The best luxury spa resorts in the USA

A 443-room resort built around a five-acre water park with a lazy river and two slides, plus Capa Steakhouse for wood-fired cuts on outdoor terraces. The Spa at Four Seasons Resort Orlando gives the adults their own reason to stay close to the room.

Good to know: The resort opened in August 2014 and spans 17 stories, with 68 suites among its 443 rooms.

Skip it if a water park is not part of the plan; JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort leans toward golf and beach instead.

Canyon Ranch Spa + Fitness spans 134,000 square feet and carries a Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star rating, a pairing few Strip hotels can claim. The all-suite layout means every room is nearly double the size of a standard Strip room.

Good to know: Suites here run closer to a small apartment than a typical hotel room, which helps after a long spa day.

Skip it if a casino-floor address is not appealing; Pendry San Diego trades the Strip for the Gaslamp Quarter.

All 72 suites sit in tropical gardens above the coast, and the property stays adults-only throughout. A full-service spa and a fitness studio with yoga classes give couples a reason to stay on-site between meals at The Birdcage Japanese Grill.

Good to know: Every room here is a suite, and the hotel does not take guests traveling with children.

Skip it if traveling with children; Four Seasons Resort Orlando is built around a water park instead.

Twelve restaurants and two golf courses sit alongside three miles of private Gulf-front beach. Paradise by Sirene, a 94-room adults-only section inside the resort, gives couples a quieter part of the property.

Good to know: Spa by JW includes adult-only pools, a steam room and dedicated massage treatment rooms.

Skip it if golf is not a draw; Fairmont Grand Del Mar pairs its own course with a denser restaurant lineup.

The hotel occupies a Neoclassical mansion on Nob Hill built in 1909, with 336 rooms and 60 suites including a Presidential Suite. Restaurant Parallel 37 is led by a Michelin-starred chef, and the L'Occitane Spa handles massage, body and face treatments.

Good to know: The building predates most hotel towers on this list by close to a century, though the room count still runs to nearly 400 keys.

Skip it if a resort setting matters more than a city address; Bernardus Lodge & Spa sits in Carmel Valley instead.

The hotel says it is the city's largest, with 1,048 rooms across 37 stories and five on-site restaurants including a Texan steakhouse. Fairmont Spa Austin has nine treatment rooms, including two couples suites, a detail few spas on this list can match.

Good to know: Rooms face either Lady Bird Lake or the State Capitol, depending on which side of the tower is booked.

Skip it if a smaller property fits better; JW Marriott Austin sits four-tenths of a mile away with its own spa.

The 11-story hotel spans a full block of the Sunset Strip with 149 guest rooms, smaller than most on this list. Its restaurant is run by Wolfgang Puck, and an on-site spa rounds out a stay built around dinner as much as treatments.

Good to know: With 149 rooms, this is one of the smaller hotels on this page.

Skip it if West Hollywood is out of the way; Pendry San Diego offers the same brand's spa in the Gaslamp Quarter.

All 326 rooms, including 31 suites, have water views over Biscayne Bay from the hotel's spot on Brickell Key. The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Miami spreads across three levels and 17 treatment rooms over 15,000 square feet.

Good to know: Dogs are allowed on request, though charges may apply, so confirm the fee when booking.

Skip it if Brickell Key feels too removed; Four Seasons Hotel Miami sits six-tenths of a mile away in Brickell proper.

Floor-to-ceiling windows run through 519 rooms overlooking Tampa Bay, and Beacon, the rooftop cocktail bar, sits on the 27th floor. Spa by JW has 12 treatment suites plus a private outdoor whirlpool, tucked away from the view-chasing crowds upstairs.

Good to know: Ask for a bay-facing room; not every one of the 519 rooms in the tower gets that view.

Skip it if a resort setting matters more than a downtown tower; Four Seasons Resort Orlando trades the skyline for a water park.

The 317-room hotel sits in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter with six restaurants and bars, including Lionfish for modern coastal cuisine. Domestic dogs are welcome for a flat $100 fee plus tax per stay.

Good to know: Spa Pendry handles the wellness side of the stay alongside the restaurants and bars downstairs.

Skip it if a beach resort is preferred over a downtown one; JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort trades the Gaslamp Quarter for Gulf-front sand.

The hotel sits in Miami's Brickell financial district near Biscayne Bay, with an on-site spa offering massage, facial and Ayurvedic treatments. Guests also get complimentary access to an Equinox fitness club on the fourth floor.

Good to know: The Equinox access is complimentary, so there is no separate day-pass fee to plan around.

Skip it if Brickell Key's water views matter more than a financial-district address; Mandarin Oriental, Miami is six-tenths of a mile away.

The hotel occupies the converted historic Plant Riverside power plant directly on the Savannah riverfront, a building with a past unlike anything else on this list. An on-site spa gives guests a reason to stay put after walking the district.

Good to know: The riverfront setting puts the hotel inside the Plant Riverside District itself, not on its edge.

Skip it if a beach or resort setting is the goal; JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort delivers Gulf-front sand instead.

CONRAD Spa holds a Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star rating for its 4,000-square-foot facility, which includes three treatment rooms and a couples suite. Guest suites here come with kitchens and their own terraces or balconies, and the property runs five separate dining spots.

Good to know: Every guest room is a suite, each with its own kitchen rather than a mini-bar setup.

Skip it if a larger spa is wanted over more dining variety; The Breakers Palm Beach has a 17-room spa.

The 1,012-room tower looks over downtown or Lady Bird Lake and holds four restaurants, including Dean's Italian Steakhouse and a rooftop bar. Spa by JW Austin has nine treatment rooms and two express spa suites for a shorter visit.

Good to know: The heated rooftop pool runs year-round, a rarity for a downtown Austin tower.

Skip it if a smaller hotel is preferred; Fairmont Austin sits four-tenths of a mile away with a larger spa.

Six restaurants operate on the property, including Addison, run by chef William Bradley, alongside four outdoor pools and an on-site golf course. The Fairmont Spa offers facials, Swedish massage and hydrotherapy, and rooms carry European-style soaking tubs and marble dual sinks.

Good to know: Dogs are welcome, up to two per room, for a non-refundable $150 cleaning fee plus tax.

Skip it if a beach setting matters more than Carmel Valley's inland hills; Pendry San Diego is 16 miles away on the coast.

This all-suite resort in Wailea includes two-story villas with private plunge pools, and Fairmont Spa has 13 treatment rooms plus oceanside and poolside treatment cabanas. An adults-only tranquility pool is one of three pools on-site, alongside Nick's Fishmarket Maui for seafood.

Good to know: Every room here is a suite or villa; there are no standard hotel rooms to book.

Skip it if traveling with children; Four Seasons Resort Orlando is built around a water park instead.

The hotel's spa takes up the entire fifth floor at 20,000 square feet. Beyond the 250 guestrooms and suites and 20 executive residences, the property includes a Rolls-Royce showroom and a Bugatti dealership on-site.

Good to know: Four restaurants operate within the hotel itself, on top of the automotive showrooms downstairs.

Skip it if the car showrooms feel out of place; Bernardus Lodge & Spa keeps things to wine country instead.

The 73-room lodge's wellness spa includes a warming pool, a eucalyptus steam room and a dry sauna, a combination not repeated elsewhere on this list. Some rooms add a two-person copper soaking tub and a wet room with a rain shower.

Good to know: Each of the 73 guestrooms has a private balcony or patio, one of the smaller properties on this page.

Skip it if a bigger resort with more restaurants is wanted; Fairmont Grand Del Mar has six on-site.

The 248-room hotel sits at the center of the World Equestrian Center complex, and the hotel says it is the only AAA Four Diamond property in Ocala. A full-service resort spa and seven restaurants keep guests on-site between events at the complex.

Good to know: Ocala sits well outside the other Florida hotels on this list, so this pick makes most sense tied to the equestrian complex itself.

Skip it if Ocala is not already on the itinerary; JW Marriott Tampa Water Street is 88 miles closer to a city center.

Founded in 1896 by Henry M. Flagler, the resort covers 140 acres of oceanfront with 534 rooms and suites, including the private Flagler Club floors. The Spa at The Breakers spans 20,000 square feet with 17 treatment rooms, and ten restaurants and eight bars round out the property.

Good to know: The Flagler Club floors offer a separate, quieter tier within the same 534-room resort.

Skip it if a smaller, quieter property is preferred; Bernardus Lodge & Spa has 73 rooms instead.