Which U.S. spas offer travelers the best values? Budget Travel’s list America’s Best Spa Values of will enlighten you.

Where do you go if you’re Kate Moss and you really want to relax, rejuvenate and get spa treatment crazy with a few of your famous gal-pals (p.s. the photo’s a before vacation shot)? The Huvafen Fushi Resort in the Maldives, of course.

The 43-bungalow resort boasts the world’s first underwater massage rooms, a raw food restaurant and over-water bungalows complete with indoor/outdoor infinity edge pools and 24-hour private butlers. Not a bad place to flush the system of copious amounts of drugs, booze and cancer sticks. Heh heh.

Kate Moss’s Body Makeover

Huvafen Fushi Maldives Resort

I love this deal from the Carneros Inn in Napa Valley: book $300 or more in treatments at the inn’s posh spa, and you’ll get complimentary access for the day to the fitness facilities, outdoor swimming pool and one of the property’s cottages. Considering that a regular 60-minute massage costs $120, that’s not a bad way to spend a luxurious day relaxing in Napa Valley with a few friends. You could choose a less expensive lodging option in the area, arrive in the morning for massages and spend the day relaxing by the pool before stopping by the cottage for a nap or to primp before a dinner out in the area. Might as well make a whole day out of it…

Carneros Inn Spa

Hotel Gansevoort has a question for see and be seen obsessed traveling trendsters everywhere:

Who needs the Hamptons??

The overnight Who Needs the Hamptons? package is pretty swank, even if it is $570/night with a two night minimum. (The rate goes down to $525/night if you stay three nights.) Through September 4, 2006, guests who snag this package deal will get overnight accommodations in a deluxe room (suites available for more), two spa treatments at the Gansevoort Spa, a sun-inspired goodie bag with suncreen, water, misters, a Hugo Boss hat and copies of In Touch and Life & Style Weekly, two reserved poolside lounge chairs on weekday stays, a bottle of Champagne upon arrival, two cocktails at the rooftop lounge, continental breakfast for two each morning and lunch for two. Not bad for a romantic weekend getaway.

But the summer fun isn’t just for overnight guests. The Renewal Day Package, which sadly is valid only on weekdays, costs $400 for one person (yowza) and $750 for two. It includes a reserved lounge chair by the pool, a cocktail for each person, a NYT best-seller, pool bag with tab mags and sun stuff, Hugo Boss hat, a spa treatment, poolside popsicles and use of the hotel’s gym and spa facilities.

Clearly, the overnight package is the superior deal.

Hotel Gansevoort official site

XpresSpa currently only exists at New York’s JFK, San Francisco, Philly and Pittsburgh airports, but the company is in the process of expanding to New York La Guardia and Raleigh-Durham airport. The outfit offers complete spa services, massages, nail and waxing treatments in the airport terminal. If you’ve got an hour to kill, a visit here means you’ll end up looking and/or feeling better when you reach your destination.

Right now, you can sign up on the web site for an XpresSpa membership card that entitles the holder to 10 percent off services and 15 percent off products, as well as special gifts and deals. Apparently, it’s a limited time offer. It would make sense for them to end the promotion after opening several more locations. Even if you don’t regularly visit the above-mentioned airports, getting a card may still make sense. If the company keeps expanding at its current rate, you could end up seeing one in an airport near you in the future.

And 10 percent isn’t a lot, but it ain’t nuthin’ either.

XpresSpa Membership Sign-Up

Sweet summer retreats can be had at Utah’s Red Mountain Spa, a luxury health resort in St. George. All the guest rooms were given an overhaul last year that was completed in January, so guests can expect fresh, up-to-date decor. But the main reason to go here has little to do with the indoors. With guided outdoor hikes, nutrition classes, cooking demonstrations, yoga, tai chi, Pilates and fitness classes included in the price and specialized activities like horseback riding, kayaking and rock climbing offered for a fee, the resort is geared toward the active traveler who wants to get away from it all to concentrate on mind, body and spirit. Three healthy meals a day and use of the resort’s fitness facilities, Jacuzzi and swimming pools are included in the room rate. Targeted fitness evaluations and assessments (like cholesterol testing and nutrition counseling) are offered as add-ons.

Two summer specials at the resort should get your attention:

Summer SOS Package: Through August 31, 2006, guests can take advantage of the resort’s many amenities and stay overnight in a deluxe guest room for or $229/person based on double occupancy.

Swedish Massage Special: The Sagestone Spa Swedish Massage is $49 for 50 minutes through August 31, 2006. One per person/per day.

Red Mountain Spa Summer Specials

Looking for those honeymoon-
perfect over water bungalows somewhere in French Polynesia? The newly opened InterContinental Resort and Thalasso Spa on Bora Bora is the first destination in French Polynesia to only offer over-water bungalows. Most resorts offer a some bungalows situated above the water, with the majority on the beach or in gardens set back from the water. All of the InterContinental resort’s 80 bungalows feature sun decks with outside showers, indoor bathroom with bath and shower, air-conditioning, two flat screen TVs, CD and DVD players, high-speed Internet, 24-hour room service and all the usual amenities you’d find in a luxury establishment (i.e. coffeemakers, hairdryers, minibars, etc.).

The resort’s spa is scheduled to open in September.

Special opening rates start at 644 Euro/night. The rate includes breakfast and dinner for two people each day. The special rate requires a minimum four-night stay.

InterContinental Resort and Thalasso Spa Bora Bora official site

The Hotel Therme in Vals, Switzerland (about 200km from Zurich) offers accommodations for visitors to the Therme Spa, a wellness center built on the site of the only natural hot spring in the area. The spa is a popular destination that draws Swiss and international tourists with the promise of six thermal pools (which contains calcium, sulpher, hydrogen and iron) full of minerals thought to heal and restore the skin and the body. While the spa has long been considered a landmark, the hotel was basically a place to stay during your visit - not a major draw in and of itself. But recently, the hotel has been redesigning its rooms and upgrading its services to give spa visitors more of a total vacation experience. A new restaurant opened at the hotel last year and rooms are gradually being turned into swanky, minimalist affairs with modern technology, dark parquet floors and wi-fi.

If you go, try snagging a room (110 euro/double room) in the Selva House, whose rooms have been transformed with brightly painted stucco walls and furnishings in vibrant, contrasting hues. The house is connected to the spa - easy access for rejuvenating soaks and massage sessions.

Hotel Therme official site

I might be staying in a budget hotel tonight, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to skip the requisite vacation spa visit. Sheah, right. To get my beauty fix, I made an appointment at Spa Botanica, the hotel spa at the Embassy Suites Albuquerque (which is one of the city’s newest properties). I’m happy to report that the facilities are just what I was looking for.

Spa Botanica’s treatment rooms are plush without being too froo-froo. They have relaxing touches like trickling fountains, dim lighting and heated white leather massage chairs for pedicures. When I arrived, I was shown to the quiet waiting room and offered water or tea. I settled in with a magazine, and the woman from the front desk brought me a soft, heated neck wrap to wear while I waited for my appointment.

I got the classic manicure and pedicure with Leanne. I’d highly recommend her. She was warm and friendly without being obnoxiously chatty. I had a great time talking to her during the hour I was there. While many hotel spas charge outrageous fees for simple services, Spa Botanica’s prices are reasonable. I paid $69 (not incl. tip) for the mani-pedi, which included exfoliating scrubs and hand and foot massages. Of course, I could have gone somewhere cheap and gotten my nails painted for $25 in San Francisco, but I wanted to indulge and actually have the polish last for a week.

I’m not staying at the Embassy Suites, so I can’t write a full review of it, but here’s what I can tell you about the property:

The hotel is located about a mile from the downtown Route 66 strip, but it’s off a busy road, so you probably wouldn’t want to walk to and from the hotel. Inside, glass elevators ferry guests to floors, which wrap around a huge central atrium that has indoor trees and an manmade waterfall (pictured). There’s a bar right inside the lobby that had a mellow happy hour scene going on as I was leaving at 6pm. Everything inside was clean, bright and new-looking. They also had a basket of yummy looking cookies on the concierge desk.

And that’s all she wrote.

Embassy Suites Albuquerque official site

The May 2006 issue of Conde Nast Traveler includes the magazine’s annual Hot List, a round-up of the world’s trendiest new hotels, restaurants, bars and spas. It’s kind of a who’s-who of the past year’s newcomers to the international travel scene. You’ll have to pick up a copy off the newsstand to see all of the results, but for now, here are a few teasers that have reached the net:

Hot List U.S. Hotels

* The Chamberlain, Los Angeles, CA
* Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Los Angeles, CA
* Hotel Solamar, San Diego, CA
* Tower 23, San Diego, CA
* Hotel Vitale, San Francisco, CA
* St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco, CA
* The Huntley, Santa Monica, CA
* Les Mars Hotel, Healdsburg, CA
* Hyatt Grand Aspen, Aspen, CO
* Keyah Grande, Pagosa Springs, CO
* Standard Miami, Miami Beach, FL
* Twelve Hotel & Residences, Atlanta, GA
* Mansion on Forsyth Park, Savannah, GA
* Resort at Paws Up, Greenough, MT
* Whiteface Lodge, Lake Placid, NY

Hot List U.S. Spas

Arizona:
* Spa Avania, Scottsdale
* VH Spa for Vitality & Health, Scottsdale

California:
* Peninsula Beverly Hills Spa, Beverly Hills
* PSYC, Palm Springs
* Bliss San Francisco, San Francisco
* Remede Spa, San Francisco

Florida:
* Spa V, Miami Beach
* Standard Miami, Miami Beach

Georgia:
* Blue Medspa, Atlanta

New Mexico:
* Absolute Nirvana Spa, Santa Fe

New York:
* Cornelia Day Resort, New York
* Okeanos Club and Spa, New York

Nevada:
* Spa at Wynn, Las Vegas

Conde Nast Traveler official site
press release