Word: spa
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Relaxation usually means escaping the crowds - but don't tell that to the operators of the jumbo-sized spas that have recently become popular in Asia. Tokyo's five-story, 10,000-sq-m Spa LaQua, tel: (81-3) 5800 9999, crams some 65,000 guests a month into its hot-spring baths, pools (pictured), saunas, massage rooms and restaurants. In Seoul, the popular Sports Club Seoul Leisure, tel: (82-2) 404 7000, uses an extraordinary range of facilities as its lure: its 10 floors feature themed saunas, oxygen rooms, a golf practice range, a movie theater and a karaoke...
Relaxation usually means escaping the crowds - but don't tell that to the operators of the jumbo-sized spas that have recently become popular in Asia. Tokyo's five-story, 10,000 sq m Spa LaQua, tel: (81-3) 5800 9999, crams some 65,000 guests a month into its hot-spring baths, pools, saunas, massage rooms and restaurants. In Seoul, the popular Sports Club Seoul Leisure, tel: (82-2) 404 7000, uses an extraordinary range of facilities as its lure: its 10 floors feature themed saunas,[an error occurred while processing this directive] oxygen rooms, a golf practice range...
...such behemoths really be considered spas? "They are more like leisure entertainment complexes for the masses," says Maggie Gunning, managing director at Spa Synergy, a Singapore-based spa consultancy. They're fast becoming hotel alternatives, too. An extra $17 at LaQua, for instance, lets you stay overnight in a fully reclining chair. Factor in the $23 entrance fee, as well as the costs of a massage and a meal, and you still have a bargain when it comes to lodging in Tokyo. Just don't expect a mint on your pillow...
...clothing hook, today a Jacuzzi seems to be the starter amenity. Mikvah Mei Menachem in Mequon, Wisc., for instance, features Roman columns and post-bath strawberries or chocolate truffles. At Mikvah Shulamit in Plantation, Fla., the immersion fee is a standard $20, but at the adjoining Contour Day Spa, a patron can drop significantly more experiencing hot stone massage, hydrotherapy, or even a botox consultation from the resident...
...found, at the end of it, a chunky 19th century palazzo built as a hunting lodge for Leopold II, the last Grand Duke of Tuscany. In partnership with Vittorio Moretti, a building magnate and wine producer, the Frenchman transformed the ducal folly into a resort, adding an extension, a spa, tennis courts and a golf course, and refashioning an old granary to house the Trattoria. Now bulldozers are flattening a patch of ground for a helipad. The vineyards will produce homegrown white wines this month, and the first reds will be ready to drink by Christmas. Wine on tap could...