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Ah, Spas!
An international smorgasbord of treatments in Miami
I continued my "Hot as Hades" summer tour with a stop in Miami. Though not off the charts with 120-degree-plus temps like Nevada or Arizona, to walk outside in Florida in August is like being wrapped in wet felt. You can barely go a block before you stumble back into the AC feeling like you just ran a half-marathon. Even a swim in the ocean feels like bobbing in a pot of hot soup. So what could induce me to go there? Easy — three days of pampering at the Willow Stream Spa at Fairmont Turnberry Isle.
I mentioned the decadence of food and alcohol-themed trips in a previous blog, but in my opinion, a spa junket trumps all. I had previously moved into two to other Willow Stream Spas: the Fairmont Princess in Bermuda and the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. Like the Fairmont chain itself, Willow Stream is Canadian: elegant, friendly, comfortable, and efficient (before you turn up your nose, the Four Seasons chain is also Canadian, which proves only that they know luxury). Fairmonts and Willow Streams are known for their attentive service, but in the spa that extends to people putting their hands on you as much as possible. It's kinda freaky at first to feel someone holding your arm, or putting their palm on your lower back, before the treatment has even started, but I realized later, it was all part of their grand plan to get me to give up feeling like I always had to be in control and keep an eye on things (double hard as a reporter AND a New Yorker).
Once you enter the three-story spa and fitness center at Turnberry Isle, you can stay all day. I started with a yoga class in the studio, then a spa breakfast of berries, yogurt and bran muffins at the cafe. Next I went in for a deep tissue massage, which is always good on the first day after travel to get those sleeping-upright and dragging-heavy-bags kinks out. And then after a delicious spa bento box lunch that looked like the kind of The Zone meals celebrities get delivered 3X daily, I went to Bali. Over the next couple of days I also went to Australia, India, and Thailand (or as close to it as one can without actually leaving Florida).
I mentioned the decadence of food and alcohol-themed trips in a previous blog, but in my opinion, a spa junket trumps all. I had previously moved into two to other Willow Stream Spas: the Fairmont Princess in Bermuda and the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. Like the Fairmont chain itself, Willow Stream is Canadian: elegant, friendly, comfortable, and efficient (before you turn up your nose, the Four Seasons chain is also Canadian, which proves only that they know luxury). Fairmonts and Willow Streams are known for their attentive service, but in the spa that extends to people putting their hands on you as much as possible. It's kinda freaky at first to feel someone holding your arm, or putting their palm on your lower back, before the treatment has even started, but I realized later, it was all part of their grand plan to get me to give up feeling like I always had to be in control and keep an eye on things (double hard as a reporter AND a New Yorker).
Once you enter the three-story spa and fitness center at Turnberry Isle, you can stay all day. I started with a yoga class in the studio, then a spa breakfast of berries, yogurt and bran muffins at the cafe. Next I went in for a deep tissue massage, which is always good on the first day after travel to get those sleeping-upright and dragging-heavy-bags kinks out. And then after a delicious spa bento box lunch that looked like the kind of The Zone meals celebrities get delivered 3X daily, I went to Bali. Over the next couple of days I also went to Australia, India, and Thailand (or as close to it as one can without actually leaving Florida).
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