Before there was tiger, before there was Jack, before Ben, Byron, and even Bobby, there was Charles Blair Macdonald. Known as the "Father of American Golf," Macdonald learned to play the game as a student in St. Andrews, Scotland, in the 1870s. He returned to the United States and became …

The end of summer marks the beginning of the winter-travel planning season, which, this year perhaps more than ever, calls for a relaxing and rejuvenating escape. To assist with your renewal, the editors of Robb Report and Robb Report Luxury Resorts have assembled their favorite retreats for soothing the mind, …

First as a fishing camp in the 1940s, and later as a rodeo ranch in the 1970s, the stretch of Texas Hill Country that is now the Lake Austin Spa Resort was a haunt for hardened locals for decades. But under the curatorial eye of designer and co-owner Mike McAdams, …

When Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress was exiled at the height of South Africa’s decades-long apartheid struggle, the leader accepted an offer of shelter from insurance tycoon Douw Steyn—long before it was acceptable for a white person to make such an offer. Decades later, Mandela still lives part-time at Steyn’s …

Few experiences could be more soothing than the Sacred Water Ritual at the Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru. The three-hour massage takes place in one of the resort’s four above-water treatment pavilions, so while a therapist uses a coconut-milk massage powder to work out the kinks in your …

Since acquiring the property that would become Como Shambhala Estate, Como Hotels and Resorts has changed the name (from Begawan Giri), added a few private villas, and built a new spa, the Ojas, which includes nine treatment rooms, a yoga pavilion, a swimming pool, and a water-therapy pool. However, while …

The Kapalua Resort community, on Maui’s northwest coast, appeals to visitors seeking either tranquility or a cure for boredom. The 23,000-acre resort, which contains the island’s only operating pineapple plantation, has two golf courses (one designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore and the other by Arnold Palmer and Francis …

Since acquiring the property that would become Como Shambhala Estate, Como Hotels and Resorts has changed the name (from Begawan Giri), added a few private villas, and built a new spa, the Ojas, which includes nine treatment rooms, a yoga pavilion, a swimming pool, and a water-therapy pool. However, while …

Swine flu, drug wars, and a down economy have discouraged many would-be visitors to Mexico—especially those in search of a wellness experience. But few settings could be more therapeutic than the courtyard relaxation area at Las Ventanas al Paraíso’s spa, where the resonance of crystal bowls rises above the sound …

Capella Telluride, which opened in February as Capella Hotels and Resorts’ first property in the United States, does things a little differently—as you discover shortly after checking in. The reception desk sits in an attractive, light-filled lobby with stone floors, high beamed ceilings, and a tiered glass-plate chandelier that hovers …