After a busy day of axe throwing and adventuring around The Lodge at Blue Sky, all 3,500 acres in the Wasatch Mountains outside of Park City, I’m happy to be sipping on a glass of High West whiskey and unwinding into the evening. The distillery is actually located on the property’s grounds, so it’s a natural combination. Only I’m not at the lodge’s gorgeous bar, or even fireside in its living room lounge. I’m wearing a robe in the hotel’s Edge Spa, having my feet scrubbed with a concoction that includes water, salt, sage and, yes, more High West whiskey.
It’s a part of the hotel’s 90-minute High West Whiskey Rubdown, a signature treatment that includes the aforementioned glass of whiskey and foot scrub, along with a lengthy massage. Throw in some warm towels and a dreamy scalp invigorator (who doesn’t love a good head scratch?) and you’ve got yourself a supremely serene spa session. And that High West sure beats the cucumber water or green tea served up with your typical massage.
Think you can’t enjoy a drink — an actual, honest-to-goodness real drink — while hitting the spa? Think again. We’ve shown you the world’s best booze hotels, and now, get ready for the luxury hotels with the best and booziest massages and spa treatments.
Keep in mind you won’t want to overdo it, but with a little bit of moderation, your favorite adult beverage can bring a standard wellness ritual to the next level. We’re all adults here, aren’t we? While I personally never need an excuse to indulge in a great massage at a high-end hotel, if you do need a little (liquid) encouragement, or perhaps you’re just looking for a bit of a different take, then these hedonistic spa rituals have you covered.
Four Seasons New Orleans: The Southern Gentleman
The Sazerac is the official cocktail of New Orleans, and you’d be remiss if you didn’t have at least one during a visit to town. Why not check it off your list while receiving a massage, then?
The Southern Gentleman therapeutic massage from the Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans uses a warm house-made infusion of rye whiskey as its massage oil, and then serves up a Sazerac paired with a seasonal bar snack after the treatment is completed.
The massage itself is designed to alleviate common stress areas for guys, including the back, neck, shoulders and feet. You’ll feel rejuvenated enough to get dressed and hit the town to, well, go on and order another Sazerac.
Hinotani Onsen Misugi Resort: Beer Onsen
The beer spa is something which has caught on from Germany all the way up to Iceland, but these are usually found within their own establishments. The Hinotani Onsen Misugi Resort, though, went in a new direction with a riff on the Japanese onsen — which includes traditional and ubiquitous natural hot springs as well as man-made spas and pools — by bringing the beer spa in-house and opening Japan’s first beer onsen.
Beer is poured on tap straight into the onsen; the property boasts that it can rejuvenate your skin. To be extra certain, though, you might as well book the property’s special beer guest room, a hotel stay with taps built into your accommodations so that the suds stay flowing — and you ensure your skin is silky smooth by checkout, of course. Just two hours outside of Tokyo, this is a must-visit attraction on your next trip to Japan.
For something closer to home, though, consider heading to Dr. Wilkinson’s Backyard Resort. The Napa Valley hotel was built in 1952 and was considered one of the first resorts in Calistoga, and just underwent a major renovation in 2021. They now offer the Beer Brew treatment, a mineral whirlpool bath using fresh hops, dry ale yeast, malt and barley. Sip on a local beer as you get turned into one yourself.
Rancho Pescadero: Hangover Experience
At Rancho Pescadero in Todos Santos, Mexico, the resort preaches a no-judgment form of wellness, exemplified by their Hangover Experience. It’s not a massage, but it’s a thoroughly modern form of self-care and gives you what you need the most. Barbacoa is roasted in an underground pib as you indulge in traditional, local drinks such as pulque and tepache around the fire. After spending the night slow-roasting away underground, the meat is ready to be feasted upon with fresh tortillas off the comal, nourishing you back to life.
“The entire process is focused on engagement, an intimate involvement with food and the communal ritual of it,” says Lisa Harper, founder of the property, also noting the experience is based upon Indigenous practices. “The focus is well-being even more so than wellness and teaching guests it’s not about restrictions, but rather about having balance and living fully.”
When you need further boosts to your well-being while at the property, which is reopening this fall after a four-year renovation, pick fresh citrus from the orchard and herbs from the garden to infuse into seasonal cocktails, or head straight to a wine-pairing meal in the garden after a spa treatment.
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Hilton Aruba: Aruba Ariba Treatment
The Aruba Ariba is one of the Caribbean cocktails intrinsically tied to its place of origin, and in this case, namesake. It was created at the Hilton Aruba, which originally opened in 1959 as the first hotel on the now-packed Palm Beach.
The property’s Eforea Spa takes its prized creation in a new direction with a massage incorporating a watermelon, basil and vodka body polish, and cranberry orange aromatherapy. The spa’s signature treatment though is the Aloe Vera, Rum y Piedra Cayente Massage, which uses an agave nectar oil enriched with rum and Aruban aloe vera.
Meneghetti Wine Hotel: Vinotherapy
The newly opened Meneghetti Wine Hotel & Winery wants to play up its legitimate oenological roots as much as possible. Surrounded by vineyards and olive groves, the Relais & Châteaux property in Istria, Croatia, produces 10 labels of wine and five olive oils, and has its winery and cellar on-site.
After a tough day of tasting, consider their Vinotherapy treatment, which gets started with a grape body scrub. Your massage is then performed with a red wine serum, incorporating the antioxidants and polyphenols of wine, as well as a cold-pressed grape oil.
Don’t ignore their olive oil production, though, as they also offer an Olive Oil Therapy session.
Mystique Hotel: Aegean Ritual Treatment
Santorini’s stunning Mystique Hotel, perched amid the cliffs of Oia, pays homage to the abundance of amazing ingredients found in its home region with the Aegean Ritual Treatment. The massage incorporates local components such as honey, bee pollen and royal jelly, along with Cretan crocus flowers, and then concludes with the application of a gel made from red grapes and raki, designed to hydrate the skin and stimulate the mood.
The raki in this case is more specifically tsikoudia, Crete’s signature pomace brandy. An ice cold pour of the beverage is offered alongside a plate of fruits when the massage is completed.
Cape Fahn: Tropical Touch
Cape Fahn, situated on a private island off of Koh Samui, Thailand, probably doesn’t need to do much besides get you there to ensure you’re feeling relaxed. But for an extra boost in the right direction, try the Tropical Touch treatment at the on-site Cape Spa.
The massage uses a house-made coconut rum oil, and when the treatment has concluded you can head straight to the Long Dtai terrace for the signature Once Upon a Time in Samui cocktail, served in a fresh coconut husk. Or opt for the Bubbles treatment, with an aromatic steam bath followed by a serving of prosecco paired with a selection of desserts, and a massage including the same coconut rum oil.
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Tequila Massages, Facials and Body Wraps
If the wealth of excellent sipping tequilas available today hasn’t yet convinced you that the spirit isn’t only for turning the volume to 11, then maybe a massage or two can show you tequila’s lower-key attributes.
“Tequila has healing benefits for the body, and at Vidanta you can enjoy all the analgesic and anti-inflammatory qualities of the tequila soaked into your skin and tissue, while its spirituous aroma helps you to relax, all without worrying about the hangover,” says Svetlana Nadirova, wellness director for the resort group’s Spatium spas. At three of their properties, including the Riviera Maya, Los Cabos and Nuevo Vallarta locations, Vidanta offers a Tequila Body Massage. Enjoy an 80-minute treatment using tequila oil as well as margarita aromatherapy, followed by an actual margarita at the conclusion of the session.
At the Riviera Nayarit and Los Cabos locations of Grand Velas, give the Tequila Cream Massage a try. The properties’ SE Spa offers 50- or 80-minute sessions which include a tasting of coffee, vanilla and chocolate tequila creams. The tequila cream itself is incorporated into the massage, which also includes the spa’s Water Journey, a hydrotherapy ritual incorporating numerous hot and cold sauna facilities.
If you haven’t had enough tequila yet, head to the W Punta de Mita for its Agave and Tequila Local Facial. An agave-based face mask removes impurities, and after a neck, shoulder and arm massage you get a parting gift of a tequila shot with lime.
Last but not least, at the Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riviera Maya‘s Naum Wellness & Spa, body wraps incorporate local ingredients including agave and tequila. But they also celebrate Baja California’s burgeoning wine production, too. In this case, grapes are mixed into a gentle exfoliating scrub as well as a grape oil mask, and guests receive a glass of wine following the treatment.
CBD Oils, Followed by CBD Cocktails
If you find yourself at Alaska’s Alyeska Resort, visit the property’s Nordic Spa for a signature treatment such as the Alyeska Forest Therapy Massage or the Nordic Signature Massage, the latter of which features hot and cold sauna elements. In either case, opt for a CBD oil add-on to help you fully relax, with On The Mend Oil from Simple Jane Co. designed to uplift the body and mind, ease inflammation and speed workout recovery. You can even pair it with one of the hotel’s CBD cocktails.
At La Quinta Resort & Club in Palm Springs, California, you can sign up for the Vybes Calm & Balance CBD Massage. Therapeutic-grade CBD oil is used to deepen mind and body relaxation, and alleviate muscle and joint tension, during a 50- or 80-minute massage. Afterwards, rehydrate with a Vybes hemp and CBD beverage. La Quinta, though, is impartial when it comes to your tipple of choice, so you could choose the Wine Down Massage instead. Begin with a flight of wine, and then enjoy a massage with essential oils matching the wine’s aromatics. Keep it going with a glass of your favorite wine from the flight after your treatment.
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