Best Value Destination Spas

Not everyone is able to hop aboard their private jet and whisk off to an exclusive spa destination for ridiculous amounts of pandering and pampering. In fact, most Americans are happy to take a family vacation (dog included) or sink their toes into a white-sand beach once or twice a year.

However, there are still some spa destinations out there that cater to the budget-minded.
This budget destination spas listing was complied by the Travel + Leisure Website as a part of a readership survey.

Combining international standards with Thai values and beliefs, the Chiva-Som in Thailand offers an individualized, holistic approach to health that incorporates the mind, body and spirit. Guests may immerse themselves in relaxing views from a lakeside room, while indulging in an aromatherapy facial or traditional Chinese medicine sessions. Ocean View rooms face the Gulf of Thailand and offer private balconies. The resort's signature treatment is called Chi Nei Tsang, a 45-minute abdominal massage based on traditional Chinese medicine, which is designed to aid digestion. Chiva-Som equates good health to vitality, wellness, peace, harmony, and balance.

Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico, the original destination fitness resort and spa, opened some 65 years ago, and provides guests with space to breathe clean air, relax, and renew. The ranch practices sustainable organic gardening and was probably one of the world's first "eco" resorts. Spa treatments use aromatic and medicinal herbs and other healing plants grown in the resort's gardens. All Rancho La Puerta guests receive complimentary skin-care analysis and consultation. Highlight treatments and services include the mineral-essential Golden Door Facial, Hot Riverstone Massage, tai chi, and yoga.

Surrounded by wildlife and the Teton Mountain Range, guests at the Wilderness Adventure Spa at Spring Creek Ranch find true relaxation and rejuvenation. Here, guests can choose from hotel rooms, condominiums, or homes during their stay. One thousand feet above the town of Jackson, the spa is an ideal place to disconnect from the outside world with signature treatments such as the Moisture Drench Body Treatment. Parched skin is soothed with coconut, buffing grains, and shea butter containing orange and cedar extracts. Or guests might indulge in the Divine Detox, which includes the 45-minute custom Rocky Mountain Relaxation Massage with Juniper Cypress Detoxifying. In the summer months, guests embark on guided hiking expeditions and in the winter, wildlife safaris reveal some of the best wildlife viewing available anytime of the year.
Nestled in another range of mountains, the Westglow Resort & Spa makes its home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The full-service, European-style spa is housed in an elegantly restored Greek Revival mansion with a beautiful fireside lounge offering spectacular mountain views. Here, guests indulge in oxygen facials, Grandfather Stone therapy, or a Thai Massage. Westglow also offers a variety of outdoor activities including supervised mountain biking, horseback riding, or whitewater rafting.

Taking its inspiration from its Native American roots, Mii amo Spa at Enchantment in Sedona, Arizona, is situated in red-rock country. The spa takes its name from the Native American word for Journey. Guests here take an amazing journey in the transformation of their physical health, emotional well-being, and spiritual renewal. The resort's signature treatment, the Mii amo Spirit, helps to restore energy flow with the use of oils which are applied to chakras and citrine and rose quartz stones. The Crystal Room, used for quiet contemplation, is the heart and soul of the Mii amo. The spa's full schedule of activities feature hikes in the Red Rocks, aqua aerobics, yoga, and meditation.

Author: Mariet Smart


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