VAIL'S #1
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For Shaping Up or Chilling Out, Nothing Beats a Spa Experience
After conquering the longest, steepest and most technical ski runs, are you ready for a break from the slopes? Or are you perhaps looking for a completely different way to spend a day or a week during your winter vacation?
Either way, think heavenly relaxation. Think total and complete rejuvenation of body and spirit. Think it sounds good? Think spa.
As you consider a spa experience, you'll find plenty of choices throughout the winter resort regions. Virtually every area has a great selection of facilities for both men and women, ranging from day spas and hotel amenities to weeklong retreats.
In Breckenridge, the Lodge and Spa at Breckenridge overlooks town on Boreas Pass Road. Partake of the athletic club and indoor pool, outdoor hot tubs, sauna and steam room and spend time with professional spa therapists trained in a variety of massage therapy techniques, manicures, waxing and facials.
And this winter, East West Resort's Main Street Station at the southern end of Main Street will open its day spa. Blue Sage Spa(tel:970-453-7676) will be a 1,600-square-foot spa where patrons can indulge in a variety of specialized treatments, including couples massage, hydrotherapy, manicures, pedicures, facials, body wraps, waxing and "La Stone Therapy." Blue Sage will also offer treatments specifically designed for quicker sports recovery and high-altitude adjustment, oxygenating, detoxifying and hydrating the body.
In Frisco you're well covered by Absolute Day Spa and Bodyworks, both on Main Street. Absolute offers massage therapy, microdermabrasion, clinical peels, mud wraps, chamomile body polishing, manicures, pedicures and the detoxifying European Kurs. At Bodyworks you can receive a hot stone massage, private steam bath, deep tissue massage, rain-drop therapy massage, facial, citrus sea-salt scrub, moisture wrap, acupuncture (traditional and "no needle"), chiropractic treatment and yoga.
In Glenwood Springs, is Yampah Spa & Salon, the hot springs vapor caves where treatments also include mud and body wraps and full salon services. (Tel: 970-945-0667).
Vail and Beaver Creek practically wrote the book on spas. At Vail Mountain Lodge and Spa, you'll be treated to the purifying Moor Remedy treatment (20,000-year-old mud is used) and the shirodhara head, face and scalp oil rub. An inclusive package features a guided snowshoe or cross-country ski tour prior to your treatment. (Tel: 970-476-0700 or VailMountainLodge-Spa.com
At Vail Cascade Resort's Aria Spa & Club you can get your motor running with aerobics or relax to a hot stone massage or herbal wrap. Another tempting treatment is the Vail Mountain Purifying Wrap with botanical Colorado mud. (Tel: 888-824-5772 or www.VailCascade.com)
Gorgeous Cordillera Lodge and Spa in Edwards (Vail Valley) presents a wide variety of massage, craniosacral, polarity, acupuncture, aromatherapy and hydrotherapy sessions, as well as skin treatments. Cordillera also has fine workout equipment, and its series of wellness programs will help you not only to attain but also to retain your fitness.
Sonnenalp Spa in Vail customizes your visit for optimum benefit, and reflexology, neuromuscular, cranial sacral, polarity and prenatal massage therapists are available. Body treatments include Anti-Stress Aromatherapy and Firming Seaweed Treatment. Relax and tone with yoga or sign-on with a personal trainer at Sonnenalp. Multi-day spa experiences are available as well.
The beautiful Allegria Spa at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort & Spa is known for its getaway packages, among which is the intriguingly named Skier's Rescue. For two hours you can forget the pounding you took on the slopes with an après-ski massage, foot reflexology and a refresher facial. Allegria also features individual fitness programs for women only, with focus on conditioning and nutrition. (Tel: 970-949-1234 or www. beavercreek.hyatt.com)
Still in the Vail Valley (what did we tell you?), the Charter at Beaver Creek has a 17,000-square-foot spa and health club with massage, aromatherapy, facial, hair and nail treatments. Great exercise equipment, a 20-meter pool, free weights, saunas and steam rooms await.
On to Aspen, where being beautiful and fit is almost a requisite. Given the number of spas in this wonderful little town, your chances of finding the perfect one for you are even better.
The Little Nell, where celebrities sweat just like normal folk, has a full exercise room, a heated outdoor pool and Jacuzzi and a stunning garden setting. There are private massage rooms, a steam room, cardio theater (we presume this does not imply surgery) and personal trainers. Remember, Oprah is partial to The Little Nell
Ayurvedic tea served to you as you recline in a pillow chair starts the unwinding process at the Aspen Club near downtown, where fitness, adventure and pampering are given equal billing. Whirlpools, steam rooms, sauna, mind/body classes, massage, sports medicine, swimming, tennis and great food are part and parcel of this spa experience.
One of the most unique spas is Global Fitness Adventures in Aspen, where you begin your day with yoga and then set out on an invigorating hike. Upon your return, you soak in a rock Jacuzzi, give in to a fabulous massage and then enjoy a healthy meal. Depending on the package you choose, you can also enjoy white-water rafting, mountain biking, horseback riding, Tai Chi, fishing, golf, hot-air ballooning and hang-gliding. Beauty treatments are an option as well.
And last but far from least is the spa at Aspen's glamorous St. Regis Hotel. Choose from several massage techniques and be pampered with a facial and manicure/pedicure. You can even go for the poolside massage in a private tent or avail yourself of the fully equipped fitness center and health club.
If your major muscle groups have suddenly begun urging you to make an appointment at one of these bastions of pampering, remember this: Wherever you are in the Colorado Rockies, the promise of complete relaxation and rejuvenation is only a call away. Now, isn't that a nice thought?
Kathleen Thomas is a freelance writer living in Hartsel, Colorado.
Aspen and Snowmass
As you consider a spa experience, you'll find plenty of choices throughout the winter resort regions. Virtually every area has a great selection of facilities for both men and women, ranging from day spas and hotel amenities to weeklong retreats. 
Vail and Beaver Creek practically wrote the book on spas. At Vail Mountain Lodge and Spa, you'll be treated to the purifying Moor Remedy treatment (20,000-year-old mud is used) and the shirodhara head, face and scalp oil rub. An inclusive package features a guided snowshoe or cross-country ski tour prior to your treatment. (Tel: 970-476-0700 or 
The beautiful Allegria Spa at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort & Spa is known for its getaway packages, among which is the intriguingly named Skier's Rescue. For two hours you can forget the pounding you took on the slopes with an après-ski massage, foot reflexology and a refresher facial. Allegria also features individual fitness programs for women only, with focus on conditioning and nutrition. (Tel: 970-949-1234 or 
One of the most unique spas is Global Fitness Adventures in Aspen, where you begin your day with yoga and then set out on an invigorating hike. Upon your return, you soak in a rock Jacuzzi, give in to a fabulous massage and then enjoy a healthy meal. Depending on the package you choose, you can also enjoy white-water rafting, mountain biking, horseback riding, Tai Chi, fishing, golf, hot-air ballooning and hang-gliding. Beauty treatments are an option as well. 