Ah, January. The first month of the year is traditionally a time to decompress from the hubbub of the holidays, and what better place to do this than at one of the region’s destination spas? Unspool your tight muscles under a massage therapist’s healing touch, and rejuvenate your dry skin with a hydrating facial. Renew yourself at one of the spas below, which all offer a full menu of sybaritic treatments along with luxurious overnight accommodations.
Destination Spas
Château Élan Spa
A French country aesthetic defines this 3,500-acre north Georgia resort, featuring its own winery and a separate 35,000-square-foot spa. Corral your sweetie, book one of the lovely suites set in the spa building, and revel in one of the sumptuous treatments for two. The spa’s director Rebecca Dickerson recommends the signature Couples Romantic Journey: “At the pinnacle of luxury, this couple’s journey starts with side-by-side full-body exfoliations and Swedish massages. Couples then move to a candlelit bath experience [complete with a] bottle of sparkling wine and chocolate-dipped strawberries. Finish with a relaxing gourmet spa lunch served in-suite.” Perhaps you’ll favor a swim in the indoor saltwater pool or a soak in the whirlpool before heading to the winery to sample Chateau Elan’s award-winning wines.
Château Élan, 100 Rue Charlemagne Dr, Braselton, GA. (678) 425-0900, chateauelan.com
Fearrington House Spa
Part of the Fearrington House Inn in Pittsboro, North Carolina, this spa nestles in a charming village setting and includes four treatment rooms, three of which have their own full bath. Feeling tense? Relax those tight muscles with a signature Musclease seaweed wrap, followed by a scalp massage, or unwind with a Well-Being Massage, which combines the Elemis line of aromatherapy oils with ancient healing techniques. A 75-minute Pro-Collagen Age Defy facial will smooth fine lines and wrinkles. “It’s all about customer care here,” says the spa director, Angela Astan. “As an intimate spa, we can really personalize care for each guest.” To prolong the pampering, reserve a table at Fearrington House Restaurant and treat yourself to one of Chef Colin Bedford’s marvelous multicourse dinners.
Fearrington House Inn, 2000 Fearrington Village Center, Pittsboro, NC. (919) 542-4000, fearrington.com
The Spa at Old Edwards Inn
Located in a separate building behind the original late-nineteenth-century inn, the Spa at Old Edwards Inn was added in 2004. Both the ambiance and treatments at the European-style spa tie into the healing energy of the mountains, with many treatments using natural ingredients sourced from herbs and botanicals picked in the property’s own gardens. In addition to massages, scrubs, wraps, and facials, the spa offers Asian-inspired treatments such as Ashiastsu Oriental Bar Therapy, Reiki, and Thai massage. “Our 110-minute Sweet Mountain Metamorphosis is time well spent, beginning with a foot treatment, a gentle, full-body dry-brush exfoliation, a magical rhythmic massage, and finishing with cranial-sacral therapy while wrapped in a cocoon,” says Kyra Russell, the spa director. “You will never be the same.”
16 Church St, Highlands, NC. (828) 526-9887, oldedwardshospitality.com
The Spa at The Omni Grove Park Inn
It’s the rock that anchors you at this spacious subterranean spa, which tucks into the hill below the venerable Grove Park Inn (now owned by Omni). Stacked rock lines the spa’s grotto-like walls and paves the tranquil outdoor terraces, echoing the solid rock of the Blue Ridge Mountains that rise in the distance. At 43,000 square feet, the Grove Park’s spa enfolds two therapeutic waterfall pools, as well as a lap pool beneath a galaxy of 6,500 fiber-optic stars. Treatments run the gamut from a Mountain View Massage to a Gingerbread Pedicure, after which you can continue to unwind in inhalation rooms and saunas, breathe in eucalyptus-infused air in the steam rooms, then curl up with a cup of organic tea at one of three fireside lounges.
290 Macon Ave, Asheville, NC. (828) 252-2711, omnihotels.com/hotels/asheville-grove-park
