Spa Resort Hotels and Cruises



Introduction: If your life is super busy, over-scheduled, and stressed-out, and you want a vacation where you unwind,relax, rejuvenate, and even just stretch out and do nothing but stay calm and peaceful for your health and wellness, you have come to the right blog and guide!

Ricki’s List is simple: Your guide features spa resort hotels, cruises, and travel destinations where you come home feeling better than when you left! Nothing worse than coming back from a hard-earned vacation needing another vacation to recover from a stressful, disappointing experience. You deserve a rest and a break!

The checklist I use to choose to feature a spa resort hotel, cruise, or travel destinations contains:

  • relaxing and stress-free experience
  • great customer service where the staff makes you feel comfortable and welcomed and meets your individual needs
  • beautiful facility which connects you to the beauty and peacefulness of being in nature (even in an urban location!)
  • the experience matches the promised description on their website or write-ups
  • delicious and healthy foods that meet a variety of dietary preferences and restrictions
  • you leave feeling, “I really needed that! Would love to go back again!”

If your facility meets all of  the above criteria, welcome to Ricki’s list. If you are not on the list, either I do not know you offer this to you guests, or you are missing some of the criteria. But don’t lose heart, there is still time to improve so you too can be among these that provide the best health and wellness solutions to travelers!

How to Get on Ricki’s List of the Best Spa Resort Hotels and Cruises for Your Health and Wellness

To get on the list you must offer the best facilities and the best customer service to make the stay of every guest a relaxing, stress-free and memorable one for his or her health and wellness.

Did you ever come back from a vacation more stressed than when you started? There must be a horror story in everyone’s journal of a stressful airline flight or cruise, a problem-ridden hotel stay, or a disappointing hotel, spa, or restaurant experience that didn’t match the write-up you read online or in a print publication. I have had too many to count over the years.

While even the best company, product, or service can have a bad day once in a while, and we grant them that everyone is human, we want to avoid those who make it a habit. I will feature those that sustain quality customer service, facilities, and experiences so that you can have a relaxing, stress-free experience to add joyous, happy, and peaceful memories to the journal of your life!

Gold standard for the best spa resort hotels and cruises for your health and wellness:

  1. The level of customer service ensures you have a relaxing time. They can either stay out of the way so they don’t intrude on your space, or they provide whatever you need to make the stay as comfortable and restful as you need.
  2. If you are looking for peace and quiet, they offer spaces for that. Some people don’t mind other people’s noise, as they put on their earbuds and tune out, but if you don’t want to wear headphones to drown out noise, as you want the peace and quiet of the natural surroundings, the gentle sound of a fountain or waves, the sound of chirping birds, restful spa music, or just peace and quiet, then we want to share that information with you about the various spa resort hotels and cruise lines.
  3. Comfortable places to stretch out. If you plan to spend many hours relaxing, the best spa resort hotels and cruise lines provide comfy places to sit or lie down, whether chaise lounges, couches, chairs, or even carpeted areas on the floor.
  4. It meets your preference whether for co-ed vs. separate men’s and women’s facilities. The best spa resort hotels and cruises offer both co-ed and separate facilities. If different-gender couples wish to spend time together, or families, the best spa resort hotels and cruises provide co-ed pools. hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, and relaxation areas where you can spend many hours together luxuriating on  a chaise or sofa stretched out. If you prefer separate men’s and women’s spa areas, with separate hot tubs, saunas, and relaxation areas, the best spa resort hotels and cruise lines also provide those. Having both co-ed and separate men’s and women’s relaxation areas, pools, hot tubs, steam rooms, and saunas gives options to make everyone happy.
  5. Adults only pool, hot tubs, saunas, and spas. Many people need “me” or “us” time away from watching children to rejuvenate. Featured spa resort hotels and cruise lines have separate pools and hot tubs for adults and children. They should not charge extra money to go to an adults only area–it should be standard operating procedure. When the hot tub says “No children, pets, or babies allowed,” they should enforce it. After all, it’s a health hazard to have babies, toddlers, kids, and pets soil a hot tub you are immersing yourself in for health! (There–I said it–it’s about time someone did!)
  6. Pampering pool guests. You’re on vacation. You are tired of doing chores. When you’re on vacation, lounging at the pool, the last thing you want to do is get up. You don’t want to get up to stand on line for drinks and you definitely don’t want to wait on line for meals. The best spa hotel resorts and cruise lines know this and they come to you poolside. They bring your drinks, your breakfast, lunch, and snacks, all with a smile. The more-than-five-star spa hotel resorts even come around to you poolside with special to die-for treats unasked for and with no cost. (This will really get you on Ricki’s list if you do this!) We will let you in on the secret places that know that the secret to a spa-goer’s heart is through treats for the palate.
  7. Indoor or outdoor? If a spa resort hotel is located in a climate with risk of inclement weather, the best ones have an indoor pool, hot tub, spa, and co-ed relaxation areas with chaises or places to put your feet up so guests who come specifically to relax on a health and wellness travel vacation don’t have their holiday washed out–literally and figuratively. Having both an indoor and outdoor adults-only pool, hot tub, and co-ed relaxation area is important so weather does not wipe out the purpose for which guests are coming for a health and wellness vacation. Nothing worse than have to sit in a hotel room or lobby  when the weather is not suitable to be outdoors!
  8. Food options for all dietary restrictions. With so many food sensitivities and needs, the best spa resort hotels and cruise lines offer food options for vegetarians, vegans, gluten-free, salt-free, sugar-free, fat-free, low glycemic-index, organic, raw food, etc. etc. to make each guest’s stay healthy for their needs. And if their really good, their meals are still gourmet, deliciously savory, and beautifully presented.
  9. Respect for the tranquility and peaceful environment. This includes respecting guests who do not want to come and listen to others with them in a hot tub or near them in a chaise talking about the lousy weather back home that you are trying to forget, bad news of what’s going on around the world, or their family bickering problems. An environment where each person can have their peaceful space unintruded on by other guests’ chatter. The environment also adds to the tranquility by its visual appeal, gardens, greenery, attention to detail, cleanliness, and keeping the place free of polluting elements.

The above are some of the main criteria for getting on Ricki’s List of the Best Spa Resort Hotels, Cruises, or Travel Destinations for Your Health and Wellness. If you feel your spa resort hotel or cruise line or travel destination meets these guidelines or you know of one that does, email me to explain why you fit these criteria and see how to be featured on this guide. Email me at: rlinksman@keyslearning.com with a phone number at which to contact you.

Stay healthy, my friend,

Ricki Linksman,  author, copy writer, screenwriter, and health and travel and restaurant writer

List of Blog Posting Seen on the Right Side on Best Spa Resorts, Cruises, or Travel Destinations:

  • Celebrity Beyond Cruise Ship Goes Beyond with Its Cruise Experiences with Captain Kate and Its New 2024 Vegan and Vegetarian Menus
  • Sundara Inn & Spa Resort Expansion in Wisconsin Dells Kicks Rejuvenation Up a Level with New Suites, Indoor Pools, Relaxation Areas, and Restaurant with Vegetarian/Vegan Dining Options
  • Tropical Secluded Oasis Paradise in Disney World near Orlando, Florida
  • Hidden Oasis of Wellness Less than Two Hours’ Drive from Chicago
  • The Ultimate Pampered Spa Vacation in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
  • Hidden Relaxing Jewel of a Resort Hotel in the Heart of Chicago
  • The Spa Relaxation Side of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
  • Scandinave Spa: The Ultimate Spa Retreat in Whistler
  • Sink Your Toes into the Sand–only a 30 second walk from the Delray Beach Marriott
  • The Best Stress-free Cruise for Your Health & Wellness: Celebrity Solstice Class Ships