Spa Watch

by Karen Asp Wellness isn’t something I typically associate with all-inclusives, but then again, I’ve never stayed at Hotel Xcaret Mexico in the Riviera Maya. After four days there, though, I’ve logged an impressive amount of physical activity, and my mental health, which had been drifting south for months, gets

  by Geri Bain Nestled into the Tuscan hills, just a 40 minute drive from Siena and within walking and biking distance of many historic and picturesque towns, Hotel Adler Thermae Spa and Relax Resort, covered in a recent article  makes a wonderful home base for enjoying Tuscany.  The resort

    By Geri Bain Relaxing in the naturally-heated thermal lagoon-like pool at the Hotel Adler Thermae Spa & Relax Resort, I met couples and families from Italy, Germany, England and Switzerland as well as a handful of Americans. Many described the resort as their vacation home; a place they

by Buzzy Gordon The Dead Sea has been extolled throughout history for its healing properties. While thousands of sufferers from psoriasis, rheumatoid disorders and other diseases flock annually to its shores and waters for relief, just about everyone can benefit from the overall sense of well-being imparted by the planet’s

By Gary Walther On the first full day at Mountain Trek, a tall, silver-haired figure slides through the side door of the dining room at 7:40, walks over to a shelf, picks up an old-fashioned alarm clock (the kind one winds with a key), and then plants himself at the

By Mary Alice kellogg Sometimes SpaWatcher yearns for a simpler, time-warp era, when not every treatment had deep psychological/spiritual meaning and homework. A time when a massage didn’t necessarily thrash your innards for your own good, even if those pressure points needed a jackhammer to release tension. Something nice would

By Mary Alice Kellogg There’s water, water everywhere in Amsterdam, and SpaWatcher has decided not to experience them by jumping in a canal, even though the city’s postcard-worthy waterways are celebrating their 400th anniversary this year. SpaWatcher wants something a bit … warmer. And I found it at the hottest

By Mary Alice Kellogg SpaWatcher dreams of a place where loofahs grow on trees. She also dreams of that perfect little spa that doesn’t need big bells and whistles to be impressive, where spirit of place and personalized technique rule. She found it at Sugar Ridge Resort in Antigua, and

By Mary Alice Kellogg SpaWatcher has a soft spot for the Sonoran desert of Southeastern Arizona, which happens to be where she was born and raised. Recently she hopped the next plane to check out the newest spa contender in the region that gave us Canyon Ranch and Miraval. The

By Gerrie Summers As much as I loathe freezing temperatures and only enjoy the sight of snow from the interior of a very warm building, Stein Eriksen Lodge in Utah, is one of a short list of places that could inspire me to take a winter vacation in a cold