Al fresco spa experiences give new meaning to “the great outdoors.” Here are a few beautiful destinations where travelers can best harness the healing powers of warm weather and fresh air this summer:
- The ocean breeze is front and center during an outdoor Cabana Massage at Cape Cod’s Chatham Bars Inn. This custom spa service also features refreshing scents of rosemary and mint, and uses a cooling stone and botanical hydrolats to beat the summer heat. Light fare from the Inn’s spa menu is available poolside to complete the “outdoorsy” spa experience.
- Thanks to last year’s top-to-bottom Spa renovation, The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, N.C. is now home to a stunning open-roof coed current pool with 12-foot-high privacy walls that frame the Carolina blue sky above. It’s the perfect regroup space after a spa treatment like the Skin Perfecting Facial, combining healing herbal products, a customized peel, and a Vitamin C mask to boost skin’s natural radiance.
- The spacious Aqua Terrace at Mirbeau Inn & Spa in Skaneateles, N.Y. (with a sister spa opening in Plymouth, Mass. in June), is an outdoor oasis featuring a large hot spa pool complete with massage jets and waterfall, an over-sized fireplace, and a bar serving small plates and beverages.
- Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain’s Sunrise Yoga is a perfect wakeup call for early birds to beat the desert heat in Scottsdale, Ariz. Thereafter, guests can cool down with a dip in the resort’s picture-perfect infinity-edge pool (the largest in the region).