My partner and I are looking to celebrate our 10th Anniversary... and would love to find a place in or around New York to spend a night (or two). Good/Fine Food and Wine, relaxed atmosphere, quality spa facility/treatments and gay-friendly environment are all important to us. Oh yeah, we're OK splurging ($300+/nt), but we can't afford the Mandarin Oriental (which we would love if we could -- but it's about $600/night)

As always... any and all suggestions will be helpful. And this would be mid-March, so weather will be iffy, but we could be up for hiking or possible outdoor activities.

I used to go here all the time before moving to the southwest:
Adam Broderick Spa in Ridgefield CT:

http://www.adambroderick.com/fitnessmen.html

There are several nice places to stay for the night and great restaurants too. A pretty NE town,great for walking and celebrating life. If this is of interest, I would be happy to recommend hotel, restaurants etc.

Or for a "resort spa" how about The Spa at Norwich?

http://www.thespaatnorwichinn.com/


Hope this helps...
Debi

Here's one more in Stamford CT Noelle Spahttp://www.noelle.com/index.html

You could stay overnight in New Canaan or Greenwich. Lots of great places to eat and again, nice towns to walk, shop and enjoy.

Debi

For one night and if you want great food, I'd stay in Manhattan. Pick any hotel and then pick the best spa for each treatment that interests you. OR, get a package of treatments. spafinder.com has lots of info.

For out of NY, the only place that hasn't been mentioned I think is Canyon Ranch in Lenox Mass.

I llike Canyon Ranch a lot but it is over your budget. You could try the Emerson in the Catskills..not sure what the status of their spa is at the moment.

The WatersEdge in Westbrook, CT. It's about a 2 hour drive from Manhattan. Hotel/Spa on the water. Beautiful setting. Mystic is 40 minutes away. You can go there for the day and walk around. The hotel has a nice restaurant but it's very expensive. Bravo Bravo in Mystic is a good Italian Restaurant. Very crowded. You need reservations even in the winter. I've recommended the hotel to friends and they have all loved it.

I think it is about 3 hrs from nyc to lenox, ma and canyon ranch, which my husband and I have gone to several times together and really enjoyed it. They often have packages, and so it might be worth calling them and seeing what they can put together for you.

I have not been to the Cranwell Resort Spa, also in the Berkshires,but my sister in law went from nyc last year and loved it there, so you might want to look into that one.

Canyon Rnach however, has fabulous food but no alcohol, although you are allowed to bring alcohol into your room and enjoy it there, before or after dinner, but not in the facility.

If you are leaning towards one night, as someone suggested, you might be better going to a fine hotel, being able to enjoy dining there or out, and not being limited to wine/alcohol in your room, and just booking a full day of spa treatments within the hotel or nearby.

oh and by the way, congrats on the 10th anniversary !!

Soho Grand is very nice with all of the Soho shopping and many day spas in the area, including NICEL which is a boys only spa in Chelsea. Mercer hotel is nice too. Have fun.

There's the Dream Hotel on 55th & Broadway (http://www.dreamny.com/)which is pretty groovy and certainly puts you very close to good food/wine. There's a spa associated with it around the corner on Broadway btwn 54th/55th (http://www.chopracenterny.com/). Haven't been, but check it out.

If sky's the limit: Then the Mayflower Inn and Spa in CT.

Mohonk House? In New York state with a spectacular location and affordable rates. I think that might be the ticket.

http://www.mohonk.com
http://www.mayflowerinn.com

Think the Mayflower might make the Mandarin seem a bargain. It's on my lotto list. Honoria

Mohonk is a spectacular location, but it is a very old hotel. I wouldn’t call the rooms (or the plumbing) luxurious. It is hard to find a prettier spot, though. Skytop Lodge in PA is beautiful and about 2 – 2 ½ hours from the city.

I think you can discount Mohonk; last I heard they were an alcohol-free resort although that may have changed.

No Booze at Mohonk...color Honoria blue on that one. A spa without champagne is....well, I don't know what. HG