Winter can really do a number on your skin. ‘‘If you spend the day outside, all the moisture gets sucked from your skin, and you become dehydrated quickly,’’ says Alexandra Robinson, director of the spa at Topnotch, also in Stowe. Whether dodging moguls or simply running from shop to shop, a facial or steeping in a cocoon-like wrap helps restore moisture to parched skin. Her top choices are the délice de peau facial, which restores moisture and smoothes away fine lines and wrinkles, and the Mount Mansfield Saucha, a three-part herbal body treatment combining exfoliation with sea salt to remove dead skin and improve circulation, a wrap in a blend of Vermont herbs and flowers, followed by an aromatherapy massage using an intoxicating blend of sage, lavender, cedar, and sandalwood.
When you long for summer, just say the word: spa
‘‘Skin is the body’s largest organ,’’ says The Equinox’s Wheeler. ‘‘It’s really important to let the skin breathe, to clean it so it can absorb nutrients, and in winter, because it’s so dry, it’s important to exfoliate.’’ She recommends the Spirit of Vermont as a one-stop treatment for the winter stressed. It combines massage, reflexology, and Reiki techniques to calm trigger points and balance energies.
Of course, quips Robinson, ‘‘the second-best part of a ski vacationis taking off your boots at the end of the day.’’ She finds that even those with ‘‘spa phobia’’ tend to enjoy the hammam foot ritual, a soak, scrub, wrap, and massage, and even a pedicure can have beneficial results, such as helping prevent lost toenails from toes jammed into ski boots.
Another treatment catering to the spa phobic is sound therapy, available at the Spa at the Stowe Mountain Lodge. Guests relax in a special chair that has three sound hearths imbedded in it.
‘‘You hear the music through Bose headphones and you feel it,’’ Dunphy says. ‘‘The tone vibrations resonating through the water in your body do the massage. The more one relaxes, the stronger the sensation.’’
To rekindle the romance, consider a couples massage on side-by-side tables by the fireplace, each with your own masseuse. And afterward, wrapped in your robe, if you close your eyes, you might just be able to transport yourself from the snow-covered mountains of New England to a Caribbean beach.
Hilary Nangle can be reached at hilary@hilarynangle.com.