After a long but relaxing weekend all I have on my mind this cool calm Atlanta morning is a Caribbean spa, a mimosa, and the pungent smell of lemongrass and sandalwood aromatherapy wafting though the lazy seaside morning...
A spa is a spa is a spa … right? Wrong—at least in the Caribbean. There you'll find many variations, ranging from full spas with outrageous services to wellness spas and holistic retreats—and every luxury resort spends limitless money trying to out-spa its neighbors.
Grand Cayman
Among the newest (opened December 2005), the Ritz-Carlton put sparkle and splendor into its La Prairie Spa, naming it Silver Rain. The signature treatments use imported waters from Switzerland in unique hydrotherapies. Guests walk through a crystalline room to the sounds of rushing water, then meet an "angel"—a woman dressed in white with silver wings. Many unusual treatments are possible, including seven using caviar: three body treatments, a manicure, a pedicure, an eye treatment, and a 90-minute firming facial (for $270!). The most popular offering is the 90-minute Swedish massage, which is $215.
Jamaica
An upscale resort for couples only, the all-inclusive Grand Lido Negril Resort & Spa definitely has pizzazz, with 22 acres of gardens and grounds to wander, and lovely extras such as manicures and pedicures. The spa specializes in purifying treatments, holistic therapies, and body scrubs, but there's also a sauna, a steam room, and a plunge pool—all "on the house." Some services must be paid for, such as the sunset aromatherapy massage or a sunrise beach massage à deux, accompanied by mimosas. The 60-minute basic massage is $140.
Very small but very special, Jackie's on the Reef is, as the name implies, seaside in Negril. A holistic retreat, it's owned and run by Jackie Lewis, who is literally hands-on: In two outside cabanas, the masseuse gives treatments that go well beyond massage, even regressing people to their past lives. Yoga and meditation classes are offered throughout the day, and all meals are prepared from food grown on the island or caught locally. The hot rock and herbal scrub is $60.
Martinique
One of the best of the best, the Hôtel Cap Est Lagoon Resort & Spa prefers to call itself a well-being center and has as its motto "Forget the march of time." The treatments follow the exclusive Guerlain technique developed in Paris, with names such as the Imperial, the Design Contour, and Guerlain Personalized Facials. There are five different massages, from the Yin Yang to Stones, or you can try the Vichy Rain Shower: multiple water jets trained on you during a loofah scrub. Choose a passion fruit or coconut scrub or, perhaps most intriguing of all, the Turkish massage with black soap, which dates back to the days of Arab traders who supplied the hammams in the sultans' palaces with this mixture of beeswax, black olives, flour, salt, and palm oil. The Cap Est massage, which uses a blend of 45 oils, is $100.
Nevis
The Spa at the Four Seasons Resort has everything from the basic Jet Lag Facial to the classic Epicuren facial—described as a nonsurgical face-lift—which claims to improve the skin's clarity, elasticity, texture, and overall health. Choose from 15 massages, including one with hot stones and mango or papaya, a rum tonic (to drink or to wear?), a deep-tissue massage, a couples massage lesson, and a beachside Nevisian massage. Body treatments, too, have some unusual offerings: sea masks, mango sea salt glow, and the Essence of Rain massage. The 50-minute Nevisian massage is $110.
Puerto Rico
Las Casitas Village and Golden Door Spa, in Las Croabas, is definitely on the expensive end of the spectrum, with a staff-to-guest ratio of four to one. Each guest receives a customized program after consultation with a fitness trainer. Among the activities are swimming, yoga, spinning, Pilates, weights, and aerobics, as well as hiking on 25 miles of trails. The Rose Quartz Facial Golden Goddess starts with a bronzing treatment, and you can top it off with a Rose Quartz Facial. There's also a masseur, Leonardo Albertis, whose hands should be declared lethal weapons: Think Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Golden Door's most popular massage, the Luxury Resorts Signature Treatment, is $110 for 50 minutes.
St. Barts
Since the island is an international see-and-be-seen sort of place, where you're on morning, noon, and night, you might need to flat-line at a spa here more than anywhere. At Guanahani, where the butt that's naked had best be tanned, there are five treatment rooms and, out by the swimming pool, an overgrown daybed piled with pillows, all in white and shielded by sheer drapes. Massage therapists employ global but mostly French techniques and Clarins products. The hydrating facial uses extracts of seaweed and cactus as well as a body scrub. The 60-minute massage is $150.
Eden Rock's Wellbeing has massage tables and equipment at each of its six new beachfront villas. When a guest requests a massage or a spa treatment, either the therapist comes to the room or they choose a secluded spot together. The 60-minute Swedish massage is $150.
Thank you Conde' Nast Traveler.... For my slice of heaven this morning...
