Get with the (Spa) Program

Make over your body and mind with personalized retreats

While most spas offer beautifying treatments such as massages and body wraps, some go beyond the surface to help make over your whole self. Enter: the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Lifestyle Spa in Weston, Florida. Whether you want to shape up, find more work-life balance, or kick a bad habit, the spa can create a specialized retreat based on your personal needs.

Once you walk through Elizabeth Arden's signature red doors on the grounds of the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure hotel, you'll find a Zen garden and a 48,000-square-foot, free-standing structure that's home to the spa, fitness facilities, pool, and Bamboo Spa Café. A trained “Destination Coordinator” works with you to put together a program of lifestyle classes, interactive workshops, and pampering treatments to fit your wellness agenda. You can sign up for a two-, four-, or seven-night package to become one pampered goal-getter.

Want to learn how to eat healthier? Opt for a hands-on cooking class where you'll whip up surprisingly decadent-tasting dishes such as key lime banana mousse and Moroccan-spiced salmon. For those craving more energy, colorized yoga classes revitalize by utilizing different shades of lights to guide you through your body's various chakras or  “energy points.” To feel more centered, the Abhyanga massage is spot on. Based on Ayurvedic principles, the spa therapist has you fill out a questionnaire to pinpoint the herbal oil that best fits your individual temperament before using gentle, rhythmic strokes to release toxins and bring you back into balance. Other options include nutritional counseling, hypnotherapy, and life coaching. For more info call (954) 349-5500 or visit www.reddoorlifestylespa.com.

—Holly C. Corbett

July/August 2008