Step Outside Your Routine

Even if you make time in your schedule for regular massages, they may not give you a much-needed break from your daily routine if the setting is a strip mall or drab, clinical office.

The Willow Stream Spa at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess hotel makes it easy for spa goers to transform their outlook with a beautifully designed environment that is regionally authentic and local. Among the 27 treatment rooms, more than half open onto a garden patio, says director Brennan Evans. If you book a massage or facial, you may be surprised to find yourself stepping into an environment reminiscent of the Grand Canyon’s Waterfalls of Havasupai, with a rooftop pool that trickles down to a striking waterfall and the surroundings made from natural rust and beige limestone, authentic to the region. If you have time to stick around after your treatment, you can don your bathing suit, step into a Jacuzzi-temperature pool and let the water cascade off of your shoulders.

“You really feel like you’re coming to a true oasis and canyon experience,” Evans says. “You can come for your 60 minute massage, but you can also literally spend five hours here.” If you get hungry, you can nibble on fruit, muffins, and cookies or drink fresh juices that are available throughout the day.

It’s not just the setting that can help you energize yourself. The spa offers some unique services that keep visitors coming back, says Evans. For instance, if you’re a golfer, there’s a Golf Performance Treatment, designed to help you improve your range of motion with acupressure and massage. “Flexibility and range of motion are key things that many golfers don’t take into account,” he says. “It gives you techniques that you can think about and use once you’re away from here.”

Another popular service is the Balanced Body Experience, a 90-minute, full-body relaxation massage and treatment that includes an exfoliating foot bath and oatmeal body scrub. “You get a little bit of everything,” says Evans.

With many busy professionals doing the jobs of two or three people these days, taking a break to recharge has become more of a necessity than a luxury, says Evans. “It goes a long way to simply take a couple of hours out of your day,” he says. “It’s going to make you more productive in the long run.” Getting a massage or treatment in a spectacular setting can make it both energizing and unforgettable.