Have you ever wanted a destination spa experience, but with a little extra flexibility built in (so that you could explore a new city)? That’s what Dakota Mountain Lodge is offering in their brand new Destination Spa Week package—a destination spa experience and the opportunity to explore all that Park City has to offer.

Retreat: Destination Spa Week
Details: 7 nights in a one-bedroom suite at the  Dakota Mountain Lodge, breakfast, lunch, and dinner suited to your special dietary needs, access to the state-of-the art fitness center with a dedicated Kinesis studio, movement studio, and Pilates studio, access to  the Golden Door spa with 15 treatment suites, special wellness lectures, cooking classes and meditation workshops, custom-designed workout classes, full-body composition and wellness  analysis, daily massage and facial with options for acupuncture or hair and nail add-ons, and one-on-one nutritional counseling to design a 10-week customized program to help you maintain results long after you leave.
Dates: April 18-25
Cost: $8,000

In the January/February 2010 issue, we announced our first ever Dream Spa Makeover contest. The goal in offering the contest is to provide a reader with a free spa experience she or he would never forget—one that would be truly transformational.

The winner will receive an all-expenses-paid seven-day retreat at Mii amo, a destination spa at Enchantment in Sedona, Arizona, a spa known not only for its phenomenal setting (a photo of the spa is above) and spa cuisine but also its amazing therapies and therapists. (I can attest to this firsthand.) Included is airfare, accommodations in a Spa Casita, 14 spa treatments (yes, you’ve read that correctly: 14!), meals, and all destination spa activities and amenities.

Entrants were asked to choose between four Journeys Mii amo offfers its guests: Healthy Body in Balance; De-Stress Mind, Body, and Spirit; Spiritual Exploration; and Rites of Passage.

To choose a winner, the Spa staff reviewed all 1398 entries (coming from all 50 states, Washington D.C., Canada, and Puerto Rico) and independently voted on our top 10. From there, the entry with the most votes won. Narrowing it down to only 10 was difficult for all of us, because as we read through everyone’s entries it became clear that everyone who entered deserved to win.

Fortunately for us one entry, however, did get the most votes. And the winner is…. Veronica Lynch of North Carolina, who chose the Rites of Passage Journey. Her entry, that so moved us all, is below.

“I picked the Rites of Passage Journey because I am embarking on a new stage in my life. In the last year, I have finally finished breast cancer treatments including breast reconstruction. I was diagnosed in late 2006 at the age of 33.

I have been on a roller coaster, but I’m finally ready to embark on a place where I can transform from patient to healthy, vibrant, thriving survior. I’m trying to do that, but I think the Rites of Passage experience would give me the tools to help me through this transition.

I have also separated from my husband in the last year, too. I have spent so much time trying to cope with that transition as well. I’m trying to bring myself to a point where I’m ready to transition into thinking about myself as beautiful and open for love, but my cancer diagnosis and scars are holding me back.

I’m looking for tools that will help me get to a positive place that will allow me to be open for love in my life. I’m simply ready to learn better communication so I can have the relationships I deserve in my life.”

We’ll be featuring Veronica’s trip in our July/August 2010 issue and also at Spamagazine.com—so stay tuned!

—Julie Sinclair, editor-in-chief

Whenever I tell people I recently spent nine months living at luxury spas, I’m always asked the same question: Which one was your favorite?

The truth is, I don’t have a favorite. (It’s the safe answer, I know.) Each location really offered something special—though I will admit there were a few standouts. One of them was Six Senses Hideaway Yao Noi.

From my Thai spa therapist Elle who managed to release tension I never knew I had to my loveable butler Tony who made sure that my bathroom was stocked with lemon grass-scented products and not lavender, the Six Senses staff succeeded in anticipating my needs without ever intruding in my space. And for me, that is exactly what makes a destination spa worth going back to.

So when I received an email announcing that Six Senses is now selling gift certificates, I was especially excited. The certificates are available in denominations of $100 and $1,000. They can be used for any spa service, or for stays at any Six Senses, Soneva, and Evason resort. Staying true to the company’s commitment to protecting the environment, each order is packaged in a unique box that is handcrafted from 100 percent recycled elephant poo. (Don’t worry the paper is odorless!)

A tip for spa connoisseurs: If you’re lucky enough to be on the receiving end of this lavish present, redeem your certificates at the newly opened Soneva Kiri by Six Senses. This tropical wonderland is located on the secluded island of Koh Kood, Thailand. Accessed by the resort’s private plane, it features 42 private pool villas and, of course, the brand’s signature Six Senses Spa.

—Maria Wakem, senior editor

Have you ever dreamed of taking an all-expenses-paid seven-day spa retreat? Have you ever wanted to be featured in a magazine?

Now is the time to make all of those dreams and wishes come true—just enter our 2010 Dream Spa Makeover Giveaway. One person will win an amazing journey at Mii amo, a destination spa at Enchantment.  Everything is included—airfare, accommodations in a spa casita, all meals (excluding specialty drinks and alcohol), 14 spa treatments, and all destination spa amenities and activities. That’s a value of more than $4,600.

Get more info and enter here.