The 7 Best Destination Spas for a Weekend Trip with the Girls

One of the greatest joys in life is hanging out with your girlfriends. And while you can always meet in town, there’s real magic in planning a girl’s getaway trip. Especially over the summer! We’ve curated a list of 7 of the best luxury destination spas for a weekend trip with the girls, whether it’s a bachelorette getaway, a sister vacation, or an extended mom’s night out.

7 Best wellness Destinations This Year for a Luxurious Girls Trip

While retail therapy has its merits, the most restorative cure for whatever ails you is friendship. Studies have shown time and again that people with close friends benefit from lower blood pressure and increased longevity.

The Mayo Clinic also reminds us that they also help improve self-confidence and self-worth. But with all the benefits, maintaining these friendships can be a challenge with work and family often taking priority.

After the horrible era of COVID-19 and social distancing, we fully appreciate our friends more than ever. Therefore, we’re talking girls trip.

While we’ll take a lunch or a night out when we can get it, a full-fledged girls’ getaway is where the magic really happens. It’s all about long, healing talks into the night, shared memories, deep belly laughs, and just being yourself amongst people who accept you.

Our best piece of advice is to start the planning early. The most motivated and organized friend should send out a Google Forms survey so everyone can get on the same page with potential dates and budget. And then, of course, you need to agree on a destination, and book your trip.

Since friendships promote well-being, why not double down and do a girls’ trip at an upscale wellness resort? Here are 7 luxury resorts in and near the U.S (because who wants to waste precious time on a plane?) where you and your friends can not only invest in your wellness but your friendships too.

7 Best Wellness Destinations This Year for a Luxurious Girls Trip

1. Shou Sugi Ban House in New York

Skip the Hamptons hot spots in favor of some pampering and relaxation with your crew. Shou Sugi Ban House is a Japanese-inspired wellness retreat private sanctuary situated in the pastoral hamlet of Water Mill. The portfolio includes a thirteen-room destination retreat and luxury spa, an intimate bed and breakfast for overnight stays, and two standalone luxury residences for short-term rentals. They offer restorative three-, four- or seven-day retreats which might include morning tea ceremonies, sound baths, reiki, and sacred oil and crystal therapies.

Good food is a must and Danish chef Mads Refslund (of noma fame) develops the seasonally oriented, daily-changing culinary program, while former Maison Premiere chef Jacob Clark oversees the kitchen’s daily operations and on-site organic farm. Meals are served communal style at a long dining table to soothing live music.

The overall vibe is understated and minimal but luxurious. Think crafted by a local designer, heated floors and in-room mineral soaks. If you’re seeking an East Coast retreat for a girls’ getaway, this one — included in Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards for Top Destination Spa Resorts — is hard to top.

2. Cal-a-Vie Health Spa in California

This idyllic wellness retreat near San Diego was designed to look like the French countryside. With terra-cotta tiled villas, lavender fields, and acres of vineyards and citrus groves, it combines the charm of a rustic village with upscale treatments and amenities for the most discerning clientele.

Whether you stay for three to seven days, the focus here is on holistic wellness combining fitness with mind-body rituals, nutrition and reflection. The spa has over 150 experiences from the expected wraps and facials to more cutting edge like water reflexology or Piloxing. If your group is sporty,  there are also clay tennis courts, beach volleyball, and a private, 18-hole golf course.

And if you just want to lounge around, you and your girlfriends will be treated like Oprah and Julia Roberts who are known to frequent this 500 acre retreat.

3. Carillon Miami Wellness Resort in Florida

Boasting its own 750 feet of private beach, Carillon was made for a girls’ getaway. You can still party in Miami Beach if the mood strikes, but this resort is more about the “luxury of wellness” on North Beach. All 150 rooms at the Carillon are suites and if your group books one of the one or two-bedroom floor plans, they come with full kitchens so you can enjoy relaxing nights-in.

If you and your friends need a healing space, the retreat promises empirically based, holistic and clinically effective menu of treatment options. This will reset your emotional and physical circuitry on a foundation of calm, clarity and purpose.

4. Castle Hot Springs in Arizona

A desert oasis with centuries-old natural thermal pools bubble up in a 5-star resort that epitomizes laid back luxury. It’s an hour from Phoenix and if your group appreciates hiking around the sun soaked Sonoran desert scenery, relaxing in hidden bungalows and good food and wine, it’s all here.

But first, people come here for the mineral-rich hot springs. The simple pools are carved from the rock and flow right back into the canyon. At night, you and the girls can soak in the waters underneath a star-filled sky.

During the day, there’s an enviable menu of recreational activities and pampering. Paddleboard yoga, horseback riding, archery and mountain biking for those looking for action. Scrubs, massages, and private wellness sessions of tai chi, breath work and even, astrology, for those looking to go inward.

5. Lumeria Maui Retreat Center in Hawaii

Lumeria sets itself apart as an educational retreat center for those seeking personal growth. The 5.6 acre private retreat is a beautifully renovated historic estate compound in Maui’s Upcountry. It’s intimate with only 24 Zen- like rooms and guests must enroll in Lumeria’s daily classes or be part of a focused retreat group.

Choose from classes and programs in yoga, meditation, healing arts and metaphysical studies, horticulture, music and dance. We never would have imagined taking ukulele lessons with our best friend but why not?

Lumeria’s onsite restaurant, The Wooden Crate, serves farm-to-table nourishing and delicious meals. And should you need a break from your studies, check out the Wellness Spa which offers bodywork, massage and healing arts therapies.

6. COMO Shambhala Retreat in Turks and Caicos

If you and the girls have ever joked about running away to a private island together, now you can. The retreat is located on a Caribbean private island resort called Parrot Cay in Turks and Caicos. Rich in hidden coves, pristine beaches and reefs, it is a true escape.

Asian-inspired treatments and other holistic experiences are curated to restore physical well-being and spiritual balance. Facilities include a sweeping yoga room facing the natural Caribbean breezes, outdoor Jacuzzi garden, Pilates studio and Japanese baths. The body treatments are indulgent and designed to relax and renew. Don’t miss the Javanese Royal Lulur Bath,  a beauty ritual from the Royal Palaces of Central Java that includes Indonesian massage, body scrub of aromatic spices, cooling yoghurt and flower-filled bath.

The menus are rich with fresh seafood, Caribbean-inspired cuisine, and contemporary Asian fare. There’s also a Mediterranean restaurant on site. The extensive room service menus also let you and your friends enjoy dining in complete privacy with beach picnics, tiki hut dinners and poolside meals at your villa.

7. Rancho La Puerta in Mexico

This premier health and wellness spa in Tecate, Mexico is a lush, 4,000-acre oasis.  It is kind of like a summer camp for adults — if summer camp had a luxury spa, world-class gardens, and museum-quality folk art. There is a focus on nature beneath the sacred Kuchumaa mountain, home to coyotes, cottontail rabbits and foxes, ravens, golden eagles, and red-tailed hawks which you might encounter on the 40 miles of hiking trails.

The family-owned ranch offers over 70 indoor and outdoor activities to satisfy and engage you and your crew, no matter how diverse they are. Choose from yoga, jewelry making, Bollywood dance, cooking, world drumming, birdwatching and more. The sense of community here is real, aided by staff who are warm and seasoned. You might even leave with a few new friends.

Healthy eating is easy at the resort with plant-based cuisine, most grown in the Ranch’s own organic garden. The recipes have been developed and tested since 1940. They are high in energy, fiber and complex carbohydrates (and low in fat, sodium and refined sugar) but most of all, delicious.

7 Best wellness Destinations This Year for a Luxurious Girls Trip

That’s our take on the best luxury destination spas for a weekend trip with the girls, whether its a bachelorette getaway, a sister vacation a best friends’ reunion or even an extended mom’s night out.

You all know what to do! The girls getaway doesn’t have to be so elusive. Share this with your squad and start planning that wellness vacation that you all deserve.