Hawaii Tourism: The Best Resorts & Spas

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The Best Resorts & Spas

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Hawaii's spas have raised the art of relaxation and healing to a new level. The traditional Greco-Roman-style spas have evolved into airy, open facilities that embrace the tropics. Spa-goers in Hawaii want to hear the sound of the ocean, smell the salt air, and feel the caress of the warm breeze. They want to experience Hawaiian products and traditional treatments they can only get here.

Today's spas offer a wide diversity of treatments. Massage options include Hawaiian lomilomi, Swedish, aromatherapy, craniosacral (massaging the head), shiatsu (no oil, just deep thumb pressure on acupuncture points), Thai (another oilless massage involving stretching), and hot stone. There are even side-by-side massages for couples, and duo massages -- two massage therapists working on you at once.

Body treatments, for the entire body or just the face, involve a variety of herbal wraps, masks, or scrubs using a range of ingredients from seaweed to salt to mud, with or without accompanying aromatherapy.

After you have been rubbed and scrubbed, most spas offer an array of water treatments -- a sort of hydromassage in a tub with jets and an assortment of colored crystals, oils, and scents.

Those are just the traditional treatments. Most spas also offer a range of alternative health care like acupuncture and chiropractic, and more exotic treatments like ayurvedic and siddha from India or reiki from Japan. Some offer cutting-edge treatments, like the Grand Wailea Resort's full-spectrum color-light therapy pod (based on NASA's work with astronauts).

Spas also offer a range of fitness facilities (weights, racquetball, tennis, golf) and classes (yoga, aerobics, spinning, tai chi, kickboxing). Several even offer adventure fitness packages (from bicycling to snorkeling). For the less active, most spas have salons dedicated to hair and nail care.

Of course, all this pampering doesn't come cheap. Massages are generally $95 to $195 for 50 minutes and $150 to $250 for 80 minutes; body treatments are in the $150-to-$250 range; and alternative health-care treatments can be as high as $200 to $300. But you may think it's worth the expense to banish your tension and stress.

Spa Suites at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental (Oahu; tel. 808/739-8938; www.mandarinoriental.com): The Kahala Mandarin Oriental has taken the concept of spa as a journey into relaxation to a new level with former garden rooms converted to individual spas, each with a glass-enclosed shower, private changing area, infinity-edge deep soaking Jacuzzi tub, and personal relaxation area. No detail is overlooked, from the warm foot bath when you arrive to the refreshing hot tea served on your personal enclosed garden lanai after your relaxation treatment.

Ihilani Spa at the J. W. Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa (Oahu; tel. 800/626-4446; www.ihilani.com): An oasis by the sea, this freestanding 35,000-square-foot facility is dedicated to the traditional spa definition of "health by water." This modern, multistoried spa, filled with floor-to-ceiling glass looking out on green tropical plants, combines Hawaiian products with traditional therapies to produce some of the best water treatments in the state. You'll also find a fitness center, tennis courts, and a bevy of aerobic and stretching classes.

SpaHalekulani, Halekulani hotel (Oahu; tel. 808/923-2311; www.halekulani.com): This is Waikiki's first spa to explore the healing traditions of the Pacific islands, as well as Hawaii. Like everything else at the top-rated Halekulani hotel, the spa is truly a heavenly experience, from the time you step into the elegantly appointed, intimate spa and experience the foot massage to the last whiff of fragrant maile, their signature scent. Spa connoisseurs should try something unique, like the Polynesian Nonu, a Samoan-inspired massage using stones.

Turtle Bay Resort (Oahu; tel. 800/203-3650; www.turtlebayresort.com): This new, Zen-like spa positioned on the ground floor facing the ocean has six treatment rooms, a meditation waiting area, an outdoor workout area, plus a complete fitness center and a private elevator to the rooms on the second floor, reserved for guests getting spa treatments.

Hualalai Sports Club and Spa at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai at Historic Kaupulehu (Big Island; tel. 888/340-5662; www.fourseasons.com/hualalai): It's easy to see why some 6,000 Condé Nast readers voted this 13,000-square-foot facility their favorite resort spa. Five of its 16 treatment rooms are thatched huts (with bamboo privacy screens) nestled into a tropical garden. This is the place to come to be pampered. The fitness facilities, classes, and adventure activities are all excellent, but the attentive service and dreamy facilities are what you will remember long after your vacation.

Kohala Spa at the Hilton Waikoloa Village (Big Island; tel. 800/HILTONS; www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com): The Big Island's oldest (since 1989) spa has something for everyone, including 33 treatment rooms, 50 classes, and a variety of sports ranging from racquetball to indoor rock climbing. Treatments are on the cutting edge and include such unique therapies as acupuncture facials and astrological readings. Spend the day luxuriating in the lava whirlpool, steam room, and sauna before or after your treatment.

Spa Grande at the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa (Maui; tel. 800/888-6100; www.grandwailea.com): This is Hawaii's biggest spa, at 50,000 square feet, with 40 treatment rooms. The spa incorporates the best of the Old World (romantic ceiling murals, larger-than-life Roman-style sculptures, mammoth Greek columns, huge European tubs); the finest Eastern traditions (a full Japanese-style traditional bath and various exotic treatments from India); and the lure of the islands (tropical foliage, ancient Hawaiian treatments, and island products). This spa has everything from a top fitness center to a menu of classes and is constantly on the cutting edge of the latest trends.

Spa Moana at the Hyatt Regency Maui (Maui; tel. 800/233-1234; www.maui.hyatt.com): You cannot match the location -- this is Hawaii's only oceanfront spa. The 20,000-square-foot spa houses 15 relaxing treatment rooms and features one of the island's best full-service fitness centers, plus a relaxation lounge, a romantic couples' treatment room, a salon/retail shop, and new treatments for kids and teenagers.

Spa Kea Lani at The Fairmont Kea Lani Maui (Maui; tel. 800/659-4100; www.kealani.com): Come to this intimate, Art Deco boutique spa (just a little over 5,000 sq. ft., with nine treatment rooms), which opened in 1999, for personal and private attention. The fitness center is just next door.

ANARA Spa at the Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort and Spa (Kauai; tel. 80808/240-6440; www.anaraspa.com): Come here to get rid of stress and to be soothed and pampered in a Hawaiian atmosphere, where the spirit of aloha reigns. An elegant 25,000-square-foot spa, ANARA (A New Age Restorative Approach) focuses on Hawaiian culture and healing, with some 16 treatment rooms, a lap pool, fitness facilities, lava rock showers that open to the tropical air, outdoor whirlpools, a 24-head Swiss shower, Turkish steam rooms, Finnish saunas, and botanical soaking tubs. Recent renovations make this spa even more serene and relaxing. The four-handed massage (two therapists at once) is not be missed.

Princeville Health Club & Spa, Princeville Resort Kauai (Kauai; tel. 808/826-5030): This spa offers good value. Not only are the treatments a full 60 minutes (versus the standard 50 min. in most spas), but prices are also quite a bit lower. Just a short 7-minute drive (via the free resort shuttle) from the Princeville Hotel, this 10,000-square-foot boutique spa has amenities like a 25m heated lap pool, outdoor whirlpool, sauna, steam room, five treatment rooms (plus massage cabanas poolside at the hotel), exercise classes, a weight room, a cardio room, and even babysitting services.

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Hawaii Tourism: The Best Resorts & Spas

The Best Resorts & Spas

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