Just how much pampering can you handle? The Stevenswood Spa Resort in Mendocino asks that question with one impressive spa package. The "Emperor's Choice" package at the property's Indigo Eco|Spa is a 10-hour program of nothing but spa treatments with breaks for meals. The Indigo Eco|Spais a full-service, 3,500 square-foot facility with multiple treatment suites, tranquility room, infrared sauna, canyon-view Jacuzzi tubs and an outdoor ocean terrace.

The full package starts at $2,088 per couple and includes the following:

9:00 a.m. Champagne Gourmet Breakfast at Stevenswood
10:00 a.m. Craniosacral Therapy
11:00 p.m. Pacific Sea Detox, Aroma Stone, or Salt Scrub
12:30 p.m. Dermatological Facial
1:30 p.m. Spa Lunch at Stevenswood
2:00 p.m. Scalp Treatment
2:45 p.m. Hand Treatment
3:30 p.m. Paraffin Hand Treatment
3:50 p.m. Citrus Leg Therapy
4:35 p.m. Reflexology
5:05 p.m. Paraffin Foot Treatment
5:25 p.m. Shiatsu Massage, Reiki Massage or Lomi Lomi
6:30 p.m. 5-Star Dinner at Stevenswood, 10 courses paired with Wines

Got a regular bathtub? We're sorry. How awful.

After a long day, you naturally want to relax in hot water that whirls around you, massaging and loosening your tired muscles, eventually lulling you into a sleep that will enable you to get up and do it all over again tomorrow...

So why not invest in a Conair Body Benefits Bath Jet, like the one here? Just under $40, not the arm and a leg it would cost to have a real jacuzzi put into your bathroom.

Then, get creative. Sprinkle some scented oil and potpourri in your tub, or just your favorite bath or shower gel or milk. The best way to make it feel truly lux? Turn out the lights and bathe by candlelight. Add gentle music. Forget the world.

It's just another easy way to make life more lux for cheap or free.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming vacation destination extraordinaire, has added a new convenience for its guests and residents alike!

The new tram, currently under construction and opening December 20th, will carry 100 passengers from 6,311 feet to 10,450 feet up in the mountains in just 9 minutes.

The views from the tram promise to be astounding, as with the old tram which has been there since 1966. A beautiful, "visually inspiring" new base terminal will replace the old clock tower base.

The opening of the new tram will feature live music, fireworks, and all kinds of Jackson Hole festivities. Click here for more information.

Whether you head to Jackson Hole for the skiing, the scenery, or just to get away from it all, the new tram, 100% funded by resort ownership, will make your stay more convenient. You can book a Tram-Slam Package this winter for a stay at Teton Village and be one of the first to ride!

The Southern California desert region is getting a new spa resort. Joseph DeNucci, former COO of the Miraval resort, is behind the Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa, which will open in November 2008. The $50 million resort is located in the Anza-Borrego Desert of Southern California and will offer a custom experience on 42 acres that includes a $25 million Tom Fazio-designed Signature Golf Course and Montesoro, a second home community. Borrego Ranch is located in Borrego Springs, 80 miles from San Diego and 150 miles from Los Angeles.

The ranch will feature 19 private casitas and 44 poolside rooms each with a service bar, sitting area with fireplace, marble bath with Cactus Tea bath amenities, coffee maker and private patio or balcony. The casitas range in size from one to four bedrooms and most have a wood-burning fireplace and private pool or spa and all include a wet bar, compact refrigerator and microwave. The spa offers massage, skin care, hair care, manicures and pedicures. The resort has an impressive amount of activities to keep you busy from golf and tennis to fitness classes, hikes, swimming and bicycle and horseback riding. There is also life-size chess, shuffleboard, bocce ball, a putting green, an archery range and championship croquet courses. Instead of being stuck to a strict spa schedule, guests can choose what interests them whether it's a romp through the desert or just some poolside time with a good book. Rates start around $300 per night.

A few weeks ago Guerlain opened a spa in the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City. The spa "ensures a comprehensive luxury experience for every Waldorf guest." On the menu are eight kinds of massage, four kinds of facials, six kinds of body treatments, and five men's treatments, as well as hand and foot therapies, makeup application and all-day and partial-day getaway spa experiences. The spa also has a boutique and personal training studio.

I'm no beauty maven, but I've had massages and lots of facials, and what's described on the site seems no more special than what's offered at any other upscale spa, except for the use of Guerlain products and exquisite descriptions of services. I've no doubt the products add a level of luxury that's likely missing from a run-of-the-mill salon-type spa on the corner. But does Guerlain do a better job for what I assume to be a big pricetag? I don't know. I might have to check it out!

If the spa experience as is just isn't cutting it consider getting the whole spa to youself, and your party, for the entire day! For $10,000 you can "Own the Spa" at Spa Lamar in Scottsdale, AZ without any other customers to share the steam room or sauna with. The day price breaks down to about $80 per service including a personal chef to cook for you and your lucky friends. Although the entire package costs quite a bit this offer reflects about 25% in savings to the customer.

If you haven't heard of Spa Lamar before consider that it has been dubbed "Most Decadent Massage" by Allure magazine, "Best Day Spa" by Phoenix City Search and caters to the Phoenix Suns Dancers. "Owning" the spa for the day includes up to five hours of unlimitmed spa and salon services, dining in the Palm Room and access to the aforementioned chef, and spa concierge service in this 14,000 square foot plush environment. With private resort-like feel this sounds like it would be one of the best days ever -- the next day however may feel like a harsh return to reality. Too bad the big price tag doesn't mean you get to take the masseuse and chef home with you.

Who doesn't wish they had access to a professional massage at any time of the day or night in the comfort of their own home? Apparently enough people do to warrant the invention and production of this gadget, the Personal Dry Water Jet Massager. Laying down inside this space-looking capsule will get you what I can only imagine is a truly dreamy massage experience, as the 28 water jets mimic a shiatsu massage while the rest of your senses are relaxed via the Bose speaker system with iPod hookups, aroma diffuser, and 7 " LCD television with DVD player that's positioned perfectly as you lay on the headrest.

Sounds pretty awesome! Looks awesome, too, but seeing as how it costs more than my car I doubt I'll be treating myself to one anytime soon. $29,500.


Via Acquire

Gemstones have been used by various cultures for healing for millennia but now the Acugems Facial Rejuve treatment throws a modern twist on this ancient therapy. The therapy involves the use of gemstones, microcurrents and therapeutic light to re-educate facial muscles, encourage collagen production, smooth wrinkles and improve skin tone. The stones and color frequencies used depend on the individual consumer. Tourmaline is frequently used in the treatments because of its ability to maintain a positive charge on one end and a negative one on the other.

It takes a number of treatments to see lasting results. The Revive You spa in Stoneham, Massachusetts which offers the treatments suggests a set of 10 treatments which sells for $2,550. Their version of the treatment also includes a custom mask, exfoliating fruit enzyme, pore cleansing and brow design. Reporter Amy Saltzman of the Stoneham Sun tested out the treatment and describes the sensation of the Acutrone machine as a sharp tingle which is not painful. She found the treatment quite relaxing.

Auberge Resorts is set to unveil their latest resort, Encantado. The resort is set against the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico. The resort offers 65 casitas, a luxury spa, and a fine dining restaurant led by Executive Chef Charles Dale, who was named Best New Chef in America by Food + Wine Magazine in 1995 and twice nominated for Best American Chef in the Southwest by the James Beard Foundation.

The resort offers a variety of packages. The luxurious Too Much Of A Good Thing package includes three nights accommodation in a Casita or suite, a welcome spa gift, a couples Mountain Spirit Purification spa treatment, Moisture Drench facials for two, Encantado Classic Massage for two, private instruction in yoga, pilates or Tai Chi for two, a daily spa breakfast and a special turn down amenity. Rates start at $3380 for the package.

Eco travelers there is a new place to check out in Borneo. The Gayana Eco Resort is located on Gaya Island 10 minutes off the Borneo coast and the city of Kota Kinabalu. Gaya Island is one of the five coral reef islands that make up the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. The location is also home to a marine ecology research center which works with coral reef rehabilitation.

The resort has 44 luxury rooms all located over water and feature balconies, large bathroom with Harnn luxury amenities, in villa private bar, king or twin beds with luxury linens, feather pillows and duvet, LCD televisions and DVD players. Some villas also have steps directly from their balconies into the lagoon for that afternoon swim. The resort offers gudied kayak trips and nature tours and there is also a spa at the resort which includes double treatment suites with Jacuzzis. The resort's cafe Macac" sits beside the resort's infinity pool and offers cocktails, cool drinks and lunch specialties to the pool including pizzas from a wood fired pizza oven. The resort also includes the Alu Alu restaurant, an overwater restaurant which serves seafood and has over 15 display tanks of live seafood from spectacularly bright coral trout to giant lobsters, prawns and snapper. Rates start around $200 a night.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently reported on a trend that's already hit some other big cities: the napping spa. An egg-shaped, computerized sleeping pod inside Rejuvenate, an atrium-level storefront spa at one of downtown Atlanta's busiest buildings, provides a haven in which to take a 20-minute, or longer, nap. The spa, which opened in November 2007, offers five snooze suites, each separated by chocolate-colored curtains. Nappers can adjust the temperature, add lavender or citrus aromatherapy and a cool breeze for their necks. Some pods vibrate and calculate the number of calories burned while catching 40 winks.

In NYC, Yelo opened in 2007, promising brief power naps and cashmere blankets. But many spas across the country, especially getaway ones, are introducing sleep treatments, including everything from feather beds and lavender mists to overnight sleep observation. I find the whole "pod" idea claustrophobia-inducing, but the environment at a spa seems so much nicer than what the ladies at my office have -- a sofa in the bathroom. Ick. Pass the lavender, here's my cash and wake me in 20.

Rejuvenate offers timed naps (you're wakened by a gentle chime) at $14 for 20 minutes, $19 for 30 minutes and $35 for an hour. Employers can purchase bulk packages.

If you are looking for a vacation that won't make your teenagers roll their eyes at you in dismay, The Landings St. Lucia has a possible answer. The all-suite resort, which opened last December on scenic Rodney Bay, has created the "Teen Island Vacation" package. The package includes accommodations in a harbor front villa residence with a plunge pool, daily breakfast at the Yacht Haven restaurant, a guided tour of the local rainforest including a zip line experience, a kayak and snorkeling trip to neighboring Pigeon Island National Historic Preserve, unlimited waterskiing and wakeboarding at the hotel's beachfront location and an in-room movie night with snacks and DVDs. The hotel also includes a 7,000 square foot spa with eight treatment rooms, relaxation rooms, a fitness center and a full-service salon which features a variety of service customized for teens. The summer rates for the package start at $310 per night for a Harbor Front Villa two-bedroom residence but be prepared to stay a while, there is a seven-night minimum stay is required.

Hotels always hope for good weather but the Stevenswood Spa Resort on the Mendocino Coast in California is willing to bet on it. The resort has said that they will offer a $5 cash rebate for every degree over 72 for stays between now and the end of August. The rocky coast of Northern California is known for its temperate weather even when its sweltering everywhere else, although my friends a little further up, in Humboldt County, have been seeing a lot of warm temps.

The Stevenswood Spa Resort is located in the forests of Van Damme State Park. Suites have large picture windows with views of the surrounding gardens, beaches, meadows, and redwoods. Each suite has a wood-burning fireplace, plasma televisions, cordless phones, MP3/iPod docks, and free wireless high-speed Internet access. Bathrooms are finished with ocean-green slate from Madagascar and hand-blown Venetian glass bowl vanities.

The resort features a gourmet restaurant, the Restaurant at Stevenswood and the Indigo Eco|Spa, a 3,500 square-foot well-being facility that features multiple treatment suites, tranquility room, Infrared sauna, Canyon view Jacuzzi tubs and an outdoor ocean terrace. The spa offers a comprehensive menu of body, skin, and facial treatments that use organic- based products.

Rates start at $229 for a Grande Suite. The hotel also offers a last-minute specials option on their website with suites for the next night or two that are discounted by 10% or more.

In September, a new hotel concept will open in the Balearic Islands, the cluster of islands off the coast of Spain that includes Ibiza and Mallorca. The Aguas de Ibiza Spa & Resort will be a waterside hotel located by Ibiza's Santa Eulalia Bay marina. The glamourous new hotel was built by local architect Juan de los Ríos, designed by Barcelona-based Triade Studio and run by the Torres family. It will offer 112 rooms and suites. Deluxe rooms and suites will have private terraces and large glass windows. The fourth floor is home to the Cloud 9 club, a hotel within the hotel that will have its own check-in desk, design scheme, services and amenities. Cloud 9 will offer loft rooms including the Presidential Ibiza Loft which is a two-story luxury suite. All rooms have Bang & Olufsen televisions.

Aguas de Ibiza is designed to be "eco-luxurious" combining eco-friendly materials with techniques to reduce energy usage by more than 35 percent in comparison to luxury properties.

The resort also has a gym, climatized pools with mineral salts, three outdoor pools including a rooftop pool, beauty salon, boutique and a business center. The Revival Wellness Club will offer everything from treatments with Ibiza salts to aromatherapy with seagrass and almonds. The resort will also include the Scuba cocktail bar and Air Ibiza, a rooftop par with a red-tiled pool. There will be three restaurants serving tapas at the Alabastro Lounge, Mediterranean specialities at the Oligo: Madeinterranean and modern interpretations of traditional Ibizan dishes at the gourmet restaurant La Sal.

[via Design Taxi]

The Three Forks Ranch located on a huge 200,000 acre spread along the Colorado-Wyoming border, is a new ranch destination combining fly fishing, horseback riding, sport clay shooting and other rugged activities, along with the sumptuous experience of a luxury resort and spa. The 30,000-square-foot lodge has 15 rooms and details like giant-beamed cathedral ceilings and European hand-carved paneling. The 15 guest rooms have antique oriental rugs, silk-linen wallpaper, Bellisari Italian linens, Chadsworth & Haig robes and L'Occitane toiletries and all rooms in the lodge have views of the Little Snake River Valley.

The lodge's Oxbow dining room offers gourmet meals, afternoon teas and wine tastings. The Roaring Fork Spa has hot tubs, soaking pools, and four massage and treatment rooms, with treatments such as Little Snake River Stone Therapy, Sportsman's Relief Massage and the Catch-and-Release Body Wrap.

The owners of the Three Forks Lodge have gone to great lengths to restore the fish population. A plan led by hydrologist Dr. Dave Rosgen of Wildland Hydrology was developed to reduce erosion, plant new vegetation and develop wetlands, creating the largest privately funded river restoration in U.S. history and a pristine fly-fishing environment. The Three Forks Ranch fishing guides offer custom fishing opportunities for novices and those with more skills. Fishing for brook, cutthroat, brown and rainbow trout is all catch-and-release. The summer fly-fishing season runs through October 31, 2008 and the winter season which begins December 15, 2008 offers cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, alpine skiing excursions to nearby Steamboat Springs, sleigh rides and dogsledding. All rates include lodging, meals, guide, horseback riding, hiking, four-wheeling, and sporting clays and one massage treatment. A four-night room in a deluxe room costs $5000.