Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1090027
Surrounded by 58 acres of landscaped gardens in the heart of Connecticut, Mayflower Inn & Spa has one of the most sumptuous spas in New England, a 20,000-square-foot sugar-white oasis with a personal wellness advisor, who after learning your health goals and intentions can create a bespoke blend of activities and treatments. In addition to the resort's gym, in warmer weather you can use the tennis courts, five-hole putting green, outdoor pool, meditation garden, and labyrinth. The spa has a heated indoor pool and jacuzzi, along with an extensive menu of rituals and bodywork. In addition to couples treatments, such as private yoga and a couples insight session, you'll find facials, massages, and wellness therapies, such as Rites of Purification—a body buff and soak, followed by skin hydration and a scalp massage with guided relaxation. There are Mind & Spirit offerings, such as Return to Breath, and Soul Reviving Rituals, such as the Hamman detox, where you're scrubbed with coffee, olive stones, and lemon and then cocooned in clay before being purified and massaged with spices and rubbed with tangerine and fig butter. Through the inn's Experiences offerings, you can even book a Meditative Journey, a private meditation session that includes a pool or fencing moment, followed by a private yoga or archery session to hone concentra- tion. For nourishment beyond the spa menu, you can enjoy seasonal specialties in the dining room or light bites like oysters and salads in the Tap Room before retiring to your haven, one of 30 uniquely decorated rooms. An effective way to rejuvenate oneself is to "step out of the box" and try something unique. If it's scary without negative consequences, even better, since powering through your tunnel of fear will fill you with less anxiety and more confidence. At Winvian Farm in the Litchfield Hills, you'll find ample opportunity to leave your default zone, beginning with a night in the Helicop- ter cottage, a swanky, fully restored 1968 Sikorsky Sea King Pelican HH3F helicopter grounded inside a barn-like hangar with a king-size bed. Climb aboard your craft, complete with all the switches and gauges, and let your spirit soar. A flat-screen TV offers in-flight entertainment, while a bar prompts nightcaps in the cockpit. Alternatively, slumber 35 feet in the air in Treehouse, a two-floor "nest" in the trees complete with a king-size bed, two gas fireplaces, a full bar, a jacuzzi, and bird's-eye views. There are 18 different cottages in all, designed by over a dozen architects. For added white-knuckle excitement, swerve and skid around a classic 1.53-mile, seven-turn course at the nearby Skip Barber Racing School. Or lift off in a hot-air balloon and float over the Litchfield Hills. Back on terra firma, soothe your soul and muscles in the window-filled spa, where a multitude of massages await, including one to balance your chakras with the addition of Reiki, oils, and crystals. There are also body scrubs, facials, and reflexology treatments. Then, instead of your typical dinner in the dining room, shake things up with a candle-lit dinner for two in the inn's wine cellar. Mayflower Inn & Spa Winvian Farm 118 Woodbury Road, Washington, Connecticut, aubergeresorts.com/mayflower 155 Alain White Road, Morris, Connecticut, winvian.com PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF MAYFLOWER INN & SPA (LEFT), COURTESY OF WINVIAN FARM (TOP RIGHT), BY KINDRA CLINEFF/COURTESY OF WINVIAN FARM (BOTTOM RIGHT) 105 Left, Mayflower Inn & Spa is surrounded by 58 acres of bucolic beauty. Below, Winvian Farm has a host of quaint cottages to curl up in and feel like you are truly away.