Sometimes, the best gift you can give Mom on Mother’s Day is a little R&R. Lucky for all of us (and the women who brought us into this world), there’s no shortage of Southern spas specializing in just that. Some our favorites are those that come with natural landscapes as luxurious as the deep tissue massages, like these six mountain, lake, and beach spa retreats.
Old Edwards Inn
Highlands, North Carolina
You’ll find dreamy European elegance at the Old Edwards Inn. Surrounded by the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains but located at the heart of downtown Highlands, the inn offers rural-style relaxation along with plenty of in-town amenities for the devoted city dweller. The spa offers more than fifty ways to unwind, but the biggest indulgence of all might be the solarium complete with a roaring fire and floor-to-ceiling views of the North Carolina high country.
Westglow Resort and Spa
Blowing Rock, North Carolina
If you’re going for wow factor, Westglow delivers—in a big way. The resort’s impeccably restored Greek revival mansion with panoramic mountain views leaves no question as to why Westglow is consistently voted among the world’s best spa retreats. Rejuvenate dry winter skin with a Blue Ridge Body Wrap and be cocooned in lavender essential oils. Post-pampering, curl up with a book in one of the Adirondack chairs out front.
Austin, Texas
Nineteen waterfront acres along Lake Austin make up this award-winning spa’s secluded Hill Country campus. The resort offers a dizzying number of treatments (more than one hundred), including the signature “Tour of Texas,” which begins with a prickly pear scrub, followed by an agave nectar wrap, and finished with essentials oils that are worked into your skin during a fifty-minute massage. If you can still move afterward, go for a dip in the magnificent Pool Barn.
Ritz Carlton at Reynolds Plantation
Lake Oconee, Georgia
Last year, the thirty-acre lakeside property, once called “Linger Longer” by the family who lived here, unveiled a multi-million dollar renovation to its 27,600 square-foot spa. Upgrades can be seen everywhere from the lounges and treatment rooms to the overhauled spa menu. Truly exhausted? Book “Surrender to Serenity,” which includes scalp, neck, shoulder, foot, hand, and back massages. At just over an hour’s drive from Hartsfield-Jackson, Reynolds is easy to reach no matter where you live.
The Cloister at Sea Island
Sea Island, Georgia
Next to the lush coastal landscape, the sprawling 65,000-square-foot spa and fitness center is the historic resort’s showpiece. The staff takes the notion of Southern hospitality to the next level, accommodating every need. You can sign up for yoga, Pilates, spin, barre, or water aerobics classes. If that’s not your idea of relaxation, though, try the marine-based European facial, which uses minerals from the sea along with coral and obsidian stones to restore your skin to its natural glow.
The Breakers
Palm Beach, Florida
This South Florida grand dame completed an eight million dollar refresh to its spa and fitness center last November. That means new treatments such as the “Walk on the Beach” pedicure. It’s like a facial for your feet, which includes deep-sea exfoliation and a seaweed-enriched foot mask. Put ’em to use in a body-sculpting class in the new indoor-outdoor fitness center situated right on the Atlantic. Or prop them up on a beach chair and while away the hours doing absolutely nothing at all.
