Now that 2008 has arrived, it’s time to get healthy and stay healthy. Yes, we know you say that every year, but with these luxurious health retreats there’s no longer any reason to put off shedding your skin—literally and metaphorically—with the goal of unveiling the new you. Our list of Top 10 Health Resorts for 2008 is populated with properties that go beyond the usual “resort with a spa” to offer programs designed to cultivate a healthful lifestyle in unique and permanent ways. Each features regimens that fall under the heading of “wellness” and that focus on overall health and longevity—in keeping, of course, with the latest in style, luxury and ultimate comfort.

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USA

California
California Health & Longevity Institute
www.fourseasons.com

Yes, it has a 40,000-square-foot spa offering a menu of holistic treatments and therapies that blend Asian rituals with today’s Western sensibilities. But it’s the California Health & Longevity Institute that’s the big draw here. This world-class facility is a leader in what’s known as science-based lifestyle rejuvenation. After a certified LifeAdvisor helps you create a personalized LifePlan for accomplishing your goals, you’ll be advised by a team of experts—physicians, licensed dieticians, exercise physiologists, fitness trainers, stress management experts and therapists, and healthy-living chefs. The Institute includes a complete medical clinic with a full range of diagnostic testing and medical assessments. Seems like Mr. Spock had it right all along: Live long and prosper.

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AUSTRALIA

Katoomba
Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa
www.lilianfels.com

Its sense of place is perhaps its greatest healing feature. Situated within the UNESCO World Heritage Blue Mountains National Park, Lilianfels takes advantage of location to offer wilderness therapy walks that teach essential stress relief techniques. In this tranquil setting, just 90 minutes from Sydney, you’ll also enjoy yoga, Pilates and tai chi. The resort’s Li’ Tya spa treatments are based on ancient Aboriginal traditions called “dreamtime,” which refers to the indigenous peoples’ beliefs in the power of creation. You’ll do just that—create yourself anew with anti-ageing facials, exotic rubs and rhythmic massage at this cliff-top retreat where the ritual of indulgence is elevated to an art form.

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CANADA

British Columbia
Alive Health Resort
www.aliveresort.com

They don’t call it the Alive Health Resort for nothing. Nestled in the beautiful Monashee Mountains of British Columbia, you’ll revel in the back-to-nature feeling, while simultaneously enjoying the benefits of comprehensive spa and bodywork treatments, indoor/outdoor physical activity, and interactive education programs. It’s impossible to not feel rejuvenated after spending time surrounded by fresh forest air and breathtaking mountain scenery.

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FRANCE

Bordeaux
Les Sources de Caudalie
www.sources-caudalie.com

Unique Vinotherapie treatments that slow down the ageing process and an idyllic locale sum up Les Sources de Caudalie, situated among vineyards near Bordeaux. Rich in minerals are its warm underground springs, great for soaking away what ails you. Wraps and massages here use grape extracts, called polyphenols, which strengthen blood vessels and enhance micro-circulation. Embark on a slimming program that combines endermologie sessions (a technique that breaks down cellulite) with a special dietary menu and varietal treatments such as a Merlot wrap. But this place doesn’t just slather the grape extract on the outside—both connoisseurs and beginners can savor the fruits of the vine at the resort’s weekly wine tasting.

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ISRAEL

Carmel Forest
Carmel Forest Spa Resort
www.inisrael.com

Situated in the heart of Israel’s Carmel Forest, set amidst fifteen acres of private woodland, sits The Carmel Forest Spa Resort. This relaxing hideaway overlooks the sea and is Israel’s largest and most luxurious spa resort. Here you’ll be pampered within an inch of your life, dine on healthy (kosher) meals and have a personal consultation to tailor a treatments and activities program just for you. You can work hard with a choice of indoor/outdoor pools to swim in, exercise in the gym or on the tennis court or take yoga and Tai Chi classes. You can also play hard by hanging out in the terrace solarium, reading room, games room or music room. Either way, you’ll leave refreshed and rejuvenated.

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ITALY

Tuscany
Grotta Giusti
www.grottagiustispa.com

Its natural warm springs may be age-old, but the wellness center at this leading Italian retreat and small luxury hotel is positively avant-garde. Treatments here include osteopathy, which is the correction of mechanical imbalances within and between the body’s musculoskeletal and nervous systems. You can also take the healing waters in the property’s very own thermal grotta, a natural cave with an underground hot lake in which guests can enjoy a detoxifying steam bath. Mud therapy will take you back to your carefree days of childhood play, and anyone with respiratory, sinus or ear problems can book an inhalation treatment.

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MEXICO

Yucatan Peninsula
Maya Tulum Wellness Retreat & Spa, Mexico
www.mayatulum.com

Healthy choices here include daily yoga and body treatments offered in the retreat’s wellness center, whose sessions purport to be the highlight of the Tulum experience. On the restorative menu you’ll find lymphatic drainage, reflexology and ancient Ayurvedic “science of life” treatments. Before embarking on the healing practice of Ayurveda, whose aim is to restore the entire being to perfect balance, you’ll consult with a therapist to determine your personal constitution, or “dosha.” In between wellness sessions, go snorkeling in the area’s barrier reef, see the Coba ruins or explore the five-million-year-old Aktun Chen Caverns.

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NEW ZEALAND

Kerikeri Bay of Islands
Ora Ora Eco Spa Resort
www.oraoraresort.co.nz

If you want to get healthy and still remain environmentally friendly, then go Green at the New Zealand Health and Wellness Center – Ora Ora Eco Spa Resort in the Kerikeri Bay of Islands. Here you get to feel great about yourself and reduce your carbon footprint knowing you’re eating organic gourmet food, drinking filtered rainwater and recycling. Take meditation and Feng Shui classes, book an astrology consultation, or indulge in wellness treatments from energetic healings and hot stone massages to herbal baths.

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THAILAND

Hua Hin
Chiva-Som International Health Resort
www.chivasom.com

Located beachside in Hua Hin, Thailand, on the country’s western coast, Chiva-Som International Health Resort is a holistic sanctuary with an emphasis on integrative medicine. In addition to the resort’s usual range of spa treatments, physiotherapy for injury rehabilitation is offered. Unique to Chiva-Som is the use of diagnostic techniques such as iridology, live blood analysis, bio-terrain testing, and electro-dermal screening—tools that can often identify issues orthodox medicine may have missed. At the retreat’s Niranlada Medi-Spa, you’ll also find a staff of qualified U.S. doctors, nurses, naturopaths, therapists and specialist consultants—meaning you can get your botox injections, thermage treatments and facial resurfacing, no problem.

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TURKEY

Davutlar - The Aegean
Natur-Med Thermal Springs and Health Resort
www.naturmed.biz

Rejuvenation, anti-ageing, weight loss and pain relief—you’ll find these and more in a soothing environment set in the Aegean among the pine, olive and tangerine trees. Turkey’s first health center boasts matrix rhythm therapy, a form of electro-magnetic treatment for restoring damaged joints, muscles and nerves. Ozone therapy and acupuncture are also available, and balneological (drinking) cures address diabetes, gout, intestinal illnesses and degenerative eye diseases. Colon hydrotherapy is used as a preventative for dozens of disorders, and all treatments are conducted under the supervision of a professional medical team. After you’ve taken care of your ailments, relax with yoga, a facial or a nature excursion.

Check out more Top 10 Health Retreats