By: Babs Harrison
When considering the best girls’ trip locations, there are few better places to relax and connect with friends than Castle Hot Springs, ranked the best resort in Arizona by Travel + Leisure. From the natural, mineral-rich hot springs to yoga, hiking, wine tasting and farm-to-fork dining, this luxurious desert oasis is the ideal place for a girls’ weekend getaway filled with Arizona adventures.
Relaxation
A range of spa services and activities awaits at Castle Hot Springs, Arizona’s original wellness retreat. Restorative treatments are provided in custom cabanas along the spring water creek, and outdoor watsu is performed in a private hot spring under towering palm trees. Talented therapists and wellness experts provide healing services including massage, body treatments, water therapies, energy therapies, and intentional wellness sessions. You can even request a customized massage tailored to your exact needs. The Castle Hot Springs Custom Massage is a favorite among guests with many enhancements to choose from such as neuromuscular therapy, trigger point massage, myofascial release, stretching, and percussion therapy. Add CBD oil or balm which is said to have natural anti-inflammatory effects.
To optimize your treatment, the massage therapists recommend a soak in the hot springs beforehand to help calm the mind and relax your muscles. The hot springs are particularly rich in lithium, magnesium, and bicarbonates which help to improve circulation, promote deeper sleep and reduce stress.
Spend some time in the HaloIR Sauna either before or after your treatment. Located in the Wellness Loft, this specialty sauna experience combines dry salt inhalation and infrared light to help open your lungs and further enhance circulation.
Book a private group wellness session for yourself and your girlfriends to explore sound healing, qigong, tai chi, the deeply relaxing yoga nidra, or a custom yoga session tailored specifically to your needs.
Adventures
During your girls’ trip to Arizona, you simply have to experience the beautiful Sonoran Desert. Castle Hot Springs has a multitude of outdoor activities exclusively for guests on the 1100-acre property. Apart from the curative hot springs, there are two adrenaline-pumping Via Ferrata adventure courses that will allow you to see the stunning desert from new heights. Hike past Saguaro cactus, journey across a 200-foot aerial walkway above the canyon floor, and ascend to dizzying heights on Arizonaʻs first cable-assisted climbing route. Not for the casual hiker, and remember to bring your sturdy hiking shoes for this physically challenging adventure.
Another reason Castle Hot Springs is the best place for a girls’ weekend getaway in the US is the surrounding Bradshaw Mountains, which provide a multitude of hiking trails to accommodate all skill levels. You might catch a glimpse of local wildlife, and you’ll definitely see plenty of photo opps with unique cacti, wildflowers and expansive vistas. The resort offers daily guided hikes and provides maps, hiking sticks, and recommendations if you prefer to go on your own. Thereʻs also guided horseback riding, and electric bike tours through the desert foothills, UTV Razor tours, or hop on a cruiser bike to explore the property at leisure.
Additional resort activities include seasonal paddleboard yoga in the hot springs, pickleball, lawn games like bocce ball and giant chess, and stargazing. Take a walking tour to learn about the stunning landscape design, or the history of Castle Hot Springs and famous guests like the Rockefellers and Roosevelts. You can even test your focus at the archery range, or try guided ax throwing. Other mindfulness activities that help you focus on the present moment include crafts like creating your own mandala or body scrub to take home.
Come back to a soothing soak in one of the three geothermal hot springs, or take an ultra-private soak in your personal outdoor tub which can be filled with water from the hot springs. Be sure to sign up for the afternoon “Farm to Bar: Mixology 101” class taught by our own bartenders, or have fun learning from our wine director in an interactive wine tasting class.
Farm Tours & Custom Dining
The resort’s three-acre farm provides the majority of the fresh veggies and herbs that the chefs use at Harvest and Bar 1896. Castle Hot Springs has an entire team of farmers who grow more than 150 organic crops, picked at the peak of ripeness, throughout the year. The farm is filled with fruits, vegetables, edible flowers and herbs, and a dedicated green house contains multiple varieties of flavorful tomatoes. Take the farm tour to learn about sustainable growing methods and return home inspired.
Meals are included so indulge your evenings with the five-course chef’s tasting menu highlighting seasonal abundance from the farm. You can opt for wine pairings with each course, or have a chat with the wine director to discover something new and delicious from the Wine Spectator Award-winning wine list. Each evening’s meal is designed around the day’s harvest, and the chef is happy to accommodate dietary requests. You may see the outdoor kitchen area with a rotisserie pit, smoker, and pizza oven used by the culinary team to roast vegetables, grill fish and meats, and bake their famed homemade naan bread. The indoor kitchen is just as busy, with a wall filled with dried herbs, chilies, spice rubs, and flavored oils made from the garden’s bounty. The pastry chef is also at work turning out housemade breads, muffins and desserts.
As this is a girls’ weekend, celebrate and imbibe at Bar 1896. Castle Hot Springs has an impressive team of mixologists creating craft cocktails garnished with herbs and flowers from the kitchen garden. The selection of crops is constantly inspiring new drink ideas. The resort has its very own Lithium Lager, brewed with water from the hot springs that deserves a try. Or, ask the wine director to recommend a Champagne or sparkling wine to toast your girlfriends and create memories that will last long after check-out.
Cheers to that!