best spa

Capri Palace Hotel & Spa: Home to the Capri Beauty Farm

Filed under: Spas

Capri Palace Hotel & Spa is an Italian nomination for a Readers' Choice Award for Best International Spa Retreat, located on the island of Capri in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Capri Palace, located in the exclusive Anacapri area, was built by the father of current owner and manager Tonino Cacace and recently underwent renovations to create a classic palazzo caprese and update its extraordinary amenities. Capri Palace boasts an art gallery, Capri's only restaurant with two Michelin stars (L'Olivo), a wine cellar of over 1,000 labels and 12,000 bottles, a heated outdoor pool with a view of the ocean, 50-65 foot yachts for excursions and a serviceable heliport -- all in addition to being home to the world-famous Capri Beauty Farm.

Gallery: Capri Palace Hotel & Spa

The Capri Beauty Farm offers results-oriented programs like The Leg School, for enhancing the appearance and health of the legs and "making them feel lighter." The Leg School includes a session on The Power Plate, which vibrates to tone your legs (sounds stimulating), a lymphatic drainage massage, pressing therapy, gymnastics in a thalassotherapeutic pool, and options like mud treatments, medicated bandaging and "Kneipp" vascular treatments (where they stick you in hot or cold water).

The Heart School incorporates massages and ecological walks, as well as medical procedures, into improving cardiovascular health and the Metabolic Response program diagnoses and treats metabolism issues to promote weight loss and optimum physical health. As one might expect, doctors, dieticians and cardiovascular specialists are on-hand to ensure your cutting-edge relaxation and regeneration are monitored with the latest western medical technology at the ready.

The Capri Beauty Farm also has a full range of innovative and rejuvenating treatments for the body and face, and any other part of you which needs attention -- if you're not sure, just ask them for the full range of Diagnostics. They can administer any number of diagnostic tests from blood tests and electrocardiograms to an anti-age test to determine your biological age and a food intolerance test to see if you are unknowingly suffering detrimental effects from something you're eating.

This high-tech, cosmopolitan destination also places tremendous importance on diet, and incorporates personalized plans into all packages with an emphasis on Mediterranean cuisine. You'll emerge from the Capri Beauty Farm eating well and looking and feeling renewed -- and ready to call your helicopter.

Cast your vote for your favorite spa until March 31st. Winners will be announced on April 1.

Tags: awards-main, best international spa, best spa, capri, capri beauty farm, capri palace, italy, luxist-awards, spa, spa-main

The Peninsula Spa by Espa: Techniques with both Asian and European Traditions

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas

From the windows of the spa at Hong Kong's Peninsula Hotel, guests can enjoy sweeping harbor views, a sauna, a peppermint vapor steam room and other perks – all before their treatments even begin. Small wonder The Peninsula Spa by Espa is a nominee for a Luxist award in the best day spa category.

Founded in 1928, The Peninsula was Hong Kong's first modern-day luxury hotel. The British briefly lost the enclave to Japanese forces in 1941, with the commanding officer issuing an official surrender in a room on The Peninsula's third floor, before regaining Hong Kong at the war's end. The middle of the century saw The Peninsula become one of the world's premier luxury destinations; in 1994, the hotel added a 30-story tower behind the original structure to meet growing demand. Shortly thereafter, The Peninsula Spa by Espa was installed high in the new tower.

Developed by industry giant ESPA, the spa offers body treatments and skincare with techniques borrowed from European and Asian tradition. The establishment's 14 rooms are adorned with reclaimed wood, green bamboo and indoor waterfalls; most offer views of the shimmering skyline on the other side of Victoria Harbor.

Treatments include "De-Stress," a massage with frankincense oils and a skin-specific facial (120 minutes: $250), as well as "Time Together," a couples' aromatherapy massage complete with full-body exfoliations and a steam bath (120 minutes: $650). If that's not enough relaxation, have afternoon tea in the lobby or dinner at iconic onsite restaurant Felix, which was designed by Philippe Starck.

Cast your vote for your favorite spa until March 31st. Winners will be announced on April 1.

Tags: awards-main, best day spa, best spa, BestDaySpa, BestSpa, Hong Kong, HongKong, luxist-awards, peninsula, peninsula hotel, peninsula hotels, PeninsulaHotel, PeninsulaHotels, spa, spa-main

Readers Choice Awards for Best Spas

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spas

Is there an extended-stay spa with a program that changed your life for the better? Is there a great spa that caters to men with unique programs or treatments? Which international spa is really worth traveling to, even if it is thousands of miles away from home? Is there a luxurious day spa that you believe is the best one around? Which spa do you think offers the best green practices while also offering luxurious surroundings and state-of-the-art treatments? If you can recommend the best spas around the world, we want to hear from you!

The Luxist Readers' Choice Awards for Best in Spas will be awarded based on your nominations and voting. We're currently seeking nominations for the best-of-breed in the following categories:

Best Day Spa
Best Green Spa
Best Extended-Stay Spa
Best International Spa Retreat
Best Men's Spa

One nomination per category, please. Submissions can be filed until March 15, 2010. Winners will be announced on April 1, 2010.

Tags: best in spas, best spa, BestInSpas, BestSpa, luxist-awards, spas