Although the search for tranquillity can take shape any time of year, there's something more, well, Zen-like about doing so during the dark days of winter. There's just so much pleasure in scraping that last bit of ice from your windshield and bidding adieu to frozen Canada to take care of your overstressed and overworked mind, body and spirit.
Not with a lie-on-the-beach vacation, mind you, but with true rejuvenation -- yoga on the sand, massages infused with Grenada nutmeg, outdoor soaks in a bathtub carved from a tree trunk, astrology readings and even a Mayan sweat lodge.
A growing number of travellers are planning holidays around such experiences.
In 2003, Condé Nast Traveler magazine cited a Gallup poll confirming that one-third of travellers now consider access to a spa "important in making their travel plans."
The International Spa Association, meanwhile, in its 2004 Consumer Trends Report, acknowledges the surge in spa-goers, particularly among Generation Xers who are "removing the old taboos of spa-going -- such as it being a luxury or unnecessary indulgence."
And in the warm-weather wellness quest, the Caribbean and Mexico are leading the way with resorts in locales from Merida to St. Barths.
For an indigenous experience
Spa at Hacienda Xcanatun
Merida, Mexico
Step into this former sisal farm, just outside Merida, and be transported back in time. Owners Jorge Ruz and his wife, Christina Baker, bought what was then a tumbling-down hacienda in 1993. They immediately enlisted master Mayan craftsmen, who spent the next five years restoring it into a magical 18-suite hideaway, so authentically beautiful you may never want to leave your room. But do. The hacienda's sole restaurant, Casa de Piedra, fuses Yucatan specialties with French technique to create favourites such as fish cebicle in green tomatillo sauce. Cooking lessons can also be arranged. And guides offer cultural insight with trips to Merida and to out-of-the-way ruins and cenotes.
Still, the spa is a highlight. Mayan herbs, indigenous flowers and Yucatan honey are used in every treatment, while Carolina, the sole therapist, hand-mixes all of the oils and creams from recipes handed down to her by her late grandfather, a respected chilam (the highest order of Mayan traditional healer).
Her signature treatment, however, is her own: the Private Mayan Interlude for two. Yucatan honey is applied to the body followed by fresh flowers "to bring the soul into balance with the body." An hour-long massage follows, ending with a Mayan chant by Carolina for "longevity and happiness."
More information: 52 (999) 941 0213; http://www.xcanatun.com. Rates from about $300 a night (all rates are based on double occupancy); treatments from $60.
For outdoor bathing
Azulik, Tulum, Mexico
The danger at this new Tulum-based eco-resort (no electricity, no telephones) is that you may never get out of your bathtub. Each of the 15 beachfront villas comes with its own private, outdoor, hand-carved, Zapote tree-trunk bathtub -- offering breathtaking views of the Caribbean Sea.
The king-sized beds, draped in filmy mosquito netting, and daybeds suspended from the ceiling on thick ropes, are equally tempting. As are the spa treatments, decadently delivered in-room by a Mayan shaman. Every few nights the temezcal (sweat lodge) is fired up -- purging body, mind and spirit -- a must-do during your stay, as is the dry flotation tank, located just a short walk into the jungle, which is said to inspire lucid dreaming.
There's no need to pack much gear for this Tulum-based resort, a 11/2-hour drive from Cancun. Clothing is optional, though wraps and sarongs are typically worn in public spaces. Dinners of fresh fish, lobster, shrimp and Mexican quesadillas, of course, are served privately on your terrace under the moonlight.
More information: 1-877-532-6737; http://www.azulik.com. Rates from about $250.
For yoga
Como Shambhala
Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos
Reaching Como Shambhala on Parrot Cay is part of the fun. After arriving on the Turks and Caicos island of Provinciales, Parrot Cay staff greet you at the airport and deliver you to a dock for a boat ride out to the private isle (where Bruce Willis, Christy Brinkley and Keith Richards all own homes).
Villas are beachfront, with wispy netted fabrics and Asian décor, while smaller rooms overlook blooming gardens. The spa is the major draw, but owner/hotelier Christina Ong, who has recently opened properties in Bali and Bhutan, doesn't like people to refer to her signature Shambhala as a spa.
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