As restrictions ease during the pandemic, the prospect of going somewhere to relax and renew will be more important and savored than ever. Afterall, getting a change of scenery, eating deliciously “clean” food, and pampering one’s self is very healing and healthy – definitely something we all need. With this article, we begin a multi-part series on the subject of socially-distant spa getaway with the help of two wonderful Real Food Traveler writers, Carole Jacobs and Irvina Lew. Both are spa aficionados who will share their experiences with two spa destinations in each article, including how those places are making sure they keep you safe and well. 

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Socially Distant Spa Getaways  

 If you’re spa goddesses like the two of us, chances are you’ve been itching to get out of the house and Dodge for months, spread your wings – and fly far away from the worries and stress of Covid. Fortunately, several spa resorts have made that once-unthinkable feat possible by implementing special programs and sanitation practices developed by ISPA (the International SPA Association) to keep us safely apart while happily pampered.

“At destination and lifestyle spas, people really put their emotional, physical and energetic safety and security in our hands,” says Jim Root, past chairman of I-SPA who serves on panels addressing Covid and sanitation and is also General Manager of Mii amo in Sedona, AZ.

The responsibility for protecting guests begins at the ground level with sanitation requirements that go far beyond what you’d find at a chain hotel or resort; extends to the spa facility, where therapists and guests wear masks throughout; is carried out in restaurants, where waiters are masked, there are no printed menus and tables aren’t set until you arrive and is implemented in small-group recreational activities that ensure social distancing, he says. “At Mii amo, we also practice the ‘Air High Five,’ where you come close, but you don’t touch,” says Root. Like other safety practices incorporated at lifestyle spas, “it projects an intimate connection that is authentic, but also a reflection of the reality of our times.”

According to Robert Baldassari, General Manager at the Lodge at Woodloch, “We have very stringent COVID procedures called The New Age of Precaution. We have a dedicated team that keeps our property updated with the latest advisory requirements. Our current policy does not allow anyone in the guest room while it is occupied (turn-down is currently suspended). It is recommended that all guests check the New Age of Precaution policy before traveling as the rules and regulations are fluid as the state guidelines evolve.”

Woodloch’s entry garden with chakra bowls. Photo courtesy The Lodge at Woodloch.

Socially Distant Spa Vacations at The Lodge at Woodloch, Hawley, PA 

If you are lucky enough, life pre-Covid, may have included fine dining, live performances, a gym and spa services. It’s not likely they are part of your new-normal; yet, I experienced all those life-enhancing activities, and more, recently, at The Lodge at Woodloch.

In my new role as Covid-era researcher–and as an escape from cabin fever– I recently visited that 58-room, contemporary Adirondack-style lodge in The Poconos, in northeastern Pennsylvania. (It’s in Hawley, about a four and a half hour’ drive from Boston and Washington, D.C. and just a couple of hours from Manhattan or Philadelphia.) The mountain chalet spa retreat is on a secluded 500-acre stretch of woodlands, complete with a 15-acre private lake, five miles of well-marked trails and Blackmore farm, where much of the produce served is grown.

Hungry for more? Click to read Part 2 in this spa series.

Not long after the luxe spa opened, in 2006, my late husband and I visited and were impressed with the timeless architecture at this sprawling, self-contained hospitality and wellness complex, with its gorgeous woodwork, slate walls, coffered ceilings, and vaulted 17.5-foot-high window walls that integrate the natural backdrop.

As a couple, we appreciated the fireplaces, the co-ed whirlpools with their dramatic waterfalls, the outdoor whirlpool and the bar. As a spa junkie, I was thrilled with the 40,000 square-foot spa complex, with spacious, separate locker rooms for men and women, each with steam, sauna and heated whirlpool. (The ladies’ lounge had 9 private showers!). The lounges lead to the Aqua Garden around the indoor heated pool, an upper level fitness center with 3500 square-foot cardio-weight studio and a myriad of studios for yoga, Pilates, rowing and spinning and a lower level spa, which houses 27 treatment cabins, including a couples’ suite, and a quiet and a gathering lounge. The menu of spa treatments is extensive and offers an array of body and beauty possibilities.

The Aqua Garden at Woodloch. Photo by Irvina Lew.

From the first, we were both delighted with the fine dining ambiance—chandeliers, Frette napkins, table cloths at dinner–and excellent food. Bob was very pleased with the choices and the man-sized portions. I’ve long considered healthful dining integral to spa life; after all, exercise, treatments, even nutritional education are available near home. Here, at TREE Restaurant, dining is beautifully executed, with four-course lunches and dinners served by a long-experienced, local, and loyal staff.

The choices feature organic, local, farm-raised, and “best quality” ingredients; with an array of gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan items. Still, this is not deprivation dining; you need to choose carefully and order wisely if you want low-calorie meals. There are ample choices: freshly-squeezed health juices, grilled fish, chicken and salads, and wonderfully prepared vegetables as well as heartier items. I ordered a Korean Steak Bowl, with chunks of flavorful, tender top-cap beef, for one lunch, and atoned with a grilled chicken breast and green beans, at another. For dinner, I was amazed at the loin pork chop’s size and tenderness, to be sure, and the pomegranate garnish; the demi-glace sauce swooshed alongside it, rather than drowned it. And, a 10 oz. rare strip steak, the last night, with garlic mashed potatoes was steak house worthy!

Pork Chop entree at Woodloch. Photo by Irvina Lew.

I even opted for an Open Face Crab Benedict for breakfast, which might have been a no-no, had I not ordered the Hollandaise on the side. (I felt no guilt eating half an English muffin, topped with greens, a poached egg and huge lumps of crab, which I dipped in the sauce. I can’t say how fattening the brownies, cheesecake, and crème brûlée are, but I can assure you they were tasty. And, though I ordered wine with dinner (a la carte), I abstained from a TREEhouse Bloody Mary, with organic vodka and a French Mimosa, at breakfast.

Cooking Classes are so popular that there’s a dedicated Demo Chef, Brooks, who taught me—and a handful of others–some new techniques for making Clams Casino, Oysters Rockefeller, and Mussels Marinière. I missed the nutritionist’s presentation of healthy dishes, because I decided to take advantage of the indoor pool complex, and an Aqua-Jog class. And, I chose to walk in the woods, rather than attend the Smoothie session.

It’s in the woodlands that the true experience comes to life: the silence, the beauty, the space. Even on a dreary, winter day with no sun and a damp, pre-rain chill, the white blanket covering the lake and the spaces between the tall trees, created a simply magical place to mind-travel.

Be assured about safety, The Lodge staff was well-trained in Covid-era protocols and they follow all the best practices.

–– Story by Irvina Lew

Hungry for more? Read Part 3 in this spa series by clicking here.  

Socially Distant Spa Getaway at Mii amo at Enchantment Resort, Sedona, AZ 

There’s something about the desert that makes me feel inherently alive, rendering it the perfect place to escape after months of slugabed hiding out from Covid. The apply-named Enchantment Resort  in Sedona, AZ, checked all the boxes. One of the pre-eminent Arizona spas and resorts, the intoxicating snap of sagebrush cleansed me with every breathe, forcing me to exhale the poisonous vibes of the past year while the natural setting — a wilderness of sand-meets-stars, expanded my horizons beyond the couch I’d been stuck on since March, unleashing my spirit so my soul could roam free in a timeless red-rock wonderland inhabited by five Native American nations for eons.

Tucked into Enchantment’s grounds, but separate from the main complex—is the transformative Mii amo (“Journey Forward” in the local Native American dialect), a 24,000-square-foot destination spa with 16 casitas, a dedicated pool, a regionally-inspired restaurant and three-, four-, or seven-day all-inclusive stay called a “Journey.’” Note: Mii amo is undergoing a “pause” during 2021 for restoration, but you can enjoy most of the same spa, wellness services, lodging, dining and outdoor recreational ops plus the majestic scenery by booking a stay at Enchantment Resort.

Hungry for more? While in Arizona, visit Scottsdale with our Editor’s Guide.

My rose-colored adobe blended in seamlessly with the red-rock landscape, echoing the clean, sparse environs while encasing me a protective bubble of swank sanctuary – deep soaking tubs, plush towels rolled and wrapped in plastic and a kiva fireplace whose flames danced long into the dark, still night.

Awakening to “Mindful Monday,” I headed to Mii amo Café for an al fresco breakfast in a pocket courtyard overlooking sweeping canyon vistas. My waiter greeted me with a long, soulful “eye hug,” steered me to an empty table, and, setting a place for me, handed me a one-use menu. Torn between avocado toast on multi-grain and blue corn waffles with prickly pear syrup, I ordered a chai tea latte with almond milk and sipped it as hummingbirds dive-bombed a beautiful trumpet vine plant kamikaze-style.

I walked off breakfast at the Labyrinth, my mind unraveling as I circled the pathway to the center of myself. Then I set out for a solo hike in Boynton Canyon, the resort having put group and guided excursions on hiatus until the pandemic wanes.

Mii amo seems to organically blend into the surrounding geography in Arizona. Photo courtesy Mii amo

For me, the age of Covid had been ushered in by a startling, unsuspected diagnosis that left me reeling, and feeling alternately helpless, hopeless, and determined to regain my former well-being. A visit to one of Sedona’s legendary vortexes seemed in order, so I followed a path through manzanita, pinion pine and oak forests and up a steep rocky trail to Boynton Pass Vortex, a hiking spot said to possess spiritual energy, where large ledges of stacked rocks set beneath an overhang created a natural viewing platform.

As I gazed out on Secret Canyon Wilderness, the wind suddenly picked up and the rustling brush whispered “safe-safe-safe.” On the way back down, a local man poised on a ledge was playing his flute into the yawning abyss. As I passed him, he smiled and handed me a heart-shaped rock – testament to the area’s magical enchantment. (I later learned he was a local named John who hikes the canyon every morning to play his flute, hands out gift rocks and dispenses trail wisdom and lore.)

The pool area at Mii amo, juxtaposed with the rugged hills. Photo by Bob Lew Photography.

Back at the resort, I wandered over to Tii Gavo (“The Gathering Place”), a restaurant set in the shadow of soaring red rock cliffs and spires, for a late lunch of shrimp street tacos, yucca fries and honey-ginger artisan soda.

Then it was off to the spa for an afternoon of pampering. To safeguard guests, the resort has converted eight guest rooms into treatment spaces, so the bathroom was my private locker room and the living room, my private spa lounge. After checking my temperature, the masked masseuse invited me to lay down for a Hot Stones Massage, an ancient healing therapy used by various cultures throughout the ages. As the masseuse massaged me with smooth, heated river rocks and cool marble stones, my tension and stress melted away.

Enjoy fresh, healthy meals at Mii amo. Photo courtesy Mii amo.

Che Ah Chi (Apache for Boynton Canyon) restaurant showcases Native American cuisine plus a  front row seat to Sedona’s glowing sunsets. As I spooned up Mesquite Honey Butternut Bisque, the crimson cliffs and spires were already afire in the slanting sun. By the time my Yuma Harvest Vegetarian Chili arrived, I could almost hear the cactus flowers blooming in the post-dusk hush.

— By Carole Jacobs.

Hungry for more? Read about a socially distant road trip option.

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