Not all spas are created equal. While most are fine for an afternoon of R&R others are highly revered destinations, complete with loyal followers, plush accommodations, and genuine reputations for helping you to get some spring back in your languid step. The following are our favorite gold standards–not to mention ideal choices for next time you want to pamper with purpose.–Kristin Luna

Golden Door

Located north of San Diego, with outposts in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, and Puerto Rico, Golden Door is for the true luxury connoisseur who has exhausted all other spas and is still searching for the crème de la crème. Its popularity dates back to the 1950s, when Hollywood celebrities first began retreating here for personal renewal. Today, the founders still attract A-listers with ancient Asian influences, environmental inspiration, classic European spa techniques, and meditation, which is spa’s primary focus.

Designed in the ancient traditions of Japanese honjin inns, the resort has a heavy Eastern presence, providing sessions like T’ai Chi, a calming dance practice; Zen Archery, a focus and concentration exercise; and a Buddhist-inspired labyrinth that aids in walking meditation and helps to develop self-evaluation.

There’s really no way you can visit Golden Door without being dranw to its fitness facilities. With three poolside aerobic gyms, a Kiatsu water therapy pool, solarium, hilltop gym for private sessions, spinning gym, tennis courts, and 4,000-square-foot fitness pavilion, you’ll wonder where the time went as you tone up and unwind.

It’s primarily women that keep the resort filled to capacity year-round (though there are co-ed and men’s weeks on the schedule). Good luck inching your way up the ever-growing waiting list.

Cal-a-Vie [www.cal-a-vie.com]

A neighbor—and competitor—of Golden Door, this Southern California spa utilizes its 200 acres of secluded valley and natural beauty to put guests at ease. Signature spa treatments include a hot stone foot massage, an exfoliating BodyCoffee Vichy scrub that wards off cellulite, and a magnet energy treatment that speeds healing by drawing blood to sore tissues. The newly-added bamboo massage deeply penetrates muscles and relieves tension with the plant’s healing powers.

Cal-a-Vie is also lauded for its weight loss program, so it’s particularly popular among those looking to make permanent changes to their bodies and lifestyles. The 25 terra-cotta-roof cottages, modeled after Mediterranean villas, exude a calming feel of being in the European countryside, fresh window boxes of flowers and all. In sharp contrast to the silence and still of the surrounding rolling hills, flames crackle in the stone fireplace of each individually-decorated room. Spend even a day and you’ll mistake the tranquil setting for Tuscany with no trouble at all.

Red Mountain Spa

Bound by the towering red cliffs of Snow Canyon State Park, Red Mountain Spa in St. George, Utah, certainly attracts a type: the outdoor enthusiast who seeks a little spoiling fresh off the hiking trails. Treatments are of a holistic nature–for example the stone massages are said to get their healing powers from thousands of years of exposure to lighting and flowing rocks. As to not make men feel left out, there’s a male skincare menu, with a Mountain Man Anti-Age Performance renewal option and Tune-Up Hydrating seaweed mask. The spa also caters to fitness fanatics, teaching more classes than you even knew existed (some of the more unique include Balletone, Nordic Walking, Drums Alive, and Cardio Salsa).

If guests are staying overnight, they’ll lay their tranquil heads to rest under Southwestern-style accommodations, all of which offer views of the surrounding red rock formations and include oversized soaking tubs. The 24 villa suites are even more luxurious: Expect 600 to 1,700 square feet of space, plus a gas fireplace, floor-to-ceiling windows, a kitchenette, river stone shower, patio with tables and chaise lounges, and access to a whirlpool spa and negative-edge pool.

Canyon Ranch

A stately mansion nestled in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, Canyon Ranch employs the healing tactics of Eastern medicine in its daily regime, offering guests the chance to explore stimulating practices like Oriental Vitality, Craniosacral Therapies, Polarity and Reiki. Those who long for a unique and all-encompassing spa experience won’t be disappointed here: On top of basic massages and scrubs, the spa boasts activities that focus on nutrition, cooking, prevention and healing, mind-body connection, sexuality, and intimacy, to name a few. Canyon Ranch’s attention to health carries over to its cuisine, which is prepared by a team of nutritionists who ensure meals contain minimal sugar, plenty of fiber, no artificial sweeteners, and balanced protein and carbohydrates.

Depending on the season, guests can engage in tennis, hiking, biking, kayaking, snowshoeing, and cross-country and downhill skiing. The original resort of the same name still stands in the foothills of Tucson.

Rancho LaPuerta

An hour south of San Diego straddling the US-Mexico border, Rancho LaPuerta first opened in 1940 and has been a leader in lavish renewal ever since. Resting at the foot of the 3,885-foot Mount Kuchumaa, it promises a smorgasbord of wildlife–coyotes, foxes, cottontail rabbits, golden eagles, hawks, wren, and many other species of birds mingle in the brush of the surrounding 3,000-acre nature preserve.

There are five types of lodging available, all of which range in size and price. But regardless, all casitas showcase streamlined Mexican style with wooden furnishings and folk art alongside standard modern amenities and fireplaces or wood-burning stoves (in most units). What you won’t find is a lot of distraction; There are no TVs in any of the rooms, cars are not allowed on the property, and telephones are only present in half the casitas.

The spa has a skincare boutique and three different health centers—all male, all female and coed—each of which offers massage rooms, a lounge, indoor/outdoor showers, a sauna, a steam room, a hot tub, and swimsuit optional sunbathing. Fitness options are many, with Pilates, tennis, hiking, volleyball, water sports, nightly labyrinth walks and much more available. All food served on-site comes from the family’s organic farm, Rancho Tres Estrellas, just up the way. While most patrons stay a full week, the new Saturdays at the Ranch program—the perfect girlfriend getaway day trip—transports guests from San Diego to the resort for a full 12 hours of fun, fitness, fine dining and relaxation.

Miraval

A Sonoran Desert resort located near Tuscon, Miraval plays off of Arizona’s spiritual vibe, incorporating a Body Mindfulness Center with Olympic-size lap pool and state-of-the-art equipment, Zen gardens complete with labyrinth and Kiva, Agave Yoga Center, and Yucca Pilates studio. The pool area is relaxing enough itself, with an acupressure stone walk and gently cascading waterfalls. Spa services make use of the desert surroundings through treatments like the Sonoran mud wrap and desert rain scrub.

Miraval tends to appeal to New Age-y types who are deeply attuned to their bodies and surroundings. So in lieu of chocolates on your pillow, guests can expect a card with messages such as “hope” or  “peace” written in Chinese.

Exercise lovers indulge at Miraval through activities such as Challenge Course or Quantam Leap, in which participants scurry up a pole, work their way onto a platform, and jump. Not for stuffier spagoers, the attire here is about as casual as it gets, which explains why guests are encouraged to attend meals in their spa robes.