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Destination: Maui Article Source: Copyright © 2012 by Fodor’s Travel, a division of Random House Inc. All rights reserved.
The spa's humble entrance opens onto an airy, modern beach house with a panoramic view of Kapalua Bay. The menu includes some ancient Hawaiian healing practices. The lomi wrap, designed by Big Island resident and healer Darrell Lapulapu, begins with a special cava tea for instant relaxation, is followed by a body wrap of cacao, ginger, sandalwood, and oats, and finishes with lomilomi (traditional Hawaiian massage involving strokes down the length of the body). A juice bar serves health potions that combine pure fruits and juiced veggies with natural additives like yogurt. www.kapalua.com.
Pamper yourself with the exquisite 80-minute Island Indulgence treatment that combines a body scrub and a warm coconut milk bath in a hydrotherapy tub. Other options include cabana massage (for couples, too) and sunburn relief with a lavender-aloe blend. Facials use high-end lines like Priori and Eminence, while body treatments feature eco-friendly Pure Fiji products. The facility is serene and flawless. While you wait for your treatment, sip on pineapple juice in the posh, ocean-view waiting room. The open-air yoga studio and the gym offer energizing workouts, and the hair salon has braiding services. www.westinmaui.com.
Destination: Kauai Article Source: Copyright © 2012 by Fodor’s Travel, a division of Random House Inc. All rights reserved.
The goal at the Tri Health Ayurveda Spa isn't a one-time massage for momentary bliss, although relaxation is a key ingredient. Rather, this spa's focus is a multiweek, multitreatment, intensive program designed to eliminate toxins stored in the body and increase the flow and energy of all systems. Treatments are designed around the ancient Ayurvedic tradition of heat to open the pores, oil to deliver nutrients to tissues and nerve endings, and massage (by two therapists working in synchronized movement) to accelerate circulation. Note: Because the massage strokes are long and can run the length of the body, there is no draping involved. Ayurvedic doctors, food, and treatments are available, as is lodging in the 10-bedroom retreat facility, on 25 acres hidden by design for privacy—hence, no glaring signs. Single sessions are available. www.trihealthayurvedaspa.com.
This is the only full-service day spa on the laid-back West Side. A Hideaway Spa is in one of the restored plantation cottages that make up the guest quarters at Waimea Plantation Cottages, creating a cozy and comfortable setting you won't find elsewhere. The overall feel is relaxed, casual, and friendly, as you'd expect in this quiet country town. The staff is informal, yet thoroughly professional. Beach yoga and massages are available, as well as a full-service salon with hair, nails, and makeup services. Try the kava kava ginger wrap followed by the lomi iliili—hot stone massage. www.ahideawayspa.com.
As you travel beyond tony Princeville, life slows down. The single-lane bridges may be one reason. Another is the Hanalei Day Spa, an open-air, thatched-roof, Hawaiian-style hut nestled just off the beach on the grounds of Hanalei Colony Resort in Haena. Though this no-frills day spa offers facials, waxing, wraps, scrubs, and the like, its specialty is massage: Ayurveda, Zen Shiatsu, Swedish, and even a baby massage (and lesson for Mom, to boot). Owner Darci Frankel teaches yoga, a discipline she started as a young child. That practice led her to start the Ayurveda Center of Hawaii, which operates out of the spa and offers an ancient Indian cleansing and rejuvenation program known as Pancha Karma. Think multiday wellness retreat. www.hanaleidayspa.com.
This superb spa at The St. Regis Princeville Resort is indeed a House of Joy, as its Hawaiian name translates. Opened in 2009, the 11,000-square-foot Halelea Spa transports users to a place of tranquillity. The spa's 12 luxurious treatment rooms afford a subdued indoor setting outmatched only by the professional service. Take advantage of the dedicated couples' room and enjoy a taro butter pohaku hot stone massage. Follow that with a few hours sipping tea in the relaxation lounge, sweating in the sauna, and rinsing in an overhead rain shower. There is a qualified wellness consultant, and spa programs are inspired by Native Hawaiian healing rituals. You can find health, beauty, and inner peace at this spa, but expect to pay for it. www.stregisprinceville.com.
It doesn't get more authentic than this. In the mid-1980s Aunty Angeline Locey opened her Anahola home to offer traditional Hawaiian healing practices. Now her son and granddaughter carry on the tradition. At Angeline's Muolaulani Wellness Center, there's a two-hour treatment ($150) that starts with a steam, followed by a sea-salt-and-clay body scrub and a two-person massage. The real treat, however, is relaxing on Aunty's open-air garden deck. Hot-stone lomi is also available. Aunty's mission is to promote a healthy body image; as such, au naturel is the accepted way here, so if you're nudity-shy, this may not be the place for you. On second thought, Aunty would say it most definitely is, as muolaulani translates to "a place for young buds to bloom." Detailed directions are given when you book a treatment. www.angelineslomikauai.com.
The luxurious ANARA Spa has all the equipment and services you expect from a top resort spa, along with a pleasant, professional staff. Best of all, it has indoor and outdoor areas that capitalize on the tropical locale and balmy weather, further distinguishing it from the Marriott and St. Regis spas. Its 46,500 square feet of space includes the lovely Garden Treatment Village, an open-air courtyard with private thatched-roof huts, each featuring a relaxation area, misters, and open-air shower in a tropical setting. Ancient Hawaiian remedies and local ingredients are featured in many of the treatments, such as a Lokahi Garden facial, and a Hawaiian Herbal Aromatherapy body wrap. The open-air lava-rock showers are wonderful, introducing many guests to the delightful island practice of showering outdoors. The spa, which includes a full-service salon, adjoins the Hyatt's legendary swimming pool. www.anaraspa.com.
This sister spa of Alexander Simson's Beverly Hills spa focuses on body care rather than exercise, so don't expect any fitness equipment or exercise classes. The Alexander Day Spa & Salon at the Kauai Marriott has the same ambience of stilted formality as the rest of the resort, but it is otherwise a sunny, pleasant facility. Massages are available in treatment rooms and on the beach, although the beach locale isn't as private as you might imagine. Wedding-day and custom spa packages can be arranged. www.alexanderspa.com.
Destination: Hawaii (Big) Island Article Source: Copyright © 2012 by Fodor’s Travel, a division of Random House Inc. All rights reserved.
This ranks among the best massage facilities on the island, partially due to the superlative setting—private massage areas are situated amid the waterfalls, saltwater pools, and meandering gardens, as well as right on the beach. In fact, the Fairmont Orchid is of the few resorts to offer beachside massage. Splurge on the 110-minute Alii Experience featuring hot-coconut-oil treatments, lomilomi, and hot-stone massage. There are other great treatments, including caviar facials, fragrant herbal wraps, and coffee-and-vanilla scrubs. And where else can you relax to the sounds of cascading waterfalls while watching tropical yellow tang swim beneath you through windows in the floor? www.fairmont.com/orchid.