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When the going gets tough, the tough get scrubbed, steamed, massaged, wrapped, and anointed with essential oils. With specialized treatments ranging from hot stone massages, to seaweed facials, to full-body detox treatments, the perfect urbanista oasis doesn’t get better than these upscale spas. Ready, set, ahhh…
Best Spas in....
Best Spas
D.C.
Nusta Spa 1129 20th St. NW, West End, 202-530-5700 nustaspa.com
The Draw: This extraordinarily eco-friendly spa offers beauty at no cost to the environment: The design features recycled and energy-efficient parts and a pollution-screening air-filtration system, and products are derived from sustainably harvested botanicals. The Scene: Enviros swoon over Nusta’s commitment to green, but go equally crazy over hydrating mud wraps, interpretive touch massages, and seaweed facials. The spa has an ultrahip vibe and décor to match: ethereal whites, modern furniture, and light wood floors. Hot Tip: Recover from a stressful day with an 80-minute Full Body Detox, featuring a dry brush scrub, a massage, a body wrap of algae or Sedona mud, a rainforest shower, and a moisture treatment.
SomaFit Spa and Fitness Center 2121 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Upper Georgetown, 202-965-2121 somafit.com
The Draw: The main highlight of this spa is its wide range of options—yoga classes, massages, fitness training, facials—and the fact that it’s open to all, no club membership required. The Scene: The spa has a fresh and clean look, with white-on-white décor and spare citrusy orange accents. Its demographic includes Washington Post A-section news makers and lissome beauties in their 20s, here as much to hide out as to work out. Hot Tip: If your raft of Georgetown purchases gives you shopper’s shoulder, hail a taxi for the short ride up Wisconsin Avenue to SomaFit for a quick pick-me-up 10- or 20-minute massage.
Spa at the Mandarin Oriental Mandarin Oriental, 1330 Maryland Ave. SW, National Mall, 202-787-6100 mandarinoriental.com
The Draw: Cinnamon-scented candles lead you along the winding hallway to this most luxurious of Washington spas, which has a treatment for every ancient tradition—Chinese, Ayurvedic, Balinese, Thai, Mediterranean, Arabic—and massages for every body need. The Scene: This 10,500-square-foot spa is often booked, especially on weekends, when Washington’s weary social set arrives to reboot with a massage—whether aromatherapy, deep tissue, shiatsu, Reiki, reflexology, or maternity—and the holistic foot and nail treatment with hot stones, a specialty for which the spa is known. Hot Tip: For the utmost decadence, book the two-hour, two-therapist Oriental Harmony massage.
