Spa travel: Arizona

By Ann Abel

Connect the dots--Tucson, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Sedona--and you've drawn a bead on some of the country's top spas. Arizona is a spa mecca--and not just for the hot, dry climate. The state has long attracted bodyworkers and alternative healers, which gives spa directors a tremendous talent pool to draw upon. The spa density means that directors network easily, sharing everything from ideas to mud. There's plenty of healthy competition, too, so the bar is constantly being raised, and the guest reaps the reward. But the spa diversity can be hard to sort out. Here's a seasoned look at the old pros and the young tyros.

Still The Champ: Canyon Ranch, Tucson

Twenty-five years old and only getting better with age. It's strong in facilities (80,000-square-foot spa building, 41 treatment rooms), fitness (50-plus classes each day, some very challenging, like the 12-minute-mile power walk shown above), massage, and medical program, with offerings that range from high-tech diagnostic to traditional alternative treatments like acupuncture and chiropractic. "Spiritual fitness"--yoga, qigong, and meditation--is solid, too: The two best yoga classes I've taken at a spa were here. Canyon Ranch is less for sheer relaxation and pampering than for life change and learning; many guests come to address weight (the spa cuisine is quite good) and stress issues. The treatment menu is heavy on the physical--the basic Canyon Ranch Massage ($95) is the most popular, but I recommend the terrific Thai massage ($210)--and refreshingly light on the metaphysical. Facials use the Ranch's own excellent product line. The four-, seven-, and ten-night packages include meals, at least one health consultation, and one basic spa or sports service each day.

Rates: Four-night package: $2,870-$5,720 per person, double occupancy
Phone: 800-742-9000
Web: www.canyonranch.com
Location: 8600 East Rockcliff Road, Tucson

Being Here Now: Miraval, Life in Balance, Tucson

A stay here is all about learning to live in the moment. There are lectures and workshops on mindful eating, decision-making, and relationships; Challenge Program activities (standing atop a 25-foot pole) intended to help you face fears; and psychotherapist-horseman Wyatt Webb's hugely popular Equine Experience, in which you groom a horse to gain insight into how you interact with people. (The horse-bonding craze started here.) And if you need an escape from being here now, the hiking program is strong: three levels, smart guides, great scenery. As for the spa building, it is, as director Jim Root says, "not an amazing facility." (Aside from the too-small but sunlight-filled Quiet Room, it's rather plain-Jane.) But the therapists are talented--and willing to depart from the script when they find something that needs work. Drawback: guest rooms that are midrange hotel in look (silly cactus lamps) and amenities. (I found the lack of a bathtub especially irksome.) Treatment tip: Miraval, among the first spas to offer hot stone massage ($110), still does it well.

Rates: $525-$1,045
Phone: 800-232-3969
Web: www.miravalresort.com
Location: 5000 East Via Estancia, Catalina

Sleeper Hit: Sanctuary on Camelback, Scottsdale

Scottsdale resorts sometimes merge into one largehotelgolfcourseandspa in the mind, which is why this one was such a pleasant surprise. First, its modest size (98 guest rooms) and lack of golf course make Sanctuary feel like a retreat. Second, the guest rooms are beautifully done. The southwestern-style mountain casitas ($415-$1,170) eschew regional kitsch, and the 24 spa casitas (left, $555-$1,420), the most original rooms I encountered, eschew regional altogether: They have custom Asian furnishings, gleeful modern touches (Noguchi-esque sofas), and large bathrooms that open onto courtyards with steeping tubs. The spa is pure Zen simplicity, cool and cave-like in summer, a flowing indoor-outdoor space in winter. The extensive menu includes cutting-edge consultations, such as the QXCI ($150), a "bio-energetic" biofeedback system meant to diagnose and treat the body's imbalances--the spa's hidden gem, according to director Kristin Carpenter. Two therapists regularly bring back treatments from Thailand. My pick: the Sabai Foot Ritual ($125), a foot and leg exfoliation followed by Thai reflexology with a wooden dowel.

Rates: $415-$1,420
Phone: 800-245-2051
Web: www.sanctuaryaz.com
Location: 5700 East McDonald Drive, Paradise Valley

No Bull: The Centre for Well-Being, the Phoenician, Scottsdale

"We didn't see the therapeutic value in it," says spa director John DeFontes when asked why hot stone massage isn't offered here. He takes a "militant" approach to the spa menu, spending months (sometimes years) discussing and testing proposed treatments. Thus services are seriously results-driven--muscle-loosening Table Thai (developed here, $190) and sports massage ($130) are big, and even meditation (a staple since 1988) and yoga get a practical spin with private sessions ($125) geared toward improving athletic performance. The Centre makes some mind-body connections, though. I was impressed with Acussage ($230), a mix of acupuncture, tuning forks, cupping, and massage that obliterated my jet lag. DeFontes spent more than a year finding acupuncturist Joan Laubach, who has a four-year acupuncture degree and an earth-mother presence. The downsides: dated spa facilities, the resort's marble-heavy '80s decor, and throngs of name-tag-wearing conventioneers (necessary to fill the hotel's 654 rooms).

Rates: $625-$5,500
Phone: 800-955-7352
Web: www.thephoenician.com
Location: 6000 East Camelback Road, Scottsdale

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