Feature

Kate Somerville
Kate Somerville Skin Health Experts, CA
We Loved: Ultimate Kate Treatment
A skin-care sommeliere. Pairs skin problems with paramedical procedures (lasers, peels, and phototherapy). Worked with plastic surgeons for nine years before opening her L.A. clinic in 2004. Restored my skin's radiance—and my faith in fashionable facialists. —M.G.

Diana Moriarty
Rancho Valencia, CA
We Loved: Zest for Life
Credits her affinity for bodywork to her Japanese mom, who taught her backwalking as a child. Her 14 years' experience shows in her strong, economical moves. Calls this treatment, a Vichy shower, scrub, massage, and reflexology done in a spacious steam room, "the human car wash." I left with body and spirit buffed to a shine. —G.W.

Frederic Lauret & John Timiona
Bora Bora Pearl Beach
We Loved: Avae Taurumi (backwalking) with Fred, Manea Uaua (pressure point) with John
Exemplify the Polynesian belief that massage is sacred. Learned as children from their families, rather than a therapist-training program, and it shows. Combine power and subtlety—and an obvious passion for their work—in a way that can't be taught in school. —A.A.

Gustavo Hernandez
Maroma, Mexico
We Loved: Kinan Ritual
Hired as a towel boy at the spa, then "discovered" during a lomilomi training exercise, for which he was "a natural," according to former spa director Shoshana Weinberg, who sent him to massage school. A bodybuilder—he uses his massive strength to good effect in this four-part treatment—with a gentle, intuitive side. —G.W.

Janae Wilbur
Four Seasons Biltmore, CA
We Loved: Healing Hands Massage
A master of many modalities: hot stone, Swedish, Thai, positional release, and reflexology, all used in this treatment. Nurturing even when exerting firm pressure. Tell her the problem and she'll zero in on it, expressing her conviction that "the more the body is supported, the more it releases." —G.W.

Kamal Singh
Four Seasons Mumbai, India
We Loved: Thai massage
Trained at Bangkok's Wat Po temple, where some say Thai massage was invented. Bollywood handsome, with the implacable strength of a hydraulic press (but the gentleness of a lamb during delicate stretching of head and jaw muscles). Proceeds at a glacial pace, part of making you power down to receive the therapy. —G.W.

Mags Pasadilla
Bernardus Lodge, CA
We Loved: deep tissue massage
Flow and integration are the pillars of his technique, the product of his Esalen training. His version of deep tissue incorporates a repertoire of penetrating hip and lower-back stretches that I've never encountered before (or since). Mags himself is a reason to check in here. —G.W.

Martin Sandoval
Las Ventanas al Paraíso, Mexico
We Loved: Total Spa Lifestyle Program, Fitness
My wellness Jeeves—massage therapist, butler, concierge, confidant—during this four-day custom program centered on resort's top room, the spa suite. Gives a mean trigger-point massage while dispensing consolation: "Sometimes the torture helps." Which is perhaps why one Las Ventanas regular poached him to be his own butler/therapist. —G.W.

Yuribia Luna
Fairmont Mayakoba, Mexico
We Loved: sports massage
There's nothing like a mainstay modality excellently done. Although she says she likes doing facials best, her sports massage is a masterful orchestration of pressure, rhythm, and flow. It's great vanilla—a refreshing contrast to the overly scripted rituals that spas are so enamored of today. The proof was in the putty—me at the conclusion. —G.W.

Sioux Barry
Mandarin Oriental, Washington, DC
We Loved: Traditional Thai Ritual
Studied Thai massage in Thailand and yoga in India. Says she sometimes has a hard time not thinking in Sanskrit. Works both methodically and intuitively, managing to be coddling even during the rigorous stretching, twisting, and pressing of her authentic Thai massage. —A.A.