TOP SPA STOPOVERS

Breaking up a day (or two) of air travel with a spa visit can turn an ordeal into an adventure. The best spa stopovers combine efficiency with traveler-targeted services and amenities, allowing guests to recharge, rehydrate, and renew while boosting their immune systems and decreasing their risk of travel-related illness.

Guests who sign up for the Mandarin Oriental, Miami's “Luxurious Layover” program are ferried in a Lincoln Town Car to this stylish urban resort just eight miles away. After checking their luggage, guests refuel with heated treatments, a healthy meal, and a choice of restorative spa services such as the aptly titled “Earth in Motion” massage. A spa travel kit sweetens the rest of the journey.

Voyagers passing through the Vancouver International Airport can take advantage of the Absolute Spa's three different locations within the airport or a fourth at the nearby Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel. Time-crunched travelers can opt for a twenty-minute neck massage, a Jet-Lag Recovery body wrap, an express manicure, and even a private suite in which to catch a half hour of shut-eye with an eye pillow and piped-in ambient music.

With a minimum five-hour layover in Bangkok, globetrotters can opt for the Touchdown at the Met program at the Metropolitan Hotel. A private limousine provides transport to the hotel's COMO Shambhala Urban Escape spa for a sixty-minute signature massage and a three-course meal made with fresh, organic ingredients. Use of the extensive gym, hydro pool, steam rooms, and outdoor lap pool are included. The Touchdown at the Met package costs $200 for a single guest, but the cost decreases in direct proportion to the size of the party. Couples pay $150 each, and four or more guests bring the cost down to $125, which is a great incentive for making friends on the road. For more information visit www.mandarinoriental.com, www.absolutespa.com, www.metropolitan.como.bz

—Katherine Stewart

January/February 2009