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STILLWATER SPA
TORONTO, CANADA
The Stillwater Spa at Park Hyatt Toronto is a 10,000-square-foot sanctuary of warmth and comfort, surrounded by the sounds of inviting waterfalls and calm running streams. The beige marble walls and soft aqua blue water décor throughout will send you to a place of inner harmony. Make your way to the soothing relaxation tea lounge, where delicious tea and biscotti are served and snuggle in a lounge chair. Try couples Swedish massage in the special massage suite. The bliss begins with a relaxing soak in the oversized whirlpool by a glowing fireplace in the suite, and you’re served homemade truffles and fruit. With the Stillwater Aqua Therapy, the therapist focuses on your pressure points as you are moved and stretched through water in a small private pool perfectly heated to your body temperature. Imagine how your body can be maneuvered when you are weightless in the water. It does wonders to help tension melt away. Afterwards, head to the hotel’s intimate indoor/outdoor Roof Lounge, set high on the 18th floor. With it’s rich suede and leather décor, it’s easy to understand why the inviting space is such a popular watering hole for visiting celebrities during the Toronto Film Festival. The clubby lounge is the ideal place to drink in the stunning view of the Toronto skyline and the majestic lake, and they serve the best oysters and martinis in town. http://www.parkhyatttoronto.com
—Jeryl Brunner

THE SPA AT LAS VENTANAS
LOS CABOS, MEXICO
Las Ventanas isn’t just a hotel, it’s an experience. Make that a compilation of many, many, truly extraordinary experiences. There’s no check-in desk. Instead, upon arrival, guests (who have included Harrison Ford, Jennifer Lopez, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robin Williams, and Brad Pitt), are joyfully greeted at the entryway by private butlers. After drinking in the uniquely beautiful landscape of sea, mountains, and desert, you are escorted past flowering bushes and cacti to your suite. Stocked before arrival with preferred libations and other favorite goodies (champagne, caviar, cigars), these rooms are masterpieces. Get ready for ridiculously high ceilings, enormous balconies with private Jacuzzis, and views of the cobalt blue sea. Once you’re settled in, head for the spa and some delightful pampering. Staffers holding white umbrellas to shield you from the sun will escort you to your treatment room. Drawing their inspiration from ancient Baja California healers, the spa is devoted to helping you align your emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being in perfect harmony. To that end, there are treatments like Raindrop Therapy, where ten heavenly essential oils are sprinkled along your spine and slathered into you for 90 blissful minutes. Or have two therapists indulge you with the Four Hand Energy Restoration as they massage you in harmony (the 90-minute treatment also includes reflexology, a foot soak, and an express facial). For total spa immersion, stay in one of the jaw dropping spa suites and indulge in treatments without leaving your room. Each one has a state-of-the-art treatment room, a living room, expansive terraces, a rainforest shower, infrared sauna, infinity-edge Jacuzzi, and an organic minibar. The exceptional staff makes your stay so seamless and joyful, the only truly difficult part is leaving. http://www.lasventanas.com
—Jeryl Brunner

DESERT SPA
LOS CABOS, MEXICO
Over the past few years Los Cabos has become known for its ever-increasing number of luxury hotels, several of which have extensive spa facilities. If you’re looking for one of the newest and largest places to rejuvenate in Baja California Sur, look no further than the Desert Spa, a 31,000-square-foot facility that opened in 2008, as part of the Villa Group’s resort complex. Whether you stay at the family-friendly Villa del Arco or the more upscale Villa La Estancia, you’re just a short walk from the stylishly decorated, three-floor spa. There are spacious separate lounges for men and women, as well as 17 treatment rooms and two VIP suites with private Jacuzzis and showers. Signature treatments include an organic succulent cactus facial, a Mexican lime exfoliation, and the Desert Spa hot stone massage. The Desert Spa is home to a 4,500-square-foot fitness center, as well as a full-service beauty salon, which stocks its own line of health and beauty products. Fine dining is available on-site at each of the hotels. Expansive swimming pools, as well as the popular Medano Beach, round out the relaxing attractions here. http://www.villagroupresorts.com
—Mark Chesnut

SPA MARQUIS
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
Anyone looking for a quiet getaway from the hectic pace of North America’s largest city should consider a visit to the Marquis Reforma, a luxury hotel that soars above Paseo de la Reforma, the city’s broadest boulevard (the thoroughfare where the annual gay pride parade takes place in June). Mexico City may be exciting and overwhelming at times, but it’s easy to sink into relaxation at Spa Marquis, the only member of Leading Spas (part of Leading Hotels of the World) in all of Mexico City. The elegant, 16,000-square-foot spa offers unique services like the Business Traveler Massage series, a program of treatments that aids Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, body tensions, and jet lag, to name a few ailments. You can even get a Power Point body massage, designed to relieve tired salary earners who’ve spent too much time doing presentations. Before and after, men and women may relax in their own separate areas, each of which features a Jacuzzi, steam bath, and sauna. To assure your needs are met during your visit, the Marquis Reforma offers a Time to Relax package, which includes an upgrade to a suite, daily buffet breakfast, two massage treatments or facials, access to the spa and fitness center, and free transportation to the nearby Santa Fe shopping mall. Add to this the fact that the hotel is just a few short blocks from the gay nightlife and shopping in the Zona Rosa district. http://www.marquisreforma.com
—Mark Chesnut

THE SPA AT THE EL DORADO ROYALE
RIVIERA MAYA, MEXICO
The Riviera Maya, the stretch of Caribbean coastline that runs south from Cancun, is one of the fastest-growing vacation destinations in Mexico. While it’s not exactly known as a hub for gay travelers (after all, it’s really just a string of small towns and beautifully isolated beaches, with some Mayan ruins added to the mix), the region’s many upscale hotels offer a gay-friendly welcome for style-conscious vacationers of every ilk. Among the top choices: the El Dorado Royale, which was voted one of Condé Nast Traveler’s “Top 100 Hotels in the World.” This member of Karisma Hotels & Resorts is an adults-only beachfront property that specializes in what it calls “Gourmet Inclusive” service—all-inclusive fine dining. With seven a la carte restaurants and 13 bars, you’ll need several days to sample all the cuisine. Don’t let the tasty eats make you forget why you came here: the spa. Noteworthy treatments include the Beachfront Sky massage, which allows guests to receive their treatment in total privacy on a raised platform on the beach, surrounded by nothing but ocean and air. Or indulge in the chocolate massage, during which singles and couples are drizzled with the sweet stuff and scrubbed with chocolate crystals. Follow it up with one of the spa’s signature milk baths, and you’ve practically got dessert taken care of http://www.eldoradosparesorts.com
—Mark Chesnut

THE SPA AT THE TIDES
ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO
The Tides, a boutique hotel brand long associated with South Beach cool, has arrived south of the border. In fact, Kor Hotel Group, which owns the Tides brand, is expanding into multiple Mexican destinations, including the Riviera Maya and Zihuatanejo. The Tides Zihuatanejo blends Miami chic and Mexican flair on this idyllic stretch of Pacific coast, with 70 guestrooms complete with flat screen TVs and iPods. Half of those rooms are suites, with their own private pools. This year, the Spa at the Tides relaunched with a new treatment menu, which the hotelier claims is the first to offer a lava shell therapy treatment. As you relax, finely polished tiger clamshells are applied to your body, to infuse “native ocean chi” into the skin and tissues. The spa also offers its own line of body care products designed for the Tides hotels by Malibu, California-based Osea. Other tempting treatments include Thai, sports, aromatherapy, and reflexology massage, available in one of the three treatment rooms or inside a thatch-roofed palapa on the beach. To assure you’re well taken care of, the hotel’s beach butlers are always on call, ready to ply you with tanning products, neck cushions, and dining ideas. Human beings, by the way, aren’t the only creatures that come to the Tides Zihuatanejo to rest. Playa La Ropa Beach (where the Tides sits) is a natural breeding and nesting site for sea turtles, and the resort maintains a nursery and incubation facilities to protect the turtle eggs—certainly a spa of a different kind. http://www.tideszihuatanejo.com
—Mark Chesnut