Lake Austin Spa Named #5 "Destination Spa" by Travel + Leisure

It looks like Rue McClanahan got a good deal when she traded an appearance at the annual BCRC Champagne Brunch for a weekend at the ultra-luxe Lake Austin Spa Resort—the place was just ranked the fifth best Destination Spa in Travel + Leisure magazine's 2009 rankings.

"Just outside Austin’s city limits, the Lake Austin Spa Resort has 40 ranch-style guest rooms facing a sparkling lake where tame geese paddle between rowing sculls," writes Travel + Leisure, echoing similar accolades fromConde Nast Traveler in 2007 and 2008.

"Granite gravel crunches underfoot as you climb a garden path to the limestone-and-cedar LakeHouse Spa, the evocation of an oil baron’s Hill Country retreat. Make that an oil baron with a New Age sensibility: the slate-blue barn shelters a lap pool instead of livestock. On a screened-in treatment porch, therapist April Day administers a mind-bending craniosacral massage, which is followed by an equally impressive Tajii Moxa (Chinese heat therapy) session. But all this doesn’t mean Lake Austin has lost its twang. An exfoliating scrub uses locally grown pecans, and the hallways are draped with quilts by a blue ribbon winner at the Texas State Fair. Meals are alcohol-free."

The Watermark Hotel & Spa and the Omni La Mansion Del Rio, both in San Antonio, were also listed on a separate ranking of the Top 100 Hotels Worldwide.