Soaking up relaxation at two Wisconsin spas

The stocky middle-aged gentleman in the elevator looked decidedly self-conscious in his fluffy spa robe and slippers. It didn't help that my husband, Ed, and I had just arrived at the American Club's Kohler Waters Spa in Wisconsin and were still in our street clothes.

"He feels pretty silly," his wife whispered to us confidentially.

Not more than a half-hour later we bumped into the same couple again, this time alongside the spa's relaxation pool. Now the man wore a wide grin and was actually strutting around in his robe.

"My wife has already decided this will be our Christmas present to each other every year," he said. From the look on his face, you could tell he liked the idea.

Growing numbers of travelers are heading to spas, which have the power to quickly relax your mind and body.

"People no longer see spas as pampering, but instead as a requisite to stay healthy," said Lynne Walker McNees, president of the International Spa Association.

Considering the source, some might take that statement with a grain of salt. I preferred to consider it while getting a salt scrub, followed by a massage. That's why I polled well-pampered friends and spa insiders about where I could find the best spas in the Midwest. Two names -- Kohler Waters Spa in Kohler, Wis., and Sundara Inn & Spa in Wisconsin Dells, Wis. -- came up time and again. I booked time at both.

Kohler Waters Spa

My first stop was Kohler, where Ed and I celebrated our 19th anniversary. The plan was to get polished and buffed.

Between treatments, we'd spend quality time together, which we rarely get to do with three kids at home.

Alas, treatments can compete for your attention even more than children.

After Ed's Executive Head Trip, which featured a soothing head and neck massage with warm essential oils, he waited for me. But I was busy being exfoliated with a citrus sugar scrub as part of the spa's H2O Inspiration treatment.

When I didn't show, the sauna and cold plunge pool in the men's locker room called to Ed. Before he knew it, it was time for his next treatment.

I waited for him, too, but I didn't care. It gave me time to appreciate one of Kohler's latest additions: a rooftop lounge where both sexes can unwind in a whirlpool before a 12-foot-long fireplace or outside on a small deck.

We eventually connected and relaxed over some pinot noir in the resort's Winery Bar, then retired to our room, called an Immersion Suite because of its two-person whirlpool bath.

At 7 p.m. two therapists knocked on our door, ready to give us our massages. Afterward, Ed flopped on the bed to watch TV while I lay on the couch, limp as a noodle, waiting for my bath-to-bed service.

A little later another quiet, efficient therapist drew my bath, adding aromatherapy oils and mineral-laden freeze-dried sea water. Then she dimmed the lights, scattered rose petals around the rim and gently set a bottle of wine in an ice bucket. As I soaked in the tub, totally relaxed, Ed was beginning to nod before the TV set. "Happy anniversary," I whispered.

Sundara Inn & Spa

After Sundara had been open a year or two, owner Kelli Trumble noticed guests writing "I wish I could live here" in the "reflection" notebooks left in rooms. So she created a series of villas for purchase.

The first two opened recently. (Six more are being built.) Between every set of villas, she tucked a spa bathhouse with massage tables, a spa garden patio and a cedar soaking tub for the use of villa guests.

I went for a midweek trip with friends Cathy and Nancy. Our first night there, we giggled as we rode in the complimentary Lincoln Town Car to dinner at a local brewpub. Granite countertops or not, we didn't feel like cooking.

Eager to check out Sundara's famous do-it-yourself purifying bath ritual, free for guests, we headed to the spa the next morning. An attendant explained the various steps: exfoliate with a body scrub, rinse in a rainfall shower, spritz on herbal body mist, take an aroma steam bath and rinse again. Then alternate between soaks in a hot tub and quick dips in a cool plunge pool.

Nancy and Cathy were enjoying the ritual so much that they didn't want to leave. But I had to; I'd booked a massage in the villa bathhouse.

J Lynn, my therapist, led me into the villa bathhouse. I slipped into the tub, and J Lynn left me to soak. The aromatic cedar and fresh winter air were intoxicating as I leaned back in the tub and gazed at the sky.

J Lynn's return jolted me out of my reverie, and I stepped out of the tub and into a cool shower. After a quick rinse, I curled up on a chair inside the bathhouse, a cup of warm ginger tea in hand.

After a little more quiet time, J Lynn reappeared to discuss the six massages available. I selected the insomnia massage.

Back at the villa, Nancy and Cathy were waiting, but there would be no late-night chat that night. My massage -- and the whole relaxing visit -- had worked wonders.

Melanie Radzicki McManus is a Wisconsin-based freelancer.