Indulge! Indulge! Indulge!

southwest florida hasn’t yet staked its claim as spa capital of the universe, but that title may come. The sheer beauty of the destination, plus the lure of world-class shopping, dining, resorts and the arts, creates a perfect setting for a decadent spa experience. From unabashed self-indulgence to holistic mind-body renewal, spa menus along the Gulfshore are the stuff of fairy tales. What would happen, we wondered, if we opened the door to one of these spas, handed someone a menu, and said: "Go indulge your fantasy."

So we did. Six times. Here are their stories.

She spends half her life, it seems, either twisted into an airline seat or in a cloud of jet lag. So when her job lands her at the Ritz-Carlton, Naples, one of the most renowned resorts in the world, she doesn’t plan to sleep it away. She wants to be like one of those flat cardboard sponges that you drop in water, and voila! Instant hydration. A few steps across the rose garden lies tranquility. A concierge welcomes her, and an attendant escorts her to the inner sanctum where she swathes herself in a satiny robe. She sips vanilla tea and awaits the sleep therapist for her personal spa fantasy.

"Drift Away," the menu reads, "is a specialized journey to help you let go and take you through a ritual that will promote sleep at a deep state of sub-consciousness … designed for an overactive mind or sleep-deprived individual. Begin with an aromatherapy milk bath; submerge your body into a cloud-like sensation of soothing bubbles, while your body is cleansed and warmed. Aromatic teas assist in slowing the body’s internal rhythms. Experience a peaceful body massage, including warm aromatherapy oils, Reiki, cranial sacral holds, lymphatic drainage and other polarity techniques specialized to transition you into the alpha state of sleep. After a 30-minute power nap on a warmed, down duvet on an oversized massage table, awaken refreshed and renewed."

She remembers the icy cloth placed on her forehead as she sinks deep into the lavender-infused bath. She remembers slipping beneath cool white sheets on the massage table and nurturing hands manipulating tense muscles. She doesn’t remember when she drifted away or, for that matter, how she got from massage suite to facial suite. She does remember marveling at her own baby-smooth skin after a Skin-Ceuticals C-AHA (alpha hydroxy) peel, which stripped away the drying effects of air travel. And she remembers every tasty morsel in the bento box lunch that was delivered to her chaise lounge from the H₂O café. By the time she arrived in the salon for her lemon and papaya-flavored pedicure, she was wide awake, ready to dance the night away.

(239) 598-3300; www.ritzcarlton.com

She has a whole day to lavish on herself at the newly glamorized Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort. She strolls down the marble halls from the main building to the freestanding spa, all cool serenity with a wall fountain, fragrant candles and a promise of bliss at the top of the curving staircase. Shopping can wait. The beach will still be there tomorrow. Her vacation fantasy is to ascend that staircase and experience the mysteries within.

The Balinese-inspired spa menu is a sensuous experience in itself: There’s Marco Island Mystique, the spa’s signature ritual; and Bali by the Sea, "sharing the secrets of the mermaids," who apparently favor peppermint rosemary sea salt. But a come-hither fragrance hinting of vanilla and sparkling with mandarin orange draws her to the island-perfect Summer of Citrus Experience. The 50-minute Swedish massage and 50-minute Citrus Hydration Facial can be spaced out to allow all the time she wants to steam away toxins and bask in the sauna, wake up her body in the hot and cold plunge pools, sip citrus-infused water and tea, and lounge like a member of Balinese royalty on the palatial balcony overlooking the Gulf. When she finally descends the staircase of bliss, it’s still not over. The final touch is a Citrus Short and Sweet Pedicure. At day’s end, she writes down the names of her two Citrus Angels: Julie and JoAnn, may the Balinese gods smile on you.

(239) 642-2686; www.marcoisland
marriott.com

She’s a high-profile media executive; always on deadline, every day a new crisis. She’s also a single mom, with two Energizer bunnies under age eight who command not only her heart, but also her every waking moment away from the office. The cumulative effects of stress have taken their toll on mind, body and spirit. She’s self-conscious about the circles under her eyes, and she feels washed out. She studies last year’s studio portrait of herself and says, "Wow! That’s what I’d look like after a full eight hours of sleep!"

Oh, we can do a lot better. We put her in the hands of Naples Beach Hotel spa director Kate Keating. She simply has to show up.

Like the historic hotel, the spa has an Old Florida ambiance. Crisp and white, it has a more holistic than pampering ambiance, a perfect backdrop for the detox-and-rejuvenate program Keating has designed for her. Honoring our stressed-out working mom’s yearning for that uninterrupted bath, it begins with a bubbling, 25-minute sea-salt soak to cleanse the skin and "detoxify the organs on a cellular level." She uses the time for meditation to leave the worries of her world behind. Next, a massage designed to address problems caused by stress and enhance blood flow to the muscles. "Jack’s work on pressure points at the back of my neck felt like a Vulcan Death Grip," she says, "but in a good way."

"My skin looks brighter and clearer than it has in quite a while. I’d keep everything the same and add two enhancements: the Sun-Kissed Complexion Autobronzement and the Firming, Nourishing and Rejuvenating Eye Treatment. Oh, and an eyebrow shaping. I’d happily trade the manicure for this—but not the pedicure!"

Married 24 years, they’re still in love. But lately they’ve spent way too much time rebuilding the pool deck and too little time making eye contact across a table for two. His muscles ache from heavy lifting, and she needs some pampering. Their fantasy involves no construction, no kitchen chores and just plain sensuous indulgence. So off we send them to the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa.

The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, so she wisely suggests they start with a poolside lunch. Maybe later they’ll take a boat ride to the resort’s private island.

In the spa, they’re led off in different directions, but only briefly. Each enters the couple’s suite in robe and slippers, accompanied by their own therapist. He lets her tell the rest of the story:

"The room was infused with Asian scents and music. We were draped with warm towels while Tricia and Michael dry-brushed our bodies for exfoliation. It was a wonderful sensation, heightening our skin’s sensitivity to the full-body, warm-oil ritual to follow. Abhyanga, they explained, is an ancient and powerful Ayurvedic healing treatment from India. I felt a million miles away. At one point Michael asked me to turn over. My mind was floating among the dolphins when I heard my husband say, ‘Sweetheart, turn over.’ I answered: ‘I did.’ But I hadn’t.

"Afterward, while sipping aromatic jasmine and African nectar teas, we thanked our therapists for a wonderful day. Michael laughed and said: ‘Lie down—you aren’t finished!’

"While our bodies were encased in cocoon-like aroma-balancing wraps, Tricia and Michael worked on our heads and shoulders. Ecstasy!

"We were unwrapped and massaged until all cellular memory of our construction project erased. We stretched the experience further with separate time in the steam and saunas, followed by cool showers.

"When we met again, my wonderfully relaxed and handsome husband suggested we skip the island trip and go straight home. Funny, I’d been thinking exactly the same thing."

The lovely young bride-to-be is planning a storybook wedding, from the beaded gown to the sparkly princess-style tiara and an intimate reception overlooking the yacht harbor at Sanibel Harbour Resort. Family and friends are flying in from all over. She’s handling every detail herself. As an early morning television news anchor, her workday starts at 1:45 a.m. So by 6:30 in the evening, when a typical bride might be working on wedding plans, it’s her bedtime. And wedding or not, a high-profile television personality must always look fresh, rested and perfectly groomed. The wedding is three weeks away, and our bride is running on reserves.

What a perfect candidate for a spa fantasy, and where better than the very site she’ll share her first dance with her new husband.

"My only other spa experience was three years ago when my fiancé gave me a spa certificate," she says. "It was lovely, but I felt a bit guilty. I never treat myself."

This time, she vows, no guilt. "I cleared my calendar. I had no cell phone, no place to go, nothing to do except lounge in this pretty linen robe with thin-sliced cucumbers on my eyelids."

She begins with a Spa Bistro lunch and a celebratory glass of champagne. Then, like any bona fide princess, she may ask her fairy-spa mother to grant three wishes. She has only two: "to magically dissolve the stresses I hold in my back and shoulders, and a French pedicure to show off my three-inch-heeled, rhinestone-studded wedding shoes."

Poof! Wishes granted!

"The massage was heavenly," she says. "Kim had me so completely relaxed I had to force myself to stay awake. I wanted to be present every second! I was a rag doll when she finished. After a mini-facial designed for sensitive skin, I had a makeup consultation.

Barbara said that gloss on the pouty section of the lips would give them a fuller look. She suggested a touch of glistening shadow under the brow—and above all, waterproof mascara!"

Our bride got her French pedicure, but she wasn’t expecting the surprise that preceded it: an hour-long Ice Cream Pedicure.

"First, I chose two scoops of Bath Ice Cream (a fizzy moisturizing soda soak): strawberry/kiwi for the fragrance, and teal because it’s my wedding accent color. Then I had an Ice Cream Sherbet exfoliation scrub, and afterward my feet were brushed with a marshmallow cream mask. It was so colorful and felt amazing!"

She has a free weekend between meetings—perfect for a detour to Naples to catch some girl time with the friend she hasn’t seen in a whole year. That deserves a treat—maybe a spa manicure. And isn’t this lucky: A world-famous spa has just opened at the Naples Grande Resort & Club.

Who has the self-control to enter the Golden Door Spa and come out with just a manicure? Not these two. Girlfriend No. 1 hasn’t had a facial in ages. "And speaking of ages," says Girlfriend No. 2, "listen to this:

"‘Grande Luxe Youth Facial: Fountain of Youth … extraordinary anti-aging facial … unprecedented hydrating effects … viable reinforcement of the skin that rivals aggressive medi-spa treatments … youthful skin that radiates the very essence of life.’"

Girlfriend No. 2, the spa junkie who thinks she’s been there, done that, has more trouble deciding. Skipping over the Discreet Indulgence four-hands massage (way too sensuous for this girly day), she’s intrigued with the Tsah-Tee-Oho-Nee Restorative Facial, a ritual based on the region’s native Seminole belief in the restorative nature of red stones. A raw brown sugar scrub sounds yummy, followed by an avocado citrus wrap loaded with antioxidants. She selects the Golden Door signature Szekely herbal wrap, an Asian-tradition exfoliation and body mask with Melissa, followed by an aromatherapy massage. (Choose your aroma through a sniff test.) She doesn’t know it yet, but immediately after that otherworldly experience, she’ll cancel her pedicure to book a half-hour of foot reflexology with the same therapist, whose name is Laura but who will forever hereinafter be referred to as Her Holiness.

All this, the girlfriends predict, should take about three hours.

They neglected to factor in the gourmet lunch in the private spa villa (check out the magazine-cover sinks and shower!), followed by chocolate and Key lime desserts way too extreme to confess in a spa environment.

Six hours later, two very glowing women of a certain age, who now look (well, at least feel) a completely different certain age, step back into the resort environment of the Naples Grande. Girlfriend No. 2 has just experienced one of the two most amazing body-stretching massages of her life, and Girlfriend No. 1 wants to know if they bottle that stuff (yes, the Phytomer sea-based skincare products are for sale). She takes home enough to stay youthful for another year until her return.

"We’d book the spa villa—and Her Holiness—for the entire day. We’d have the therapists come to us. More privacy, more luxury and more time for reconnecting instead of moving around. It’s a spa fantasy, didn’t you say?"

(239) 594-6321; www.naplesgranderesort.com