Taking the Kids: Hitting the spa, with (or without) the kids

These experiences don't come cheap -- that Dirty Dawg mud wrap, for example, is $105; The Father Son Chill Out Royal Caribbean massage $195. The Disney Character Couture is $50 for kids.

The Four Season's Bourbon Cowboy, popular with women, as well as men, is $295 and starts with a hot milk bath (while you are sipping a glass of the locally distilled bourbon) followed by a warm Bourbon Bubbler exfoliation scrub and hot steamed towels. A 50-minute agave nectar oil massage follows.

No one quibbles at the cost, spa directors say. "I really deserve this," opined one grandmother who was treating herself to a massage at the Four Seasons spa after a day babysitting her three young grandchildren.

Certainly a gift certificate for a vacation spa treatment would be a welcome birthday gift for a teen- or for mom, dad, grandma or grandpa. Mother's Day and Father's Day are coming up.)

These days, as treatments are as much about wellness as pampering, therapists may offer teens tips on skin care, stretching for those involved in active vacations, sun protection and more.

All the while, spas are getting ever more elaborate -- with locally sourced products and treatments using herbs from their garden at the Four Seasons Vail, private sessions with trainers, cafes offering healthy eats, water therapy experiences, energy balancing treatments, and now, treatments using CBD oil from marijuana plants that offer relief from pain and other symptoms without the sensation of getting high.

"That's been very popular this month," said Alissa Perez, a spokesman for the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes Orlando, home to the city’s largest spa.

"We use CBD hemp oil to hydrate and rejuvenate the skin while easing the inevitable aches and pains of an active lifestyle," explained Ingrid Middaugh, director of the Spa Anjali & Athletic Club at The Westin Riverfront Resort in Avon, Colorado.

Middaugh added that the spa's new Sound Therapy Session ($150 for 50 minutes) has also proved a hit. "Tibetan singing bowls are placed on and around your body as your energy fields are balanced and enhanced through the resonating sound and vibrations, which can help to suppress pain, reduce anxiety and produce a deep relaxation," she said.

As men (and teen boys) are a growing customer base, spas are catering to their needs like never before. The Four Seasons Vail, for example, has a separate barber shop for men and treatments like "brew and renew that incorporate warmed cans of beer rather than hot stones in the treatment; The Westin Riverfront offers a Mountain Man Manicure & Pedicure (and a Gentlemen's Deep Cleansing facial. The Ritz-Carlton Spa Orlando offers men artisanal bourbons or ale from the resort's own brewery while they engage in the Grande Shave. There are eight other just-for-men treatments, including a "Power Hour," to "reawaken your senses," with a full-body salt and oil exfoliation.

"It is all about experiential travel these days," said Gunderson, "and the spa is part of that."

For everyone in the family, it seems.

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow "taking the kids" on www.twitter.com, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments.)