For quite some time, golf-and-spa has been an astonishingly popular activity for travelers. The two pastimes could not be more ideally paired: One strives to exhaust and unhinge the mind and body, while the other serves to repair, restore and rejuvenate.
It’s no wonder that leading golf resorts have dramatically upped their game by building multimillion-dollar signature spas or entirely renovating existing facilities. In fact, it’s rare to overnight at a top golf property — be it an Auberge, Fairmont, Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Hilton or Marriott — and not be tempted by the luxuriating therapies and programs of an onsite spa.
Here are five recommended favorites, each specially selected to match up with your upcoming winter travels:
- Since 1984, the Boulders Resort & Spa has been regarded among the finest vacation properties in North America. Its peerless celebrity includes 36 holes of Jay Morrish golf, tennis, fine dining and desert hiking among 12 million-year-old granite boulders that give the premier Sonoran Desert oasis its moniker. At the 33,000-square-foot spa, guests indulge bliss-seekers with treatments, saunas, Japanese-inspired relaxation baths, a meditation labyrinth and a modern fitness facility.
- Located 40 miles south of Cancun, the Fairmont Mayakoba offers an inspiring list of amenities including pristine beaches, a 10,000-square-foot freeform pool, four restaurants, tropical forest exploring and privileged access to Greg Norman-designed golf and Mexico’s only Jim McLean Golf School. Its signature Willow Stream Spa caps a AAA Five Diamond getaway underscored by Mayan-influenced face and body treatments that feature local herbs, extracts and essential oils.
- Annual host to the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open, the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country’s upscale surrounds include a nine-acre water park, adult-only infinity pool, seven restaurants, swimming, walking/running trails and 36 holes of Greg Norman- and Pete Dye-designed golf. Plus, the resort’s 26,000-square-foot Lantana Spa offers Latin American influenced healing programs complemented by bistro dining, fitness center, exercise classes and a lagoon-style pool.
- Southern Arizona’s award-winning Omni Tucson National Resort (also pictured at top) is legendary for 36 holes of PGA Tour- and Champion Tour-hosting golf, including a dynamite desert track crafted by Tom Lehman. Health-oriented purists revel among a 13,000-square-foot spa that is regaled for its luxurious facials, massage treatments, fitness center, zero edge pool and breathtaking views of the Santa Catalina Mountains. Insider’s tip: The AAA Four Diamond property offers a Girlfriends Getaway with golf, spa treatment and a personalized VIP dinner now through December 31.
- One of only 47 spas in the world to receive the coveted Forbes Five-Star Award, The Spa Pebble Beach on California’s Monterey Peninsula uniquely offers cosmetic dermatological services administered by California Skin Institute physicians, plus a variety of premier services designed to reduce stress and enhance balance. Add to that Pebble’s five splendid golf courses, including the timeless, Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed Spyglass Hill.
RELATED LINKS
Five Reasons to Play San Antonio
2016 CAGGY Travel Award Winners
Warm Weather Destinations to Visit Now
Chris Duthie is a Durango-based contributor to Colorado AvidGolfer. Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.