Making brunch reservations for the family always sounds like a great idea for Mother’s Day, but this year give Mom what she really wants and needs—alone time. Take your pick of the five spas below, featuring quiet areas like secluded courtyards with private cabanas, whirlpools and poultice rooms. Mom’s stress will melt away in no time.
After her massage and pedicure, Mom probably won’t be ready to go home just yet. At Salamander Spa, she can head to the Vitality Pool with hydrotherapy jets and heated Tepidarium loungers, the aromatic steam rooms, the sun-lit relaxation spaces or the spa’s secluded courtyard. Bonus: The courtyard has a heated infinity edge pool with cabanas for extra privacy, a fire pit and a whirlpool. Plus, if she gets hungry, she can snack on fresh fruit, lemon-thyme sugar cookies and chipotle granola, prepared by Salamander’s pastry chef, Jason Reaves, and sip on seasonal-fruit-infused water or one of nine tea varieties. She’ll return home blissed out from a day away from long to-do lists. // 500 N. Pendleton St., Middleburg
Help her find her restoration and book Mom a poultice room at Spa World, which offers seven different poultice options: amethyst gem, red clay, blue onyx, ice, charcoal, red clay ball and salt rock. Each room has heated or cooled floors made of yellow onyx stone and the rooms’ benefits differ depending on the materials. Amethyst is said to increase energy within the body; red clay radiates bio-infrared rays to purify the body from pollution; the salt room, made from Himalyan salt rocks, expands pores to remove impurities and warms bones; and onyx helps with headaches, insomnia, dizziness and high blood pressure. // 13830 Braddock Road, Centreville
Click here for your chance to win a spa day with Mom to The Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner.
Mom will feel restored after taking a trip to MGM National Harbor. A quick drive from Northern Virginia, the naturally lit spa offers herbal tea upon arrival. As she waits for her treatments to begin, Mom can hang out in the cedar-lined sauna, the steam room or the Roman tub (the powerful jets will get rid of her muscle tension from running around with the kids). After her facial, she can hang out in the meditation lounge, with fruit and nuts, infused water and a magazine in hand. // 101 MGM National Ave., Oxon Hill
The Watergate Hotel’s Argentta Spa is the refuge every woman needs. The wet area features a heated, salt water indoor pool with three lap lanes and a dedicated aerobic area if Mom wants to release endorphins before her treatments. The spa also encourages guests to arrive early to lounge in the relaxation room (with free Champagne and sweet treats), and then linger after to enjoy the sauna, steam room and whirlpool, which has partially submerged chaise-style lounge chairs for full relaxation. // 2650 Virginia Ave. NW, Washington, DC
Nothing says soothing like a selection of White Lion teas, lemon water and sweet and savory snacks to help relax before or after a spa service. Upgrade Mom’s experience at Kimpton Lorien Hotel & Spa by opting her into a monthly package or couples massage and she’ll get to drink Champagne too while she waits. Other perks that’ll make her feel like a queen: access to the on-site fitness center, luxurious locker rooms, a eucalyptus steam room and showers. The small spa space (consisting of five treatment rooms) ensures that she won’t be running into lots of people, letting her walk around freely in quiet tranquility. // 1600 King St., Alexandria
This post originally appeared in our May 2020 print issue. For more Northern Virginia stories, subscribe to our newsletters.
