, ground coffee, cornmeal, and more for each client. A popular four-part treatment sampler includes a 30-minute water ritual (alternating between hot and cool pools), a facial that uses local sugar and botanical extracts, a 50-minute massage, and either a wrap or a scrub, all of which take place in spacious bamboo-and-stone suites or in open-air gazebos scattered throughout the resort’s garden.

Best deal: Through December 20, a three-night stay runs $594 and includes breakfast daily and a four-treatment sampler. 800/877-3643, casadecampo.com.do.

3. The outdoor adventure

Red Mountain Resort & Spa in St. George, Utah

Set in the shadows of the red-rock cliffs of Snow Canyon State Park, this fitness-focused spa puts hiking front and center. Guests choose from 30 different guided treks each week, some of which explore nearby Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks, as well as the Grand Canyon (about 100 miles away).

An adventure concierge is on hand to help guests select the right difficulty level: Explorer treks consist of leisurely walks in the foothills, while Endurance outings are recommended for human billy goats.

Best deal: For $259 a night through the end of November, the Red Rock Girlfriends Getaway includes all meals, daily hikes and classes, gym access, a massage, and an afternoon of guided kayaking or horseback riding. 877/246-4453, redmountainspa.com.

4. The pastoral escape

Spa Eastman in Eastman, Quebec

It’s only about an hour from Montreal, but Canada’s oldest destination spa feels blessedly remote, thanks to its setting: 315 acres of ponds, wildflower meadows, and groves of cedar, pine, and birch trees. The 43 rooms are divided among seven buildings across the property, from a bare-bones, solar-powered wood cabin that sleeps two to the spa’s original eight-room French-style stone house, equipped with a fireplace and lounge. Some therapists have been with the retreat for more than 15 years—unusual in the spa world—and the staff’s certified kinesiologists will help you make the most of the property’s nine-plus miles of hiking trails.

Best deal: A $698 three-night Relaxation & Fitness package, which covers all meals, classes, a training session, and five treatments, including massages and a body wrap. 800/665-5272, spa-eastman.com.

5. The exotic hotspot

Tabacón Grand Spa Thermal Resort in La Fortuna, Costa Rica

Plenty of people are drawn to Tabacón for the thrill of bunking at the base of the 5,360-foot (and active) Arenal volcano.

Yet it’s the hot springs that run through the property and create natural thermal pools that make staying there such a restorative experience. Meandering pathways flanked by tropical plants connect the resort’s low-slung buildings, and the treatment rooms in open-air bungalows take in some of the best rain-forest views. Not surprisingly, the spa specializes in volcanic-mud wraps and hydrotherapy treatments, like a sea-salt-spiked Jacuzzi session.

Best deal: A three-night Yin Spa Package, at $1,496 per room, includes three spa treatments per person—a neck-and-shoulder massage, a reflexology massage, and a facial—as well as a traditional temazcal sweat-lodge cleansing session for two. 877/277-8291, tabacon.com. ” ( Via msnbc.msn.com ) by  Melisse Gelula / from  Girlfriend Getaways

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It’s easy to see why. Along with getting his shoes shined and his clubs repaired on-site, Mastroianni, a 44-year-old real estate developer and member of the Ritz Carlton Golf Club & Spa in Jupiter, Fla., frequently uses the club’s spa, which offers customized massages that target golfer-specific sore spots, such as the upper shoulder, back and core.

Although he had never stepped into a spa before entering the one at the Ritz, Mastroianni said it was easy to get over any discomfort. After realizing how much the treatment benefited his game, he made his massage a weekly ritual.
In Pictures: World’s Best Golf Spas

“The massages have loosened up my swing considerably,” he says. “It makes a big difference in completing the full shoulder turn.”

The Ritz is one of many worldwide resorts catering to golfers looking to indulge in a spa treatment before or after a round. SpaFinder, a New York City-based spa travel and marketing company and the publisher of SpaFinder.com and Luxury SpaFinder magazine, lists 59 U.S. spas with adjacent golf courses on its Web site. It’s estimated that there are several hundred
Susie Ellis, president of Spa Finder, says this trend coincides with an uptick in men visiting spas, and an uptick in women on the links. Ellis also says corporate planners are looking to golf/spa combinations when organizing off-site meetings.

“It used to be that these trips were all about golfing,” she says. “Now, spa has almost become more important than golf, because it appeals to golfers and non-golfers alike.”

These large groups are part of the reason why Jill Eisenhut, spa director at the Willow Stream Spa at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz., began adding golf-specific treatments to the menu in 2003.

“We have groups that get together once a year,” she says. “They play the golf courses and then follow up with a massage and a facial afterwards.”

They also help the bottom line. Eisenhut says that since introducing them, the number of golf-specific treatments performed on clients has steadily risen. Those treatments now make up 15% of the spa’s revenue.
“More people are aware of the spa because we offer treatments for golfers,” says Eisenhut. “If a group of guys check in and one of them is interested in getting a massage, five of them will end up doing it.”

Treatments at Willow Stream include a golf performance massage–which was developed in part by golfers David Leadbetter and Charles Howell III and incorporates stretching and acupressure–as well as the Up-to-Par experience, which consists of a hair and scalp massage combined with a body massage. ” ( via forbes.com ) by Lauren Sherman

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