5 of America's Best Spas

Greensboro, Ga.

Basic massage: $145

Located on Lake Oconee 75 miles southeast of Atlanta, this resort's spa and fitness center feature 27,600 square feet of pools, treatment rooms and state-of-the-art gym equipment.

Newton says 96.3% of respondents gave the facility an "excellent" or "very good" rating, partly because the spa's menu "reflects two increasingly popular trends --- treatments that incorporate local healing traditions ... and seasonal offerings (where) the ingredients used in treatments (are) updated throughout the year."

For instance, the Reynolds Plantation spa currently offers a $225 Spring Renewal package that features a magnolia cleansing scrub, an aloe-and-honey hydrating treatment and a magnolia-moisturizer finish.

Many of the spa's services also take their cues the region's history as the one-time home of the Oconee Creek Indians.

For example, a $175 Oconee Rain treatment uses a dry brush, warm water and hot and cold stones to sooth skin using traditional Creek medicine's reliance on the four "elements" of fire, water, air and earth.

Learn more about the spa here.

Fourth place: Four Seasons

Las Vegas

Basic massage: $155

This facility scored a 96.9% even though its 16 treatment rooms make it smaller than rival Las Vegas spas such as Caesars (CZR) Palace's 60-room Qua Baths.

"While the over-the-top excess of spas at some other Vegas casinos can be fun, in the end our readers appear to be more impressed by the personal reception and more intimate atmosphere of (the) Four Seasons," Newton says.

The spa's extensive services range from a $165 14-Karat Gold Sugar Scrub to a $175 Deep Cleansing Facial with rosemary and pineapple extracts and Hungarian moor mud.

Learn more about the spa here.

Third place: Sanderling Resort & Spa

Duck, N.C.

Basic massage: $110

Located on North Carolina's Outer Banks along the Atlantic Ocean, the Sanderling Resort & Spa scored 97.3% on Conde Nast's survey.