For a healthy dose of R&R, take a deep breath and head for the hills

November 06, 2011|By Victoria Abbott Riccardi, Globe Correspondent
  • A yoga class at Canyon Ranch Lenox.
A yoga class at Canyon Ranch Lenox. (CANYON RANCH LENOX )

People have long looked to the Berkshires to relax - delighting in its natural beauty, cultural offerings, inns, and farm-fresh food. More recently, this bucolic region has attracted those interested in healing and wellness and area spas have reacted accordingly. Some focus on yoga, others on medical issues, still others on luxury.

ROMANTIC GETAWAY

Cranwell Resort, Spa & Golf Club, a 380-acre resort with 114 guest rooms and three restaurants (two casual), offers a bounty of restorative activities and body treatments for both sexes. In addition to an 18-hole championship golf course, there is a 60-foot, glass-enclosed indoor pool and fitness center with cardio and strength training equipment and daily fitness classes ranging from morning stretch to Latin-inspired Zumba dance. The spa has 16 treatment rooms and more than 50 services, including the signature Grand Mosaic that includes exfoliation, hydration, and massage, along with a rest in the dry flotation bed, a warm water-filled plastic “blanket’’ that slightly suspends you, as if in a hammock. For men, body treatments include the Man-icure and man’s facial, which revitalizes the skin with essential oils. Couples can enjoy the Duet Massage, set in one double-treatment room to accommodate you and a significant other along with two therapists, or the Couples Instructional Massage, basically a take-home lesson in massage technique. The Couple’s Retreat includes a couple’s massage, man’s facial, Decleor Facial (using specific essential oils tailored to the person’s skin), and lunch for two at the Spa Café, while the Romance & Relaxation Package offers one night’s stay, dining credit, and complementary access to the spa, romantic music CD, homemade chocolates, and a complementary bottle of wine with dinner. A salon offers body waxing, hair and make-up treatments. 55Lee Road, Lenox, 800-272-6935, 413-637-1364, www.cranwell.com

ISSUES OF HEALTH

Unique among area spas, Canyon Ranch Lenox offers services to prevent illness and treat chronic health conditions. Through its Canyon Ranch Medicine center, you can meet with a board-certified physician for a compete evaluation, including diagnostic services for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic disorders, sleep disorders, sexuality and intimacy issues, and more. (There are labs on the premises.) Then, working with your physician back home, the Canyon Ranch doctor will suggest ways to deal with specific problems, practice preventive care, and promote wellness. A fleet of other specialists can also help: nurses, a naturopathic doctor, licensed Chinese medicine practitioner, acupuncturist, mental health specialist, nutritionist, exercise physiologist, movement and aquatic therapist, and healing touch practitioner.

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