Unusual Spas

5 Spa Getaways to Dazzle the Jaded Spa-Goer

Unusual Spas

'http

Do you find exercise excruciating or equate massage with misery? Does focusing on flab and wrangling with wrinkles leave you lamenting? Here are a handful of havens so different from stereotypical spa resorts, they'll convert even a nonbeliever like yourself into a hard-core devotee of the power of spas.

Ten Thousand Waves
Santa Fe, New MexicoAmericans have a tendency to want to get things done, even when they go to the spa. They want to whittle away their to-do lists: lose weight, check; learn Pilates, check; stop smoking, check.

Not so the Japanese, whose traditional spa experience is all about having a good time in a beautiful place -- a la Ten Thousand Waves, in Santa Fe, NM.

The haiku-like name of this landlocked spa refers not to location -- this is sun-baked New Mexico, after all -- but rather to activity. The emphasis here is on bathing in the Japanese tradition. The healthful effects of bathing oneself in hot water were the focus when the spa opened in 1981, and still are today. All the massages, treatments and skin-care regimens are designed to elicit the universal "ah" that bubbles up when you settle into a big pool of hot water.

A most unusual treatment (by modern, Western standards) is the aptly named Nightingale Facial: An earthy-scented mask is concocted from nightingale droppings that are harvested on farms where the birds are fed special diets. Kabuki and Geisha relied on this detoxifying treatment back in the day when their makeup contained lead. The facial also softens, lightens and hydrates the skin.

Ten Thousand Waves prides itself on being authentic, not only in its Japanese philosophy, but also in its aesthetic. As a result, it has earned impressive kudos from spa-going aficionados for its Japanese-inspired interior design.