Luxury Spa Finder - May/June 2008 - (Page 35)

[Spa Road Trip] 4 Spa Eastman 6 J ocelyna Dubuc is one of Canada' s spa pioneers, having opened this Hôtel Le St-James ended my trip here, Montreal' s most opulent hotel and one of the most original property in 1977 as Canada' s ﬁrst destination spa. (Below, the indoor pool.) A stay here is a return to a simple way of spa-ingÐ a holistic treatment menu, spa cuisine (with wine) served at set times, and a schedule of unfussy ﬁtness classesÐ and 1980s prices. It would be a good value even if the staff weren' t so well trained, which for Dubuc has always been the priority, ª especially when you' re not offering bells, whistles, and multimillion-dollar architecture,º she says. (Although the region is a draw as it includes the province' s Wine Route.) The Mineral Miracle treatment with Michel Leblanc, a massage veteran I spas I' ve ever been to. It occupies a 19thcentury bank vault and, besides reception and a changing area, consists of one nearly800-square-foot, bi-level treatment room (below). The entrance is the vault door, and once inside, the guest is gold. Despite the brick ceilings and walls and exposed steel beams, the space feels inviting. Votive candles provide light, marbleized Plexiglas ﬂoors lend a warm glow, and there' s a small ﬂight of stairs to a Vichy shower. Therapist Marie-Noel Cadieux, who learned Swedish and shiatsu at two of Montreal' s best massage schools and is completing acu- 5 puncture training, gave me a very satisfying custom treatmentÐ a salt scrub followed by a hot stone massage during which she applied a Pevonia Myoxy Caviar face mask Auberge Ripplecove & Spa W hen Route 141 veers southeast from Route 10 toward Ayer' s Cliff, it rounds lakes, cuts through woods, and passes country cottages, ending at what looks like a classic New England inn. The Stafford family has owned this 12-acre property on Lake Massawippi since 1945, when it was a summer ﬁshing destination. Now it' s a formal country inn, with jackets at dinner and four-poster beds in some of the 35 rooms. (Size varies considerably: Mine was a closetÐ but had a great lake view.) The three-room spa was added in 2003. It' s of 20 years, crossed into the therapeutic realm, thanks to his safecracker' s touch. For Aqua-Massage Mouvance I ﬂoated in a private, heated indoor pool, while Valerie Arsenault stretched, cradled, and tangoed me through the water. Guest rooms are meant to be restorative (no TVs or radios)Ð a ﬁreplace and deck with a lake view is as luxe as it gets. But it was exactly that combination of simplicity and seriousness that won me over. (For more on Spa Eastman, see Luxury SpaFinder, January-February 2007.) US$126± $222 cozy thanks to the Ralph Lauren± lite decor and ﬁreplace. (Above, the relaxation room.) The only mystery is why guests don' t linger here: It' s mostly a thoroughfare to an outdoor hot tub. I liked the facial with marine-derived Phytomer products and lots of pleasant facial massage. The Back and Legs massage from spa director Denise Fabi really got to my knots but felt more like an old-school rubdown than a therapeutic massage. I was told that the other therapist, Nicole Boudoin, offers a much more intensive massage. US$159± $315 per person to boost hydration. The hotel spared no expense on the changing rooms, which have private steam showers with gorgeous telephone-handle-size ﬁxtures and blackand-white tiles, Swiss showers, and dry cedar saunas. US$390± $4,873 visit spafinder.com may· june 2008 35 http://spafinder.com

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Luxury Spa Finder - May/June 2008 Contents Editor's Note Ask Susie Pulse Points Spa Road Trip Beauty & Brains Pound Wise Private Label Real Estate New Tuscan Trio The Real Bora Bora The Spa Collection The Insider's Guide: Ireland Spa Rx From the Sparchives

Luxury Spa Finder - May/June 2008

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