Travel Getaways With a Botox Chaser

LOS ANGELES (TheStreet) -- Once upon a time in spa-land, the classic day trip included 90 minutes of pampering under the deep pressure or targeted extractions of a massage or facial. But these days, given the popularity of Botox and cosmetic fillers, a number of spas have upgraded their menus to include medical-grade procedures that are now the main attraction of several global destination spas.

In Italy, just outside of Siena, the rolling hills of Tuscany are home to the country's latest 5-star resort, which features a medical-wellness spa. The Petriolo Spa & Resort, 50 miles south of Florence, recently undertook a massive refurbishment that included all of its guest rooms and spa area. The hotel itself, a terraced mid-century hotel with tumbled-stone facade and gilded Italian interiors, sits atop a geothermal bed of 109-degree hot springs that feed into an outdoor pool with sulfurous bubbles for pre- and post-spa bathing.

The World's Highest Hotel (Forbes)

Treatment rooms at the Petriolo Spa overlook a 150-acre wilderness of rolling hills and a pristine horizon dotted with medieval strictures and Tuscan vineyards. There's a Turkish bath, Kneipp hydrotherapy circuit and dry-ice cave. The removed atmosphere seems a perfect backdrop for spa-based medical procedures aimed at health-oriented, rather than cosmetic, results. Custom health screenings are followed by non-evasive laser procedures for vein removal, facial resurfacing and skin rejuvenation by a qualified staff of nurse-estheticians. For 2010, the hotel is having a reopening special aimed at Americans with all reservations priced at parity from euro to U.S. dollar.

At Spa Evian Source, located at the Hotel Royal in France's Evian-les-Bains, the spa revolution is taking an aristocratic approach by marrying old-world procedures with new-world technology. Hovering above the grand town where rich America gets its favored bottled water, this destination spa hotel is rivaled by almost none when it comes to exclusivity and upscale setting. Visitors arrive to an exquisite lobby of arched ceilings and gold-emblazoned furnishings fit for royals and celebrities. Overlooking Lake Geneva and close to the Les Thermes Evian, the hotel is home to a Masters-class golf course and three restaurants in addition to a summer hotel special that gives a 50% discount for solo travelers.

1 2 Next › Last »