New Hope, MN Spa and Massage

Correct the creaks, clacks, and uncomfortable transversal twists of a bothered back with today’s Groupon. For $35, you’ll get a one-hour therapeutic massage (a $75.51 value) at Artifex Manuum Spa and Gallery, a soothing sanctuary in the Wedge. Unlike most spas, Artifex doubles as a gallery for locally created arts and crafts and doesn't have a wacky jerboa who's always hopping by to give advice and delightfully misunderstand common proverbs.

The Refinery boosts bodily morale with a bundle of rejuvenating spa treatments, all administered by a professional, experienced staff. With the spa package, serene seekers can pacify all of the body’s fibers, follicles, and subterranean volcanoes, starting with a muscle-mollifying Swedish massage, a 30-minute knead that untangles knotty tendons and reduces everyday and interstellar stress (a $33 value). The pampering package continues with a 30-minute express facial that refreshes skins with a steam, light exfoliation and a customized mask crafted from invigorating Dermalogica products (a $33 value). Hands and feet, meanwhile, find solace in the express mani-pedi, which cleanse, files, buffs, and polishes weary paws for smoother, photo-op-appropriate appendages (a $51 value). The day’s body coddling commences with a professional haircut, a follicular denouement of luxurious shampooing, snipping, and basic styling (a $35 value).

Flourish's relaxation experts blend Eastern and Western outlooks to help clients to "find beauty through wellness," as stated in the company philosophy. To this end, massage therapists and aestheticians make health paramount. Prior to administering any service, clients and practitioners sit down for a conversation that touches on medical history, current ailments, and run-ins with sidewalk cracks. Health professionals then proceed to administer treatments such as facials, massages, and waxes. During the ion cleanse, clients submerge their feet in a bath that draws out toxins and purifies the body through the electrolysis of the water. Body wraps also work to flush unwanted substances, leaving the body feeling lighter and more able to slither around turnstiles.

Inside a tiled sanctuary, puffs of perfumed steam swim through the air, hovering just above the surface of a Japanese soaking tub. This is no ordinary bathtub. It’s the site of Fusion LifeSpa’s curative bath, a treatment that helps clients unwind in tinctures of hot mustard, spicy ginger, or lavender. Inspired by holistic Asian medicine and therapeutic European techniques, services such as curative baths embody Fusion LifeSpa’s eclectic influences.

In the front waiting area, staff members welcome clients with warm cups of organic green tea, a fitting complement to the spa’s feng shui decor. Inside the treatment rooms, European spa treatments—such as massages and facials—contrast Asian-inspired services, including the jasmine facial mask, which makes use of the spa's proprietary skincare line. Other services, such as a footbath inspired by a Moroccan hammam, cleanse the body with natural assistance from organic coffee, tangerines, and figs. And for holistic care, the spa’s acupuncture services can realign energy lines faster than an electrician trained in heart surgery.

A wildly successful alternative to traditional day spas—its more than 300 locations blanket 36 states and half a dozen countries—Planet Beach Contempo Spa is a futuristic relaxation station where state-of-the-art machines administer all the spa and tanning services. These friendly automatons sometimes replace familiar treatments, such as the Luminous facial, a light-based service that delivers blemish-busting results similar to those of a conventional facial. But other equipment maps out new spa territory entirely: the Hydro-Derma Fusion chamber moisturizes the whole body with nutrient-rich steam in order to offset the effects of a dry climate or a rear-end collision with a salt truck. Other machines whiten teeth, spray-tan skin, and massage muscles.

Planet Beach operates on a gym-style membership system, meaning members purchase packages or pay flat monthly rates. As members spend more time at the spa, they get to know the helpful assistants who are always on hand to demonstrate how to use the equipment without activating its ability to cry.