15 Summer Spa Treatments You Need to Book to Live Your Best Life

Any time is a good time to spa in our opinion, but when it comes to seasonal treatments in awesome locations, you just can’t beat summer. Scrubs, masks, and lotions teeming with ripe fruit and fresh herbs; outdoor rain showers in your very own private spa suite; massage tables overlooking ocean views or mountain vistas: need we go on? In an ode to the spirit of #yolo and #selflove, here are the must-try facials, massages, cryo chambers, wellness services, and mermaid experiences (yes, you heard that right) you need to book RN.

1. Mermaid Life at Haven Spa NYC (135 minutes/$125): Brace yourselves for what could become your favorite summer (er, all-time?) spa treatment: the Mermaid Life. Start with the Mermaid Pedi, where your tired toes will be treated to a beachy sea salt soak, followed by a shea butter and sea algae scrub, then a lotion application and polish (while you nosh on a little sorbet cup to beat the heat). After that comes the full-on Ariel experience: the Makizushi Wrap. Your esthetician will detoxify your entire sun-drenched bod with dry mitts to exfoliate, followed by a seaweed salt scrub (double the slough off!), and then slather you in a seaweed mask before wrapping you up burrito style while she finger- combs your hair (with a scalp massage no doubt) to give you mermaid waves. Finally, you’ll be sprayed down (picture Ariel on the rock being splashed about here) and finished off with an algae-based lotion massage. (Each treatment is available on its own.) 🧜‍♀️

2. Island Retreat Facial at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island (80 minutes/$350): When on an island, you need an island retreat facial (obviously) and The Ritz-Carlton in Florida’s Amelia Island offers one that will knock your sandals off. Designed to reawaken dry thirsty skin (because #summer), this treatment combines organic ingredients with a facial massage featuring fossilized coral stones from the sea, warm obsidian stones, and tiger cowry shells. It includes a brush cleanse, steam, exfoliation, extractions, facial massage, eye and lip treatment, mask, arm and hand massage and scalp massage.

3. Cellulite Reduction Body Treatment at The Godfrey Hotel Chicago’s Spa Boutique (80 minutes/$210): Just in time for bikini season! The Godfrey is offering a treatment to make sure you’re taught and toned around your most exposed areas. During the service you’ll be massaged with hands-on cellulite reduction techniques (incorporating a thermal cellulite cream and wrap, natch), leaving you smooth and ready to hit the beach or pool. And should you want a little extra lovin’ on some sore spots, you can add on $30 per area.

4. The Summer Smoother at Terranea Resort, a Destination Hotel (60 minutes/$205-$215):

Reap the benefits of southern California’s prime turf with a Summer Smoother hydrating body treatment that will leave you passed out on the table thanks to a total rub down with nourishing aloe vera, prickly pear, and pomegranate. It’s topped off with a summer smoothie from the resort’s Spa Café.

5. Cryotherapy at NKD NYC (1 session/$55-75): When it comes to partaking in wellness treatments during the most sweltering months of the year, anything involving cold blasts of air seems like a no-brainer. Combine the anti-aging benefits of cryotherapy (reduced pain and inflammation, increased energy levels, and shorter recovery times from injuries, hooray!) with what’s essentially a quick cool-down on a hot day, and now you’re talking our language. NKD NYC offers cryotherapy in their state-of-the-art Cryosense chamber that’s the most advanced of its kind and just think: Sure, you have to suffer through -320°F for three minutes, but no pain no gain, right? For those slightly sheepish first-timers, there’s also the popular Cryo Facial, which uses localized cryo (AKA more tolerable in a concentrated area) to fix fine lines and wrinkles and tighten the skin.

6. Crystal Anniversary Specials at Borgata (50-100 minutes/$55-250): To celebrate Spa Toccare’s 15th anniversary, Atlantic City’s Borgata hotel just launched a new crystal-themed menu of treatments at the spa and its Immersion Spa at the Water Club (fitting since crystal is the traditional gift for 15 years). Choose from a Crystal Healing Stone Massage ($250) to open your chakras through tapping and to clear blockages, a Diamonds in the Rough Facial ($125), or a Shellac & Crystals Manicure ($55), which pairs crystal nail art with a gel mani.

7. Go Green Cooling Facial at Kimpton Angler’s Hotel South Beach (50 minutes/$160): Get ready to get your zen on with a true mind-body experience when you indulge in a Go Green Cooling Facial that helps promote serenity through a nutrient-rich treatment. First, a green tea milk cleanser is applied to wash away residue while boosting the skin’s moisture level, before a cool mask of avocado butter extracts and oils is added. Plus you can ‘gram your newly green (and rejuvenated) face during the service, à la the pic above.

8. Summer Beauty Treatments at Hotel Viking SpaFjor (50 minutes/$135-150): If you’re vacationing in Newport, Rhode Island, this summer, be sure to check out this next-level spa for their Marble Stone Facial ($150) that uses cool marble stones to reduce tension in the body (and in the mind) while eliminating puffiness. Or try the popular Chia Orange Firming Massage ($135) that utilizes stimulating orange oil and a chia seed filled compress during a warming massage to hydrate and firm the skin.

9. Body Botany at Carneros Resort and Spa (90 minutes/$270): Following a whopping $3.5 million renovation and reopening of its spa, Napa’s Carneros Resort and Spa introduces its summer menu filled with nods to the natural abundance of wine country (and the resort’s epic garden). Their most noteworthy new option would have to be the Body Botany scrub and massage. Choose your own antioxidant-rich ingredient for your scrub: immune boosting olive leaf and rosemary, refreshing coffee, lemon and shea butter scrub, or nourishing hibiscus and blood orange.

10. Deep Sleep Journey at Remede Spa at The St. Regis Deer Valley (110 minutes/$450): Can’t catch enough zzzzz’s? This should help. The Deep Sleep Journey will switch you to a serious state of relaxation after you go through a series of breathing and thermotherapy (the application of warm paraffin to the muscles allowing them to soften and relax), followed by a head-to-toe massage. Imagine the most sedative full body ritual there is and this would be it. You’ll also be picking up whiffs of vetiver, chamomile, and sandalwood essential oils as you nod off when you breathe in the mountain air.

11. Bamford Haybarn Spa’s Summer Treatment at 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge (50-80 minutes/$180-245): The newly opened eco-meets-holistic spa at the 1 Hotel is #spagoals to put it best, but we’re especially obsessed with two of their current offerings: the Organic Purity Detoxifying Facial ($180), which contains lilac extract and mineral-rich detoxifying clay to extract impurities and pollution and blast away blemishes and dark spots (ideal for summertime breakouts!) and the Bamford’s Signature Treatment ($245), which begins with a cleansing footbath (inspired by Indian practices). A shiatsu, meridian and Swedish massage follows before the treatment ends in yogic breathing, as every spa experience should.

12. Feet in the Creek at L’Auberge de Sedona, A Destination Hotel (60 minutes/$160): The creekside experience begins with a massage therapist escorting you to the banks of Oak Creek, and as you’re guided into the ankle-deep water, you’ll pause and listen to the sounds of the creek and the surrounding natural beauty. Then you’ll receive a foot rinse and foot reflexology treatment using the signature L’Apothecary flower essence serum to wash off any creek crud. Hey, there’s a reason #forestbathing is trending.

13. Cucumber & Aloe Aroma Blend Treatment at Aquaterra Spa at Surf & Sand Resort (80 minutes/$195): SoCal natives (or visitors) can escape to Laguna Beach’s Surf & Sand Resort’s spa for their seasonal summer Cucumber & Aloe Aroma Blend treatment. It begins with a cucumber melon body scrub, followed by a soothing aloe body wrap (that contains anti-inflammatory properties for when you *ahem* forgot to apply the SPF for the 40th time in one hour), and then you get to chillax on the stunning grounds all afternoon.

14. Summer Spa Specials at The Setai, Miami Beach ($109-139): Partying in the heart of South Beach would leave anyone needing a spa day, but luckily The Setai has your back. Known for its over-the-top service, you’ll be in good hands here with their signature THÉMAÉ treatments curated from four types of teas: red (rooibos), white, green, and black teas. Until August 30, the spa also offers a special Miami Spa Month discount on treatments including the Asian Fusion Massage for two ($109/person), the Brilliance Facial ($109), the Fresh Skin Ritual ($109), the THÉMAÉ Signature Massage ($139) and the Aura Balance Package ($139). Guests who book one of these select treatments will also receive discounted valet and access to The Setai’s MAJOR pool and beach area.

15. CBD Massage at Chillhouse (50 minutes/$120): The beauty behind a place like NYC’s Chillhouse is you can customize all your services to well, chill. Choose from different massage treatments such as The Hangover Cure, The Stretch Armstrong, The Chill Pill, and The Works that target different issues and, for that one area that needs major T.L.C., add on their CBD (cannabis) extra. This massage balm that contains lidocaine, menthol, and arnica will instantly zap any stress you walked in with.

What’s your favorite spa treatment to try during the summer? Tweet us @BritandCo!

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