Once a year the editors of Luxury SpaFinder pen unabashed love letters to the spas that spark their passions - from Nam Hai in Vietnam to Royal Palms in Arizona.
To help you discover 60 of the world's best spas, Luxury SpaFinder has created an interactive map as a fun way to scan the globe, pick a destination, and learn more about it. Using the latest version of MicrosoftR Virtual EarthT technology, you will be able to instantly learn details about the spa that's perfect for you.
The 60 spas are sorted into six categories including:
* DAMN THE EXPENSE: PRICEY SPAS THAT PAY OFF: The bill may be as stunning as the decor, but these spas are worth every pretty penny. Luxury SpaFinder salutes its dearest indulgences, from the $8,000-$12,000 per night Private Reserve at Soneva Gili in the Maldives, accessible only by boat and with its own spa and butlers, to Mexico's Las Ventanas al Paraiso, whose Total Spa Lifestyle Program/Fitness ($13,425 for four nights) includes your very own personal staff of trainers and therapists and a gorgeous two-bedroom suite with its own massage room.
* URBAN SANCTUARIES: CITY ESCAPES IN THE CITY: Sometimes sanctuary is only a cab ride away. Even the reception area of the spa at Prague's Mandarin Oriental inspires quiet contemplation - in keeping with the 14th-century building it occupies, a former convent-turned-monastery. In Chicago, the Peninsula boasts the Miracle Mile's largest hotel spa, where guests can enjoy a Thai massage in a glass-walled studio twenty stories above the city.
* CULTURAL IMMERSION: LOCAL FLAVOR: At Bali's Hotel Tugu, the spa blends its own products, and the star therapist is a former laundry-room staffer who revealed a gift for a type of massage punctuated by prayer. Bathing is elevated to an art form at Japan's Gora Kadan, which offers visitors an escape not just from the 21st century, but from the 20th, too.
Other categories include: Design Show Stoppers, Domestic Bliss, and Exotic Hideways.
The magazine's contributing editors also chose spas they love in their respective areas of expertise: PoundWise columnist Susan Crandell "weighed in" on her three favorite fitness faves, and value-loving spa spy "Vera Value" fell hard for five deals she found.
Check it out at Luxury Spa Finder!
Spa Travel - Interactive Map, Luxury SpaFinder's "Spas We Love" You On Here » Spa Travel - Interactive Map, Luxury SpaFinder's "Spas We Love"
