Winter blahs got you down? Check into a grand hotel close to home. Continuing a trend to create stress-free zones, big city hotels offer spa packages for short getaways.
Capital Zen
Presidential inauguration festivities enliven the nation’s capital, but the body politic needs a break. Enter Washington’s ultimate Zen sanctuary. Located minutes from Smithsonian museums, art galleries, and the White House, the new Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C., blends resort style and cosmopolitan vibe. Regardless of your political philosophy, Spa at Mandarin Oriental cultivates harmony and balance. Signature treatments include the Holistic Back, Face, and Scalp Massage with Hot Stones as well as a Chakra Balancing treatment. Welcomed with a ritual foot washing, your three-hour escape transcends politics. Inspired by ancient cultures, ESPA created a range of holistic treatments, including Shirobhyanga (Indian head massage) and Shirodhara, to complement Mandarin Oriental’s serene setting. From the glass-walled swimming pool and Cybex fitness center to museum-quality Asian art, the waterfront 400-room hotel is a meeting of East and West. Dinner at the hotel’s signature restaurant, CityZen, reveals chef Eric Ziebold’s fresh take on fusion food: French technique, California simplicity. Book a stay during fourth of July weekend for the best view of fireworks over the National Mall. For more information call (202) 787-6100 or visit www.mandarinoriental.com.
Manhattan Makeover
Combine the Drake Hotel’s Swiss management with a chocolate shop and tea room run by Fouchon of Paris, plus a Pevonia Botanica concept spa, and you have the makings of a suite escape in Manhattan. Check into the Swissƒ´tel any weekend for the Body & Soul package, and enjoy an hour of massage services at the hotel’s Park Avenue Spa & Fitness Center. More than a health club, this midtown hideaway has all the amenities of a resort: locker rooms with robes, steam room, saunas, and showers; hydrotherapy tub; Cybex fitness studio with StairMasters, bikes, and treadmills enhanced by CardioTheater TV screens; and a relaxation lounge. Intimate and uncrowded, the spa has five treatment rooms offering body wraps, scrubs, and facials with signature Pevonia products for men and women. When you return from a Broadway show or the opera, your suite is equipped with Pevonia’s new Spalasium products to soothe and relax you until breakfast. For more information call (212) 756-3968 or visit www.parkavenuespa.com.
Texan Hydrotherapy Unlimited
With an entire floor devoted to its water-themed spa, The Watermark Hotel & Spa on San Antonio’s River Walk combines old world charm and Texas legacy. Leather furniture complements four-poster beds dressed with Egyptian cotton sheets and diaphanous drapery, and ample bathrooms feature Jacuzzi tubs clad in marble and tile. Not to mention the rooftop swimming pool and fitness center. Signature services feature both Naturopathica and Sothys skincare lines. For an invigorating experience, book their signature Purple Sage Salt Glow, which features Dead Sea salts blended with rosemary, sage, and citrus essential oils. Choices are unlimited when you stay four nights (Sunday through Thursday). For extra privacy, schedule your treatment in an exclusive spa suite, or arrange services in your room. Get a fresh look at the full-service salon before dinner at Pesca, a romantic restaurant on the riverbank. Start at the oyster bar, then sample executive chef Jonathan Parker’s creative seafood options. Thanks to the mild winter climate, you can cruise the river scene, explore the Alamo, or visit historic mission churches, and the vibrant Mexican mercado district within minutes of this downtown oasis of wellness. For more information call (866) 605-1212 or visit www.watermarkhotel.com.
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