VEGETATION REJUVENATION: Spring break planning is very much afoot, as it tends to be this time of year, but, in reality, only a few people -- either those in school, with an actual March break, or those who've planned ahead for a getaway -- capitalize upon the annual vacation tradition. There are ways to get into the spirit of the proceedings, all while sticking a bit closer to home. How to have a playful, posher experience without taking a five-hour plane trip? A spa day, or treatment, is one way to jet to a happy place, at least for a few hours, and without wending through an airport. The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Los Angeles is drawing upon some of the delights of faraway destinations via its own rooftop garden, which produces both fruit and herbs. Though the rooftop is one of the highest in all of downtown LA, it boasts a nook-sweet secrecy, with lemon trees and the greenery serving as a interesting contrast to the skyscrapers beyond. It's here that spa treatments like the Coco-Lime Manicure and Pedicure start (it contains lime from the trees on the tip-top of the hotel) and the spa's other "Garden to Glamorous" treatments.
WHICH ALSO INCLUDE... a Lime Refresh Facial, a "stimulating citrus masque followed by a conditioning coconut facial massage" and a Toasted Coconut Sugar Scrub (yep, there's lime zest in it as well). Keeping within the lime-meets-coconut theme are the treats that come with the spa treatments: coconut water and lime cookies. As for what else grows high above the bustling streets of one of the world's best-known downtown centers? Basil, rosemary, mint, sage, and a host of citruses, including orange, lemon, and the spa-ready lime. By the by, if you've sipped a cocktail at the hotel, you might have also enjoyed the good growing things that were picked high above where you sat. (Every urban hotel should have such a charming plot of edibles and herbals high in the sky.)
SPRING BREAK... may not lead you to a far-off beach, at least this year, but the tall downtown hotel + rooftop-grown fruit spa treatments are another slice of getaway goodness.
