Vanity Vacations: Three Luxury Getaways Combine Nips and Tucks with Sea and Surf

by Allison Weiss Entrekin

We drive to work while we sip our lattes, talk on our cell phones and adjust our radio dials, so it’s little wonder that when we take trips, we like to multitask. Forget using up precious vacation days recovering from a facelift on the living room couch; lounge by a pool near a sugar-white beach and call it an exercise in efficiency. These high-end vacation companies offer the très chic combo of sun, surf and surgery—and more and more multitaskers are getting a snip of the action.

Half Moon Golf, Tennis and Beach Club
Montego Bay, Jamaica
On the glittering shores of Montego Bay lies Half Moon Golf, Tennis and Beach Club, a resort whose name has been synonymous with seaside opulence since 1954. While Monaco’s Prince Rainer and Joan Crawford have each traveled here in search of rest and relaxation, Beverly Hills housewives and New York powerbrokers make the trip for reasons that don’t necessarily involve catching an oceanfront snooze. Dr. Paul Lorenc, a plastic surgeon based on New York’s Park Avenue, regularly travels to Half Moon to perform Botox treatments at the resort’s on-site medical facility. While he doesn’t reduce his fees when injecting offshore, he does reduce the need to explain to your coworkers why you suddenly look so good—after all, a well-deserved vacation does miraculous things, doesn’t it?’

Surgeon and Safari
Multiple locations, South Africa
Whether you want a little more hair or a little less belly fat, there’s a procedure for you in South Africa. And since surgeries performed in the Rainbow Nation cost roughly half what they do in the States, why not spend your excess cash (and your recovery time) on a safari through the African bush? Surgeon and Safari has been coordinating “medical tourism” to South Africa since 2000 and offers access to eight surgeons and four hospitals in the region. Spend the nip-tuck portion of your trip in the company’s luxury private residence or at the elegant Westcliff Hotel, and after a mandatory post-op recovery period, head for one of the six safaris the company offers. From your first-class flights to your post-safari massages, Surgeon and Safari will handle all your trip’s logistics, leaving you to enjoy your new beauty as you encounter wild beasts.

Las Cumbres Inn Surgical Retreat
San José, Costa Rica
It’s a badly kept secret that Costa Rica offers some of the cheapest plastic surgery on the planet. With facelifts for $4,000 (in the States, it can be upwards of $15,000) and dental implants for $750 (try $3,000 back home), trust us—your friends aren’t going to Costa Rica just for its beaches. Las Cumbres Inn Surgical Retreat has capitalized on the country’s plastic surgery popularity and offers a luxury retreat just minutes from San José’s medical hot spots. The inn boasts a gorgeous swimming pool, well-appointed rooms and panoramic views of the city, and it also offers post-surgery pampering like three home-cooked meals a day, on-site assistance from licensed nurses and transportation to and from your doctor and the airport. And lest the folks back home start asking questions, the inn will arrange sightseeing tours of nearby attractions—perfect for those obligatory vacation photos.