Best of Philly

Best Spa Treatment

2024 Best One-of-a-Kind Spa Treatment

Aqua Experience at Joseph Anthony Retreat Spa and Salon

Scrub devotees, you won’t want to miss this. You’ll lie on a heated hammam table and get a full-body cleanse and polish in the spa’s own Turkish bath — a room tricked out with overhead Vichy showers, a color-changing crystal ceiling for LED light therapy, and seriously relaxing herbal steams. Save time for a hang in the salt lounge afterward. Read More »

, Philadelphia and Springfield, PA Website

2021 Best Virtual Skin-care Help

Freedom Apothecary

Freedom Apothecary’s aesthetician, nicknamed the “Spa Witch,” will guide you through the balms, masks, butters and oils best suited to your skin type from the comfort of your own computer screen. Read More »

736 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA Website

2016 Best Forced Relaxation

Flotation Philly

The mental reboot earned from doing absolutely nothing but floating in a dark, enclosed tub filled with salt water is mind-clearing bliss. And with this float center's new addition of a float cabin — essentially an enclosed tub the size of a small room — even the most claustrophobic among us can zone out. Read More »

534 East Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA | 609-923-1913 | Website

2016 Best Spa for Moms

Primp & Play

This year-old spa doesn't have any over-the-top treatments. It's got something way better: childcare. The genius creation of South Philly mom Tara Murphy, Primp & Play is a skin and nail studio where kids partake of arts-and-crafts sessions (led by a dedicated staff member in a sweet back play area) while you beautify. Got a girly girl? She can get in on the fun with glitter tattoos and nail stickers. Read More »

249 South 10th Street, Philadelphia, PA | 267-886-8220 | Website

2016 Best Quick-Fix Spa Treatment

Logan Weekday Reset at the Logan Hotel

Seven of this modern hotel spa's popular treatments (from facials and manis to scrubs and massages) come in handy 25-minute versions, meaning you can work a little grooming into your day, instead of derailing it. Read More »

1 Logan Square, Philadelphia, PA | 215-963-1500 | Website

2016 Best Lunch-Hour Makeover

ClearLift Lunchtime Laser Treatment at Deme Cosmetic

This 30-minute treatment works beneath your skin to tighten, firm and zap lines, so you can return to work fresh and glowy in less time than it takes to wait in line at Chipotle. Read More »

2200 Arch Street, Locations in Philadelphia and Wayne, PA | 215-561-3363 | Website

2014 Best Excuse to Unplug From Everything

Halcyon Floats

Imagine being cut off from your phone, email and social media for 90 uninterrupted minutes of pitch-black solitude. That's the game at South Kensington's new float spa, where guests soak in tanks of super-high-density saltwater, floating their way to the ultimate mental detox. Trust us: You'll love every last Twitter-free second. Read More »

209 West Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA | 215-279-7607 | Website

2014 Best Extreme Spa Experience

Ame Salon and Spa

Hitting up the "drip bar" is more than just Rihanna's latest obsession. The process fluids mixed with vitamins, taken intravenously seems to have legit health benefits. (We felt an instant boost that lasted all week!) Nurse Michael Anne McAllister spent years working with cancer patients and saw the power of this liquid firsthand, so she started Longevity Aesthetics, a business that treats everyone from those who are sick (cancer, Lyme disease) to your average run-down multi-tasker (i.e., all of us). According to McAllister, benefits include energy, glowing skin, shiny hair and our favorite removal of brain fog. Read More »

111 Waynewood Avenue, Wayne, PA | 610-996-2631 | Website

2014 Best Mental Detox

Halcyon Floats

You'll slip into a capsule filled with water so densely salted that you'll bob on the surface, Dead Sea-style. And there you'll stay, in a pitch-black, (mostly) silent room, for 90 minutes. It's totally natural to feel skeptical about something called a "float spa," but this is about as unplugged as you can get: A no-phone policy leaves you no option but to relax as hard as you have in months. Read More »

209 West Girard Avenue, Philadelphia, PA | 215-279-7607 | Website

2013 Best Splurge-Worthy Spa Treatment

Summertime Float at Joseph Anthony Retreat Spa and Salon

By the time you're floating on a bed of warm water, you've earned it. That's because you've been exfoliated, massaged, painted with mud and wrapped in plastic as part of the spa's float therapy. Your skin (and psyche) feels reborn after the $130 hour-long treatment. Read More »

243 West Baltimore Pike, Glen Mills, PA | 610-459-4663 | Website