San Francisco's 13 best hotel and day spas

LOUNGE LEADER
Nob Hill Spa at the Huntington Hotel
The lounge here is the best in town, with a sweeping staircase, indoor pool, and spectacular views of downtown through 18-foot-high windows. But a premium on space forced the hotel to put the ten treatment rooms underground--you feel as though you're descending into a cave. Massages can be hit-or-miss, but the best therapists, aesthetician Dany Lamkin and massage therapist Nancy Swan, sustain a Who's Who clientele for facials and scrubs. I tried the new Photo Modulation Facial (80 minutes, $175 for first treatment, then $240), which employs a noninvasive light therapy called Max 7. The results were undeniable. (Although maybe it was the Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peel that was included.) The spa food is terrific, especially the Vietnamese Maine Lobster and Prawn Spring Rolls and the new White Grape Juice--Key Lime Elixir. -D.K.

Rates: $339-$1,199
Phone: 415-474-5400
Website: www.huntingtonhotel.com
Address: 1075 California Street (Nob Hill)

HIP HANGOUT
International Orange
This spa is named after the official color of the Golden Gate Bridge, but the look (simple, sleek, and mod) and color scheme (white and chocolate brown in the relaxation room) seem more Calvin Klein home collection. Brie, dark chocolate, and almonds are set out on trays, and champagne is available, too. Yoga is a staple here--the place bills itself a "spa yoga lounge," and classes (31 a week, primarily vinyasa variations) account for nearly 50 percent of its clientele. It's the stronger part of the equation, judging from my experience. I had a so-so signature massage (60 minutes, $95) in a room where I could hear music coming from the Smith & Hawken store downstairs. The spa retails an assortment of natural lines, such as In Fiore, Arcona, Dr. Hauschka, and Aesop. -M.B.

Phone: 415-563-5000
Website: www.internationalorange.com
Address: 2044 Fillmore Street, 2nd Floor (Pacific Heights)

MOST COLORFUL
Relax Now Day Spa
The palette here is vivid--even the Sensi sandals are pink, blue, and green--patterns run rampant, and the furnishings include a low Ultrasuede sofa and shag rugs in the tiny waiting area. New treatments include the guy-friendly Metrosexual Facial (50 minutes, $90) and a four-hour package called the Betty Ford ($325) that includes a Tooty Fruity Facial with fruit-based Eminence products, an eyebrow wax, either an express pedicure or a bikini wax, a Lemon Rubdown body exfoliation, and a 50-minute massage. I tried the Fire and Ice Stone Therapy (90 minutes, $145). Szilvia Bacsa, my feisty therapist from Hungary, massaged me first with hot stones and then with cool ones. "It's good for the circulation," she said. "The cold stones shock your system, and the warm ones relax it." It left me feeling energized. -M.B.

Phone: 415-567-3529
Website: www.relaxnow.net
Address: 2241 Fillmore Street (Pacific Heights)

FACIAL FORTE
Jurlique Wellness Day Spa
This sunny little spot is primarily a retail shop for Jurlique, the aromatic organic Australian skin-care line. But its real strength is the super-customized facials offered in two spacious treatment rooms. I tried the Ultimate Experience (90 minutes, $145), which the menu describes as a mini vacation because it includes a hand, arm, and foot massage in addition to the facial. My chipper aesthetician, Tricia O'Neil, was very knowledgeable about the products she used, and the gentle facial was one of the best I've received. Also on the menu: body treatments, such as the Jurlique Herbal Hot Oil Body Wrap (60 minutes, $115) and the energizing Jurlique Full Body Travel Treatment, which includes a dry brushing, hydrating wrap, Nurturing Facial to help "detoxify and balance" the skin, and an application of body lotion. -M.B.

Phone: 415-346-7881
Website: www.jurlique.com
Address: 2136 Fillmore Street (Pacific Heights)

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