GREEN VALLEY SPA
1871 W. Canyon View Dr.
St. George, UT
Tel: 435-628-8060
greenvalleyspa.com
The Setting
Few places on earth are as dramatically beautiful as the red-rock canyons of southwestern Utah. And Green Valley Spa offers the most luxurious way to enjoy them. Set on the outskirts of sunny St. George (the gateway to Zion National Park), this indulgent enclave is an outdoor playground paired with one of the country's top holistic spas. It's an ideal spot to recover from wedding-day stress.
The Vibe
Unwind in lavish adobe-style casitas complete with king-size featherbeds, two-person whirlpool tubs (check out the mood lighting), fireplaces, and private patios landscaped with desert blooms. Revel in the outdoors with activities like rock climbing, mountain biking, and desert hiking. You'll work up an appetite, and the spa responds with an ever-changing menu of healthy, hearty fare. Sit by yourselves, order room service, or join new friends in the dining room—anything goes. One small caveat: No alcohol is served in the dining room. But feel free to indulge back in your casita.
The Activities
Energetic honeymooners will want to try the Green Valley Adventure Challenge, a five-hour, high-adrenaline excursion offered twice a week. Guides supervise as you test your skills—and nerve—with backcountry hiking, rock climbing, rappelling, and zip-lining. Other days, begin with cool morning hikes through secluded desert canyons. Come afternoon, activities back at the resort include mountain biking, tennis, yoga, and golf. Or blow it all off and work on your tan at one of six swimming pools.
The Bliss Factor
Treatments here are designed to rejuvenate both body and soul. Try a soothing herbal bath, a desert-clay body mask, or a couples aromatherapy massage. Book Rapunzel's Secret Hot Oil Treatment for an alfresco head-and-neck massage and hair treatment that's as soothing to your locks as it is to your soul.
The Romance Quotient
Private guided hikes, horseback rides for two, mountain biking by moonlight—you name it, and it can be arranged. Should you have too much of the healthy life, licentious Las Vegas is a mere two-hour drive away.
AUBERGE DU SOLEIL
180 Rutherford Hill Rd.
Rutherford, CA
Tel: 707-963-1211
aubergedusoleil.com
The Setting
California's Napa Valley is synonymous with the good life: excellent food, world-class wines, and incredible natural beauty. Indulge to the hilt at Auberge du Soleil. What began in 1981 as Napa's first gourmet restaurant has evolved into a retreat par excellence, where luxe hillside cottages boast stellar vineyard views, and the signature spa is pure indulgence.
The Vibe
Settle into one of 50 Mediterranean-style cottages—each has a wood-burning fireplace and French doors opening to a private terrace, while oversize bathrooms feature skylights and huge marble tubs. Better yet: Waiting in your suite are an assortment of aromatic oils, a bottle of bubbly, and a Happy Honeymoon cake. Later, meander up the pathway to enjoy superb California-French cuisine at the five-star restaurant, with its 14,000 wines. Then it's back to your love nest, where rose petals have been sprinkled across your bed. Sweet dreams!
The Activities
Do the classic Napa thing: Float over the valley on a morning hot-air balloon ride, then go wine-tasting at some of the area's 240 vineyards. Or have Auberge pack you a gourmet picnic lunch, and hit the miles of hiking and biking trails nearby.
The Bliss Factor
When pure relaxation beckons, head for Spa du Soleil, built around a tranquil courtyard with private soaking pools. Book the lavish couples' suite with its cozy fireplace and choose a treatment. We suggest the Rendezvous: You apply warm mud to each other—they give you paintbrushes!—then cocoon in a heated wrap before a joint shower and grape-seed oil massage.
The Romance Quotient
Impeccable service is the cherry on this sybaritic sundae. Now all the two of you have to do is lie back, get comfortable, and enjoy.
THE BODYHOLIDAY AT LESPORT
Castries, St. Lucia
Tel: 973-983-2660
thebodyholiday.com
The Setting
What's more relaxing than a Caribbean honeymoon? A Caribbean spa honeymoon. This body-pleasing, all-inclusive resort is tucked into the northern tip of St. Lucia on peaceful Cariblue Bay. The grounds, draped in tropical foliage that hugs two-story white guest buildings, are dotted with a pool, tennis courts, fitness center, and golf course—all an easy stroll from your room.
The Vibe
Like you'd expect from the name, LeSport is designed for active adults (kids under 16 are not allowed) who want to do more than veg on the beach. The 155 colonial-style rooms have four-poster beds with muslin canopies and terraces. There's A/C if you want it, but no televisions to disturb your bliss. Diners have two options: a casual buffet in the breezy Cariblue Pavilion (vegetarian and light entrees are available, but so are desserts like chocolate cake) or the intimate Tao restaurant, featuring East-West fusion cuisine.
The Activities
You get sun and sand (and unlimited tropical drinks), plus dawn-till-dusk fitness activities—all included in the price. Choose from aerobics, tai chi, yoga, golf, scuba diving, kickboxing, and more. When you've had enough, head to the Oasis Spa for a different kind of bodywork. Set high on a hill, Oasis offers facials, wraps, scrubs (ginger and lime is divine), and thalassotherapy (heated seawater baths).
The Bliss Factor
Sign up for the twosome-tailored Honeymoon Massage. A therapist gives you hands-on instruction in Swedish massage, then you get to take your know-how home.
The Romance Quotient
It's St. Lucia, so there are sensational sunsets, sexy reggae and calypso beats, and yummy tropical flavors. If it's stress-free indulgence you're after, you'll find it at LeSport.
