8/3/2019 Getaways

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perfectspaweekend

8/3/2019 Getaways

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S e c o n d f r o m r i g h

t : J o r g g r e u e l / g e t t y i m a g e S ;

o p p o S i t e :

Z a c h S t o v a l l

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Lomi Lomi and cranial sacral massage,enhanced by color therapy. The bonus: atake-home bottle o oil.Ar When it comes to killer views,

the stunning Spa at Mandarin OrientalLas Vegas wins with oor-to-ceiling win-dows that overlook the Strip rom eightights up. A coating on the windows lets

you see out but keeps people rom seeingin even at night, when this eature is at

its best. Where else but Sin City can youlie on an underwater lounger in a balmyhot tub and gaze out on Las Vegas Bou-levard, not to mention strangers in a ewneighboring buildings? It elt decadent, voyeuristic and utterly Vegas.

Treatments here are based on theprinciples o traditional Chinese medi-cine. A ter the welcoming oot ritual arelaxing soak and rub thats part o everytreatment I went or the Mahjong Bal-ance Treatment (two hours, $300). Itstarted with a delicious salt scrub ex o-liation ollowed by a massage using jadestones to unblock energy. Cool mahjongtiles are used at the end o the massage now thats my kind o gaming.

A You cant escape Vegas withoutsome toxins the smoke in the casinos,the dry desert air and, yes, maybe a lit-tle too much wine at the piano bar. Justentering the cavelike passageway thatleads to the pretreatment area at SahraSpa & Hammam at Cosmopolitan Las

Vegas elt restorative, thanks to large,dark stone walls brought in rom the des-ert. Its visually gorgeous too, especiallythe water all; backlit as it pours three sto-ries into the rock pond below, it remindedme o liquid gold.

The Vitality & Vigor treatment (50minutes, $170) is uno icially recom-mended or hangovers. The session began as the therapist moved a pulsat-

ing massage tool over me to loosen tightmuscles, which elt especially good a termy tness class the day be ore. A terwardcame a ull-body massage, and then in aneat twist, she placed two small oxygentubes under my nose. I deeply inhaledthe clean, resh breaths as she delivereda head massage. Our session ended witha detoxi ying drink o vitamin-in used water, and I was on my way, relaxed,recovered and ready or another nighton the town.D For dinner, I met a riend atEncore s Botero restaurant where,in addition to li e-size artwork by theeponymous artist, it also ofers a twist on Vegas dining. I am not a vegan Ill eat just about anything. But Encores owner,developer Steve Wynn, is a ormer vegan,and, with his che s, put a lot o energytoward developing vegetarian menus astasty as the alternatives. My riend andI ordered the regular and vegan tast-ing menus or a share-and-compare

dinner. First up: a ssushi and vegan caullatter shocked me witexture, courtesy o base. Id have orderout dietary restrictio was a tossup: a tastart paired with delicthe main course, the grilled branzino (buta good steak). With vegan dish won hachurros versus the widonuts lled with marrolled in graham crapaired with a warm sauce. (Seriously, wh with that?) But overknow you could havemenu whatever youtions. Well done, WyDo I cant go to Vegas

and touching the landdone a helicopter tour yon and Hoover Dam wanted something diute drive rom town ishome to a restored 188history buf, so I lovedthe tunnels, imaging wthe men who workedtric lighting and hyd word kept coming ing.) Book the trip t Adventures and i with a horseback rideYou can also rent AT bring them to the Colthe hill, where you cazona on the other bank Susan Moynihan

F m pp site page: nappC l ad rive ; the p l at Fan ic nic Las Vegas sign; tP evi us page, f m t p: o iental; the hammam at

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8/3/2019 Getaways

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t h i r d f r o m l e f t :

W i t o l d S k r y p c Z a k / g e t t y i m a g e S ;

o p p o S i t e :

B a r B a r a k r a f t

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Q A g up spa ee end ithnine f iendsAy Be ore a dear riend was set to say

I do, a group o us decided to send hero in style with a shower/spa weekendin Carlsbad, Cali ornia. Our retreat: LaCosta Resort and Spa , where we rented

a communal three-bedroom villa withthree balconies, a living area and a ullkitchen. As villa guests, we had access toall o the resort amenities: eight pools,two gol courses (including the newlyrenamed Champions Course, whichrecently underwent a $10 million reno- vation), a spa and the Chopra Center or Well-being, a haven o retreats and pro-grams centered on wellness and healing.I this couldnt please our diverse group,nothing could! Rooms from $269PA Our goal was to put play dates, car-pools and deadlines behind us and enjoya relaxing day together at the Spa at LaCosta. So when we made our reserva-tions, we signed up or the lunch packagethat includes a treatment (massage oracial) ollowed by a private al resco

lunch by the pool. Instructed to arriveearly, we walked the re lexology path(created with a variety o stones to hitdiferent pressure points) and had timeto relax in the sauna, steam room and

lounge area. Then we were ushered o to our treatments one by one; I went orthe acial, which included a mini mas-sage so it was a win/win. A terward, allo us sporting that glassy-eyed look youcan only get a ter a great treatment, wemet back at the pool or an a la carte

lunch o salads and champagne.Do You cant do Cali ornia withouthitting the beach, so we decided to tag-team our beach time with a workout bysigning up or a paddle-boarding session with 2 Stand Up Guys . (The groom-to- be is an ex-pro sur er, so he took greatpleasure in the idea o us braving the waves.) Our group has some total nov-ices in it, so we opted or the basicat-water lesson on Carlsbad Lagoon(they also o er ocean SUP or moreexperienced paddlers). Apparently, women have a better sense o balance, sothere were minimal wipeouts thoughsome o the men around us didnt are so well. 60 minutes, $50 per person, groups from two to eight people D The ood on-property was amaz-ing (Wednesday through Saturday theBlueFire Grill has live music near there pit), but we wanted to explore, so onenight we ventured out to Flying Pig Pub& Kitchen . This local haunt is tucked on

South Tremont Street, a side street o South Coast Highway 101 i youre notlooking or it, youll miss it. That would bea shame, as the arm-to-table establish-ment o ers up an ever-changing menuthat includes heaps o handmade baconmac-n-cheese (the serving is enough orthree), all-natural chicken and dump-lings, and cold goblets o cra t beers.For dessert, we braved Daves caramelpork belly sundae with vanilla ice cream,chocolate chips and candied pork belly(yep, you read that right), which won

over even the shiest o eaters.oP We spent the latter part o ourlast a ternoon getting lost in San DiegosCedros Avenue Design District ; its resi-dents are well-known architects, buildersand designers. But visitors have to checkout the artsy strip, lined with 85-somegalleries and boutiques. The RebeccaNorman boutique was a standout, lled with handcra ted jewelry, bags andscarves. The necklaces are truly magni -icent creations in silver, vermeil androse gold, some accented with crystals,stones and gems. Its the kind o place you nd those hard-to-come-by items,that bracelet or ring you a ectionately wear all the time because it brings backgreat memories o times with riends. Tara Bradley

San Diego, Cali ornia

F m t p left: Beautiful baubles at rebeccaman; p epping f a P less n; an

Dieg s Gaslamp Qua te ; pasta ithh use-made p sausage at Fl ing PigPub; the spa p l at La C sta.

8/3/2019 Getaways

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f r o m o p p o S i t e l e f t : f r a n k S c h W e r e / g e t t y i m a g e S ;

r o B e r t r e c k ;

d a v i d g r o S S m a n / a l a m y

New York, New York

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Q A mantic sta cati n inmidt wn anhattanAy As a longtime resident o NYC, I

typically plan escapes outside the ive boroughs. But every once in a while I

like to stay inside o them. This is how Iound mysel in the middle o Manhattanchecking into The Setai Fifth Avenue ,a chic, 214-room hotel appointed in theinest architectural details, like blackoak ooring and gleaming onyx. In addi-tion to its sweet views I could clearlysee the Art Deco Chrysler Building andthe Empire State Building rom myapartment suite the hotel has greatplacement in lower midtown betweenTimes Square and Grand Central. Inother words, you wont stress yoursel out trying to get to key city sights. Guestsare assigned a personal assistant or theduration o their stay who can make res-ervations, score tickets and generallymake the city a tad less overwhelming. Rooms from $645 PA The ourth- loor Auriga Spa

was named or a constellation in theNorthern Hemisphere, and the menurevolves around a unique premise: theour phases o the moon. Guests choose

rom treatments that correspond to thecurrent lunar stage, such as the WaxingMoon Sowing the Seeds signature treat-ment, a 120-minute extravagance thatincludes a petal-and-salt body scrub and

a jasmine mask. I tried the Rose CrystalLymphatic Facial (60 minutes, $165),done with Organic Pharmacy products. A ter an AHA ex oliation, seaweed maskand collagen-boost treatment, the ther-apist applied rose crystals to my ace anddcolletage or a massage, the ice cube-cool gems slowly warming as she workedher way across key lymphatic points. Icould barely peel mysel rom the heated bed to pad over to the coed Aqua Lounge(day pass $50). My avorite eature: aspacious hammam, complete with a star-shaped bowl ull o mineral mud and atwinkling constellation ceiling.Do Just a ew blocks west, you can min-gle with stars o another kind and takein a Broadway show. (This spring, Evita opens at the Marquis Theatre , and pre- views are slated or A Streetcar Named Desire at the Broadhurst , starring BlairUnderwood.) Flash bulbs also igureinto the art on display at the neighboringInternational Center of Photography ,

which spotlights histoporary works and is cuacclaimed show by Won the season, theres winter and people-wa weather across the strealso home to a 14-hspins to French cabareD Last all, che Ai Fiori nabbed its Setai guests neednt trthe eaterys Italian-meeran are; the restaura

winding staircase up had me smitten the minsanal cheese cart roll bappeared to be no les varieties o romage.it was love by way o veal chop. And we bo bass crudo, which arrlittle oval discs sitting alemon crumbles and tican sturgeon caviarom $35). We endeda ew blocks east insTerminal at the Cama decadent bar that oprivate ofce o 1920s- W. Campbell. I you look up the termining depicts the starry s

F m pp site page: he nthe heate Dist ict; the AAu iga pa; sp ing in B anshin exte i ; dec nst usalad at Ai Fi i .

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