The International Spa Association defines "destination spa" as a facility with the primary purpose of guiding individual spa-goers to develop healthy habits.  Historically a seven-day stay, this lifestyle transformation can be accomplished by providing a comprehensive program that includes spa services, physical fitness activities, wellness education, healthful cuisine and special interest programming.  

The SpaIndex.com Destination Spa Collection on this page includes Luxury Destination Spas which cater to a lifestyle transformation without sacrificing on amenities or personal indulgences, Adventure Destination Spas  which challenge guests to Olympic worthy challenges, including hiking, mountain climbing and cycling, and well-regarded Weight Loss and Health and Medical Retreats where health goals are met during a restorative stay which may include learning both useful and fun culinary tricks and tips, adopting new life extending eating plans, developing self awareness, and making new life plans.  
 

The remainder of our Spa Resort collection may be found in the resort section.

GOLDEN DOOR SPA
Escondido, California

Achieve the perfect balance of mind, body, and spirit at this renowned Escondido California destination spa - with a weeklong stay that will truly enrich your life. As the very first Golden Door - and the source of inspiration for the Arizona, Colorado, and Caribbean wellness destination spas that have followed in its footsteps - this unique sanctuary utilizes the latest fitness techniques, ancient relaxation therapies, and personalized counseling to promote a healthy lifestyle and inner peace.

Refresh yourself like never before. Golden Door bids you welcome. Here in this peaceful northern pocket of San Diego County, founder Deborah Szekely in 1958 developed a unique philosophy of personal health and fitness inspired by the ancient Japanese Honjin inns – and the spa industry grew its first roots. 

The original flagship Golden Door spa offers treatments and ideals rich in tradition, yet executed with a modern interpretation. Join the spa for a weeklong customized stay in an atmosphere of rare privacy, and achieve a deep, meaningful rapport with nature, enjoy the camaraderie of just 39 fellow guests, and discover a meaningful reconnection to your innermost self.

Journey through the fabled doors of this wellness destination spa, and discover an inspiring host of features, including:

A peaceful sanctuary, discreetly tucked away on 377 acres of rolling terrain

World-class spa facilities, including nine treatment rooms, an herbal wrap area, hydrotherapy tub, sauna, steam room, and hot tub

40 spacious and comfortable guest rooms, each with private patios

Meticulously landscaped grounds, complete with traditional Japanese gardens, koi ponds, and antiques

Premier fitness facilities, including 3 poolside aerobic gyms, a hilltop gym for private fitness sessions, a 4000 square foot Fitness Pavilion housing a 2000 square foot equipment gym, spinning gym, and additional aerobic gym; 2 swimming pools and a Kiatsu water therapy pool; tennis courts; and solarium

20 miles of switchback hiking trails, winding through avocado groves and ponds, suitable for all fitness levels

THE RANCH AT LIVE OAK MALIBU
Malibu, California

The Ranch at Live Oak Malibu assists guests in recalibrating their mind, body and spirit through an intensive week long endurance, wellness and nutrition program.

Located three miles above the Pacific Ocean in the Santa Monica Mountains, the 15-cottage retreat is beautifully situated on a large working ranch. The intimate setting features private accommodations and premium amenities, including over 200-miles of hiking trails, an open-air kitchen and great room, organic farm, exercise pavilion, outdoor pool and spa and private treatment rooms.

While our typical program is intended to be intense, our highly trained and professional staff can also accommodate guests interested in limited weight loss. Our fitness regimen at The Ranch, combined with a well thought out nutritional program, will stimulate your body to create lean muscle. This means that if you’re already lean and fit, you may experience the addition of muscle weight, which should somewhat counter the loss of fat,.

The open-air kitchen at The Ranch makes meal time a communal experience. Guests are encouraged to join the Chef during his weekly cooking class to learn the basic techniques and skills required to create a healthy plate. These lessons are reinforced when guests return home with regular communication from The Ranch, including seasonal recipes and tips for maintaining results.

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THE PRITIKIN LONGEVITY CENTER
at the Doral Golf Resort
Miami, Florida

Pritikin's programs are held at the Doral Gold Resort in Miami.  By combining Pritikin’s extensive menu of medical, health, wellness and spa services with fine resort amenities, Pritikin secures its position as one of the nation’s premier spa and health destinations.

Pritikin also boasts a spacious cooking school where Pritikin chefs share step-by-step guidelines for re-creating the healthy recipes served in their Pritikin restaurants, a lecture rotunda for Pritikin education, lecture seminar halls, and a medical center with one-on-one consultations with Pritikin’s board-certified physicians, nutritionists, exercise physiologists, psychologists, and chefs.

Pritikin guests describe their experience as "transformative." Each day they are immersed in classes, exercise, weight-loss counseling, and physician care that inspires them with an "I can do this!" approach.

Guests come to Pritikin for one-week, two-week, and longer programs. For some, the primary goal is losing weight. Others want to prevent and address health issues. Still others seek the ultimate spa-health vacation. Everyone leaves feeling better and, best of all - living better.

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Dr. Roni's MV Holistic Retreat and Spa
Martha's Vineyard
Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
877-491-7837

Located in New England’s island getaway destination Martha’s Vineyard, MV Holistic Retreat is founded by New York Times best-selling author of “21 Pounds in 21 Days, The Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox™”, Dr. Roni DeLuz, RN, ND, Ph.D. Dr. Roni and her healing detox programs have been featured on The View, Larry King Live, Oprah & Friends, and many other programs. 

The Retreat offers intimate healing-based detoxification program set in a quiet and tranquil New England Inn on the beautiful and picturesque Martha’s Vineyard or held at world class destination spas in North America. Our focus is on detoxification, cleansing, weight loss, and addressing chronic health issues. Our programs strive to heal the body and spirit of illness and pain through proper nutrition, anti-aging protocols, exercise, oxygen and electromagnetic therapies, phyto-nutrients, and detoxification treatments.

The following programs are available for booking:

Martha’s Vineyard Diet Detox: 7-Day and 21-Day
Celebrity Detox Diet: 5-Day
Detox on a Budget: 7-day and 21-Day

Health and wellness therapies include bodywork, body wraps, meditation, music therapy, cellulite treatment, oral chelation, oxygen therapy, colon hydrotherapy and more.   Visit us online to learn how we can support you in your healing journey.

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EL MONTE SAGRADO LIVING RESORT & SPA
Taos, New Mexico

Amidst the mystical beauty of Taos, New Mexico, El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa™ offers a secluded sanctuary in harmony with the Earth.

El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa™ is well-known as a leader in alternative energy. Experience the extraordinary treatments of the Living Spa™ designed to heal mind, body and spirit, or simply meditate in the Sacred Circle among towering trees and waterfalls, and breathe in the tranquility.

The Aqua Center (pictured) features a plunge pool, wading pool and hot tub under an enclosed tension structure for all-weather, year-round pleasure. Soaring glass windows reveal a glorious view of the grassy Sacred Circle which is bordered by cottonwood trees and a stunning mountain backdrop.   The chlorine-free swimming pools and hot tubs (throughout the property) are treated with Curoxin®, a highly pure liquid without undesirable or regulated by-products.

The Biolarium®, a magnificent green house where we grow plants, fruits an herbs is adjacent to the Swimming Pool. With a creative menu of global and local influences, an extensive wine list, and inviting atmospheres for dining, El Monte Sagrado is a culinary destination. Architecture, art and ambience set the mood for an experience that is a harmonious delight to the senses

El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa™ and the Taos’ majestic mountain landscape together offer an abundance of natural resources for recreation. Some of the activities we offer or facilitate for our guests include  skiing,  fly fishing,  rafting, hot air ballooning, hiking, mountain biking, canoeing and kayaking, mountain and rock climbing, golf, swimming, llama trekking, game hunting, sightseeing, cooking classes, pottery classes, wine tastings, and much more.

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COPPERHOOD RETREAT & SPA
Shandaken, New York

The special wellness plans at Copperhood Retreat & Spa, a Destination Spa, are highly personalized and tailored to a guest's individual needs for stays from as short as 2 days to extended stays. All aspects of your wellbeing — physical, mental, emotional and spiritual — are taken care of during the course of the programs offered.

Copperhood combines naturopathic principles from Europe and America with the practices and therapies of Chinese, Tibetan and Ayurvedic medicine.  The programs are all-natural, healthy, healing, holistic and effective.  Whichever your goal is — rest and stress reduction, weight loss, increased fitness, diabetes management, juice fasting detoxification, and addictions management — Copperhood will set you on the right path.  Glowing, vibrant health can be within your reach.

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STRUCTURE HOUSE                           Typical Day, Photo Tour, and a Discount Offer
Durham, North Carolina

At the heart of Durham's health and wellness reputation are six modern hospitals including the Duke University Medical Center and numerous specialty clinics.   Among those clinics are world-renowned obesity treatment centers -- including Structure House -- prompting the New York Times to describe Durham as "The Diet Capital of the World."  

Structure House is a respected residential weight loss program founded upon the philosophy that achieving and maintaining weight loss goals is the result of changing the way overweight individuals think about nutrition, exercise and the role food plays in their lives.

Structure House offers healthy weight loss vacations from 7 days (1 week) to 28 days (4 weeks) which provide a wealth of health information, nutrition education, increased opportunities for activity, and an elevated awareness of the triggers that can lead to unhealthy overeating. In 2011 Structure House debuted the Bridge Program, which was designed to meet the needs of those adults who struggle with the dual problems of obesity along with binge eating disorder or emotional overeating. The Bridge Program places equal emphasis on treating both issues, appreciating that true recovery from binge eating requires much more than weight loss.

Structure House integrates the principles of nutrition, exercise and psychology into a time-tested treatment approach designed to transform the eating habits and lifestyles of overweight guests. As guests learn to incorporate structure into their daily lives, they realize their potential as students of positive, lasting change.  Structure House was founded by Dr. Gerard J. Musante, author of The Structure House Weight Loss Plan, and the program is led by treatment professionals who are published experts in the fields of obesity and obesity related disorders.

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THE KERR HOUSE
Grand Rapids Ohio

The Kerr House is a respected Ohio Health Retreat and Destination Spa housed in a Victorian manor in the quaint, historic canal village of Grand Rapids, Ohio. Here, just 6 to 8 guests enjoy 5 days of being pampered by a professional staff of 25, from Sunday evening through Friday afternoon. The Kerr House staff works with the entire person, through exercise, nutrition, body treatments, attitude, stress management and self esteem. The Kerr House can be reserved by individuals, groups of friends, families and companies.

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LAKE AUSTIN SPA RESORT
Austin, Texas  

Lake Austin Spa Resort is nestled on 19 lakefront acres in Central Texas' legendary Hill Country and located just 30 minutes from downtown Austin.   Lake Austin Spa Resort is a luxury destination spa that gives its guests the opportunity to create their own spa experience in a casual, nurturing environment surrounded and inspired by nature.  Lake Austin Spa Resort has been honored by the Zagat Survey as the Number Five Spa in the U.S. and by Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and luxury spa lifestyle magazines as a Top U.S. Spa. Guests enjoy gracious accommodations, deliciously healthy cuisine, world-class spa services in the new Lakehouse Spa, unlimited fitness classes, activities and discovery programs, all in a haven of peace and tranquility.

Lakehouse Spa

The Lakehouse Spa is a 25,000-square-foot retreat with gracious interiors and fine art, antiques and textiles. The twenty indoor treatment spaces each have a private shower; the outdoor pool and treatment cabanas take the spa outdoors to the two acres of terraced foliage and aquatic gardens.  The Lakehouse Spa features a menu of more than 100 body treatments and therapies to ensure the ultimate spa experience, many using herbs and other flora grown in the spa's Healing Gardens.  The resort was one of the first destination spas to grow its own herbs for its spa treatments.  

Lake Austin Spa Resort also offers a comprehensive menu of resort fitness activities daily, and "Discovery Programs." The newly renovated training center features state-of-the-art cardiovascular, circuit and free weight training equipment complete with Broadcast Vision television overlooking beautiful Lake Austin. A variety of beginner to strenuous high-impact activity levels are available including Yoga, Pilates & Meditation, Tai Chi & Nia, Aquatics classes, Canoeing and kayaking, Spinning® & Hydro-biking™.  Extensive programs taught by fitness and guest instructors include body image, relationships, healthful cooking and gardening, sexuality, and more.

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RED MOUNTAIN SPA
St. Georgia, Utah

Few places on earth match the beauty and tranquility of the red rocks surrounding St. George, Utah. You'll find a vast selection of healthy living activities, dining, spa, and recreational services at  Red Mountain Spa, the perfect setting to start or renew your health and fitness goals. Our offerings include a wide variety of fitness assessments and programs to meet your goals. However you choose to spend your time at Red Mountain, the peace and solitude of the facility, daily fitness activities, guided hiking, healthy gourmet cuisine and an array of wellness classes will set you on the path to lifelong fitness and health.

Our resort offers both beautifully designed guest rooms as well as Villa Suites with magnificent views of the surrounding red cliffs and canyons. Accommodations come complete with resort services and room amenities to make your stay relaxing.

Select from a variety of package options to make the most of your stay. If you want to have the most flexibility and enjoy multiple fitness classes daily, the best choice is our Signature Package, which includes unlimited fitness classes. Or, pay as you go with our à la carte pricing for fitness class on our À La Carte Package.

Our chefs have created a delicious and healthy dining experience at Red Mountain Resort & Spa. From international wines to fresh meats and vegetables, you will enjoy learning great secrets to making delicious and healthy cuisine upon your return home.    Browse some of our spa cuisine recipes on the SpaIndex.com Spa Cuisine page.

Sagestone Spa at Red Mountain Resort & Spa is rated one of the top spas in the U.S. and offers a full array of massage, body treatments, skin care and hair and nail care. Our Sagestone Signature Treatments are inspired by health, wellness and beauty rituals practiced throughout the world with indigenous desert botanicals, Utah honey and mineral rich muds, clays and salts. The spa includes a breathtaking relaxation area and a locker room with steam, but Villa guests are also welcome to book in-room spa treatments.

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GREEN MOUNTAIN AT FOX RUN
Fox Lane,  Ludlow, Vermont
 
Nestled in Vermont's beautiful Green Mountains, Green Mountain at Fox Run sits among 26 peaceful wooded acres overlooking one of Vermont’s most popular ski resorts. Here, in the company of like-minded women, you can discover permanent healthy weight loss, improved fitness and healthy eating strategies all designed to take home with you.

Pioneers of the non-diet movement, Green Mountain at Fox Run’s credentialed, multi-disciplinary staff will teach you intuitive eating and healthy living strategies developed over 38 years. Strategies and solutions which have helped thousands of women, just like you, find a healthy weight and maintain it -- without dieting. We also offer specially focused programs for adult-onset diabetes, type II diabetes, PCOS, metabolic syndrome, binge eating and more.

Within the first couple of days you will begin to feel like your best self again. You will be reminded of the intrinsic joy movement brings, all the while improving your fitness and life function. Our popular and delicious ‘real world’ cuisine is accompanied by cooking classes, tips and recipes you can take home with you. Take a tour of our fitness and healthy weight loss retreat and learn why we're more than just another weight loss spa. Our weight management program is offered in 1, 2, 3 and 4 week sessions, all year round.

Lose weight in a safe, caring, supportive environment and transform your life. Call or request your free brochure today, and discover why Green Mountain at Fox Run is simply more than a weight loss spa.

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MOUNTAIN TREK FITNESS RETREAT & HEALTH SPA
Kootenay Lake
British Columbia, Canada  

Situated in a spectacular mountain setting in the southeastern part of British Columbia, Mountain Trek has become a destination of choice for individuals looking for a challenging weight loss and fitness spa.

Nestled in a mountain range west of the Canadian Rockies called the Kootenays, and east of the town of Nelson, Mountain Trek is located on a mountainside overlooking the impressive Kootenay Lake. This 14-room retreat is surrounded by 34 acres of trees, flowers, peace and privacy.

FitPath is a “kick start” program geared towards those who are serious about losing weight and keeping it off. Every day is highly structured offering high intensity activities, fitness classes, educational lectures.

It is a program for those ready to make a lifestyle change whether you are currently “fit” or “not so fit”. By limiting the number of guests to 16, an intimate and caring environment is created insuring your needs are met during your stay.

We don't overlook well-earned relaxation and pampering. The expertise of our professional fitness and health staff combined with the natural inspiring surroundings is perfect for fitness, fun, and relaxation.

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MONART DESTINATION SPA
North Wexford, County Wexford
Leinster, Ireland

Monart is a spectacular destination spa in an important and handsome 18th century Georgian house,  set in 119 acres of countryside on elevated ground, surrounded by farm land, with magnificent views of Vinegar Hill, one of Ireland's most historic landmarks.

Monart's 68 bedrooms are situated  in a serene space nestled within private woodlands on the grounds. All rooms offer a balcony or terrace with lake or woodland views and Italian Marble bathrooms, and two luxury suites are located within the main house.  

The state of the art thermal spa is the heart of the Monart Destination Spa and offers an Indoor Sauna, Outdoor Sauna with Ice bucket shower, Sanarium, Caldarium, Kneippe Cure Pool, Heated benches and footbaths, Aromatic Steam Room, Salt Grotto, Hydrotherapy Pool, and Laconium Loungers. 

The spa programmes focus on Detox, Weight Loss, Relaxation, and Physical Therapy. 

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RANCHO LA PUERTA
Tecate, Baja California
Mexico

“May be the best all-around spa the perfect place to rest, relax and get in shape everyone seems to wish they could go back again and again - and many do.”  - Zagat Survey

A one-hour drive from San Diego, barely across the border in Tecate, Baja California, Rancho La Puerta's perfect, dry (never humid) climate, balanced between sea and desert at an altitude of 1,750 feet in a cooler mountain zone, makes it an ideal location for year-round fitness activities, relaxation, recharging, and the joy of good health.

Rancho La Puerta, founded by Edmond and Deborah Szekely, is the original destination fitness resort and spa — family-founded, -owned and -operated. Today’s guests enjoy the very best resort spa experience, shaped by expertise developed over 65 years. 

Each week, some 150 guests share 3,000 acres of mountains and meadows beneath 3,885’ Mount Kuchumaa. The peak straddles the U.S.-Mexico border, and Native Americans consider its slopes and summit a sacred place — so much so that it was the first geographic feature in the U.S. to be named a National Historic Site by the Department of Interior based on spiritual significance.   

Rancho La Puerta provides space. To relax. To renew, reflect and redirect one’s longer-living life. All facilities and land are for the exclusive use of guests who come for the week, arriving on a Saturday and departing on the next, ensuring the delights of a warm and welcoming community. Most of the facilities and lodgings are sprinkled amidst world-class gardens. Probably the world’s first “eco” resort, the Ranch practices sustainable organic gardening and resource conservation, and leads the way in environmental protection and education efforts in the region. 

Within walking distance, our organic farm, Rancho Tres Estrellas, grows the healthy fare we dine on daily.

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NATUR-MED HOT SPRINGS AND HEALTH RESORT
Aegean Coast, Turkey

Natur-Med -- the first medical and health destination spa in Turkey -- is located on the Aegean Coast and on Samson Mountains.  The resort offers body-mind-spirit rejuvenation, purification and anti-aging programs, treatments for chronic diseases, weight loss programs, pain treatments and smoking cessation programs.

These comprehensive programs are customized for each guest after consultation with the doctor.  The daily regimen includes fitness activities in fresh air and in thermal pools, breathing exercises, thermal water cures (both as bath and as drinking cures), Pilates, water gym, wellness education, and a palette of natural complementary therapies such as Ozone Therapy, Acupuncture, Colon Hydrotherapy, and more. Combined, these properties aid in: slowing the aging process, weight loss, lowering high blood pressure without medication, strengthening the immune system, pain relief, treatment of skin diseases, smoking cessation / quit smoking, stress reduction, overcoming sleep disorders, overcoming burnout syndrome, and much more.

Natur-Med welcomes its guests with comfortable rooms and magnificent views overlooking the garden, which contains a delightful collection of trees, flowering laurels, parasol pines and other aromatic and culinary plants used by the Chef each day in the preparation of dishes.  Surrounding the property are pine, olive and tangerine trees.

This celebrated region of Turkey has an exceptionally mild climate rich in oxygen with negligible humidity and enjoys over 273 days of sun annually, making it an ideal year-round thermal health resort destination.   The thermal springs - in addition to the clear mountain air which in itself counts as "nature's medicine" - can offer excellent health, fitness and beauty facilities which are second to none.

The resort has both indoor and outdoor thermal pools, an outdoor swimming pool, a pool for children, Infrared Medical Saunas and a Turkish Bath (Hammam). All these features constitute the crucial elements for climatotherapy. Guests are served in a natural environment surrounded by the sea and thermal waters. Natur-Med is a distinguished health resort looking forward to welcoming you on your destination spa journey.

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Photograph of the Maumee River as taken from Mary Jane Thurston State Park in Grand Rapids, Ohio on 23 June 2005 by Dustin M. Ramsey.