Pedestrian Pleasures

Dubbed “the town that can't sit still” because its residents are so outdoorsy, Boulder, Colorado, is a Rocky Mountain mecca for climbers, cyclists, hikers, and runners. So what's more perfect than a spa located literally yards from the city's most popular hike and where locals and visitors alike can pop in between perambulations?

Enter the newly built St. Julien Hotel and Spa, a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, with 200 guestrooms and suites overlooking the Flatirons and Boulder Creek. To cater to the on-the-go crowd, its 10,000-square-foot spa and fitness center offers sport-specific healing treatments in addition to a full menu of skincare treatments, scrubs, hydrotherapy, and massages (including the Rock On! heated stone experience). Hiker's Delight reflexology—which focuses whole-body therapeutic pressure on your lower legs and feet—soothes overworked muscles whether you've been trekking the mountains or urban hiking on the pedestrian-only Pearl Street Mall. The Sports Pedicure addresses deep callouses and stress put on the nail bed when athletic shoes hit the road.

You'll have hiking trails and an “ahhh” feeling in common with the locals as you dip your feet in the spa's pottery-bowl foot baths drawn for you personally before or after treatments. And, St. Julien's signature piñon body cream will remind you of Boulder's pine-scented mountain air even after you've departed. Grab a trail map from the concierge, and head out. For more information call (877) 303-0900 or visit www.stjulien.com

—Laurel Kallenbach

September/October 2005