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Destination: SPAS

World's best new spas

By TORONTO SUN

Relax and rejuvenate at the world's top-ranked spas. -- Craig Robertson, SUN files

Spectacular scenery and local traditions -- from native plants to village healers -- are the hallmarks of destination spas recommended by two magazines.

Spa magazine's May/June issue lists the five best new spas. They are:

The St. Julien Hotel & Spa in Boulder, Colo., stjulien.com, which specializes in treatments based on local botanicals like pine seed powder.

Hotel Casa Del Mar spa, in Santa Monica, Calif., hotelcasadelmar.com, where you can take some treatments outdoors while listening to the sound of the surf.

The Sedona Rouge Hotel & Spa, sedonarouge.com, which opens in June in Arizona's Red Rock country.

The Pacifica Holistic Retreat & Spa in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, pueblobonito.com, which offers a "cactus body wrap" (no, it doesn't hurt -- the desert plants are merely ingredients).

The Ritz-Carlton's Spa Village in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ritzcarlton.com, where a Malay healer prescribes traditional remedies like brewed herbs.

Cowboys & Indians, a lifestyle magazine about the Western United States, takes a look at spas in New Mexico and Colorado in its June issue. The magazine lists nine spas where the visitor experience includes everything from restorative mountain vistas to sage-based body scrubs.

The spas highlighted by Cowboys & Indians are Monte Sagrado Living Resort & Spa in Taos, N.M., elmontesagrado.com; St. Regis Resort in Aspen, Colo., stregis.com; The Thousand Waves in Santa Fe, N.M., tenthousandwaves.com; La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa in Santa Fe, N.M., laposadadesantafe.com; Vail Cascade Resort & Spa in Vail, Colo., vailcascade.com; Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M., tamaya.hyatt.com; Eldorado Hotel & Spa in Santa Fe, N.M., eldoradohotel.com; The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colo., broadmoor.com; Wyndham Peaks Resort and Golden Door Spa in Telluride, Colo., wyndham.com.