If you want to relax and rejuvenate on your Hawaii vacation, there’s nothing better than a visit to one of its best spa hotels on Maui’s west side — especially when you can just roll out of bed and walk a few steps to experience the nirvana of a Hawaiian lomilomi or heated lava rock massage. Locally sourced ingredients like sugar, honey, ginger, coffee and cacao make body wraps and facials delectable, too.
Feature Photo: Westin Ka’anapali Facebook
TIP: Don’t waste your day! Since most hotels have check-in until 4pm, be sure to ask for an early check-in. If they can’t accommodate, they will usually let you store your bags so you can head to the beach!
The Ritz Carlton Maui, Kapalua
The 463-room, 54-acre Ritz Carlton, Kapalua property sits on a verdant, gently sloping bluff just above the ocean with panoramic views of blue water and green mountains. Centered around a massive, three-tiered heated pool, the hotel offers a unique blend of luxurious amenities with cultural and recreational activities.
Spa treatment rooms come with private garden showers and volcanic stone grottos, while the fitness center boasts ocean views. Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment program, closely affiliated with the property, offers all levels of activities from land to sea. The Ritz Carlton, Kapalua, also features six dining experiences, indoor/outdoor meeting spaces, lush organic gardens and two championship golf courses.
HIGHLIGHTS
- A long, dark hallway designed to look like a bamboo grove ushers you into the hushed spa, which includes grotto-like whirlpools but also light-filled indoor-outdoor relaxation lounges.
- Take advantage of seasonal spa specials like the coconut mango pedicure or go for a classic treatment like the deep cleansing organic facial, incorporating ingredients grown in the resort’s garden.
Montage Kapalua Bay
At the virtual “end of the road” of West Maui resorts lies its most luxurious, discreet and romantic enclave. Starting at 1,250 square feet, its spacious one-, two- and three-bedroom units were built as residences with top-name appliances in full kitchens and deep soaking tubs and separate showers in marble-lined bathrooms.
Multiple terraced pools and beach services on a hidden beach offer privacy for lounging in the sun, while the vast, stand-alone Spa Montage at Kapalua Bay features its own outdoor infinity-edge pool, on the second story. Sunset and views of Molokai across the channel are breathtaking. Explore Hawaiian cultural activities on site or go snorkeling in one of the nearby pristine bays.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The 30,000-square-foot spa includes indoor plantation-style treatment rooms that reflect the resort’s history as a pineapple plantation and outdoor treatment rooms that allow you to experience sea breezes.
- There are special services for teens and children (accompanied by caregivers); couples can book massage, facial or nail care packages, including Maui Romance, which begins with a coconut milk bath in a stone tub outdoors and continues with a massage in the roomy outdoor hale (thatched hut).
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