A sliver of pie here, a sip (or four) of champagne there…you’ve spent December abusing your body with a slew of holiday parties, too much eggnog, and an overload of seasonal cheer and sweets. But a new year means a new start, and January is the perfect time to relax, rediscover your abs, and deal with all that emotional baggage you toted around in 2007. First stop? A wellness resort, where pampering meets New Year’s resolution boot camp. Not only will you get a few days of relaxation, but also a jumpstart on those plans to revamp your body and spirit in 2008.

Resolution: Make health a priority
Destination: Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts
If you’re goal is to make a commitment to a healthier lifestyle overall, you’ll find vast resources and expertise to turn your intentions into reality at Canyon Ranch. The resort offers numerous programs, from healthy weight loss to stress management and smoking cessation. You can tailor a health package based on your interests under the watch of a team of specialists. Tackle your entire list of resolutions with the Optimal Fitness Package, which creates a personalized plan for dealing with health, fitness, nutrition, stress management, and more. A physician, movement therapists, nutritionists, and practitioners of alternative medicine will all dote on you (or at the very least make you feel guilty for breaking any of those new year’s promises). A stay of at least four nights (starting at $3,020, with an allowance for services starting at $600) is required and includes accommodations, three gourmet meals per day, airport transfers, and full access to all facilities and activities.

Resolution: Deal with issues your therapist hasn’t yet tackled
Destination: Miraval in Tucson, Arizona
A little serenity as the year gets underway might be just the thing, and at Miraval, located at the foot of the Catalina Mountains in Tucson, there are endless opportunities for Zen. Treatments tend to run toward the spiritual. There are the requisite yoga classes and aloe wraps, as well as more age-y treatments like acupuncture and hydrotherapy. Got bigger issues than tight hamstrings? Try Sandplay, a one-on-one 80-minute active consultation by a therapist trained in expressive arts that will allow you to explore personal problems by creating a diorama in a sandbox. Sounds like a good excuse to relive your childhood to us. Single occupancy rooms start at $805 per night and include accommodations, use of complete resort facilities, three gourmet meals daily, unlimited snacks, evening hors d’oeuvres, all non-alcoholic beverages, one spa service or round of golf per person/per night of stay, and unlimited access to all scheduled programs and activities.

Resolution: Get professional guidance
Destination: Four Seasons Westlake Village in California
Consider it short-term rehab for the mind and body. The Four Seasons Westlake melds a resort with a wellness institute. Adjacent to the California Health and Longevity Institute, guests can experience the resort while receiving treatments at the Institute. While deluxe physicals and dental services are options, so are packages like Signature Lifestyle Experiences like the Journey, a full day ($750) that includes meetings with a lifestyle consultant, registered dietitian, and exercise physiologist, as well as cooking classes where you’ll learn to prepare nutritious meals. The package also includes two 50-minute spa treatments at the Four Seasons. Or go for the Cranio-sacral treatment, in which the therapist gently manipulates the nerve endings in the scalp to decrease stress and improve neck and back pain.

Resolution: Find relaxation away from the massage table
Destination: Red Mountain Spa in Ivins, Utah
No matter how hard you try, lying there and letting someone align your charkas or place hot stones along your back can only lull you into drooling relaxation for so long. A stay at the Red Mountain Spa, two hours northeast of Las Vegas, has plenty of massage and body treatments of course, but the real experience here is outdoors, in nearby Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. Start each day with a guided hike on one of 30 trails, or go kayaking or rock-climbing. If you want to combine the thrill of active outside play with a soothing and reflective experience, try An Eye For Life: Sketching. The two hour activity allows you to slow down and take in what you see as you walk through Snow Canyon by keeping a sketch journal.

by 14Trips contributor Kristen Bell

The week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day is normally one of enjoying a few days out of the office, returning from your holiday vacation, or returning the gifts you don’t like for ones you wish you’d received.

To keep your mind on more exciting thoughts, here is our Friday Week in Review featuring some exotic travel ideas that your hard-working 14trips editors have discovered.

• From Gridskipper, Guilt-Free Paris Fashion offers a list of their favorite feel-good shopping addresses for the chic Parisian who has an eco-conscience. Here, you’ll find concept stores with green, organic, and fair trade clothing opportunities that even the American dollar can buy inexpensively.
• From Vagablond, the Benjamin Hotel in New York gets down on all fours to pamper people and their pooches with their Sleep Concierge and their “Dream Dog” program, which offers your pet a lush bathrobe, spa treatments, complimentary toys, healthy Canine Cuisine, and much more.
• From Hotel Chatter, their Best Hotel Renovation is the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. In the ultra-competitive Las Vegas market, they’ve just renovated all their guest rooms, now offering 550 to 1,500 sq. ft. of floor-to-ceiling windows, spacious spa tubs, his-and-her closets, 42-inch Plasma TVs, and other amenities that will make you want to stay in your room instead of The Strip.
• From A Luxury Travel Blog, a new uber luxurious yet tranquil experience is available at the Verandah Resort & Spa in Antigua. Rejuvenate your body and senses. Stroll on two white sand beaches. Feast on multiple dining options. And indulge yourself at their spa.
• And from Life on Top, watch a video of the world’s most expensive sports cars. This should whet your appetite for some of the best luxury rides, if you happen to get a six-figure bonus this year and need to spend it before 2008.

For those to whom the term “getaway” means afternoons on the beach with lots of people-watching, and evenings full of pina coladas and dancing, there is Cancun. For those who are really looking to escape from it all, there is Tulum.

This small beach town, located just south of the tourist-beaten path on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, offers a true respite from the madding crowds, with all the pristine ocean views, sandy beaches, and tropical adventures you could ask for well within reach.

Today’s deal of the day features four nights at Dreams Resort, a beautiful and unique luxury property with fine dining and a world-class spa on the premises, with airfare to and from Tulum included. Be sure to book soon; for travel between January and April of 2008, tickets must be purchased by January 2nd.

Want to hear about more great deals like this every week? Sign up for the 14Trips luxury travel alert and get our favorite 14 deals delivered right to your inbox every Thursday!

Everybody loves to fly business class, so it’s not surprising that Eos, an airline that specializes in business-class-only flights between New York and London, has a 97% customer satisfaction rate. And, yes, you read that right.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that their 757’s (planes built to transport 220 passengers) are kitted out with just 48 private suites, or the fact that their ground crew can whisk you effortlessly through security with a snap of their fingers, but people who fly Eos love Eos.

Today’s deal of the day is a complimentary companion fare on this all business class airline. Taking advantage of it is simple: just purchase a full-price ticket before the end of the year, and on your next flight, your traveling partner flies free.

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