The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, New York

"A plush palace of spacious, handsome rooms complete with Frette linens and floor-to-ceiling windows, the hotel offers spectacular views from the 35th floor Lobby Lounge (open to all) – if those from your room aren’t spectacular enough"

"Leave it all behind at the sumptuous Asian-inspired spa crafted of bamboo, stone, and gold leaf"

"View the entire 2011 Gold List of the world's best places to stay › Also appeared in the Gold List in 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 Amenities: Pool, Spa"

"The on-site spa, with a menu of treatments based on traditional Chinese medicine, is a destination for hotel guests and New Yorkers alike"

"For pampering, the spa has views of the Hudson and nice touches like a Chinese wedding bed in one of the seven private rooms as well as Tibetan bells signaling the end of treatments"

"It's not an icon like the Plaza or the Pierre -- but so what? The Mandarin Oriental, located across Columbus Circle from Central Park, offers a dizzying array of modern luxuries -- a 75-foot pool, one of the city's best spas, sweeping views from nearly every common area, and superb on-site fine-dining options, to name a few -- even as it upholds traditional values and outstanding service"

"The 14,500-square-foot spa (which includes a Vitality Pool and an Amethyst Crystal steam room) is quite possibly the city's best"

"The spa is wonderful, but pricey"

"The spa, which has an amethyst-crystal steam room, is "truly the greatest urban spa I have ever been to—and I’ve been to lots of them"

"Among the many features of the two-floor, 14,500-square-foot spa are a body-pummeling Vitality Pool, an aromatherapy steam room and a lap pool with Hudson River vistas"