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101 Ways to Blow $100

Don't fight the urge to splurge
By The Staff, June 2005 issue |

  • Earthsong Unbelievable aerial photographs by Bernhard Edmaier. We've recommended it before, but you still didn't buy it. Don't make us say it again. $60, Phaidon.

  • Hollywood Life The fabulous homes and questionable taste of Old Hollywood--Cecil B. DeMille, Edith Head, and Steve McQueen, among others--as documented by Life photographer Eliot Elisofon in 1969. (It bears noting that the cover is velour.) $65, Greybull Press.

    • Give yourself $100 to spend any which way you like [enlarge photo]

  • The Most Beautiful Gardens in the World: Who are we to argue? Just take a look at the luscious Japanese Garden at Huntington Botanical Gardens, in San Marino, Calif. $60, Abrams.

  • New York: The Photo Atlas Aerial images of every inch of New York City--it's the one view you can't get on your own, and it's fascinating. $60, HarperResource.

  • One Hundred and One Beautiful Small Towns in Italy Check 'em off, one by one. Then start all over again. $45, Rizzoli.

  • 1000 Signs Amusing and confusing signage from around the world, compiled by the folks at Colors magazine. $30, Taschen.

  • The Snow Show Commemorating last year's chilly art-and-architecture exhibit in Finland. $32, Thames & Hudson.

    • Did somebody say, "Calgon, take me away"?

    The big news in spas is something ancient--thhouse culture, imported from Russia or the Far East. What that tends to mean: You pay an entry fee, and you get access to an entire community of watery goodness, usually a steam room, a dry sauna, a hot tub, a cold plunge pool, and some chaises to rest. (Sweating is hard work!) Contemporary bathhouses have separate areas or times for men and women, communal nudity being an essential part of the experience, though some do offer coed hours. Treatments always cost extra, and kids are discouraged, if allowed at all.

  • Las Vegas Inside Mandalay Bay, there's a new boutique hotel called THEhotel; within that you'll find the Bathhouse. It's chic, minimal, and gorgeous--the executive washroom of your dreams. Plus: free snacks. $35 for non-hotel guests, which includes entry to the gym (fee waived with purchase of a spa service; 25-minute massage $70). 877/632-9636, mandalaybay.com.

  • New York Juvenex Spa is located in Koreatown, but the overall effect is more otherworldly, especially the signature Jade Igloo Sauna. Only women are allowed before 9 p.m.; open to male-female couples thereafter. $65 for 90 minutes, $35 with purchase of a service; 30-minute Express Massage $65. 25 W. 32nd St., 646/733-1330, juvenexspa.com.

  • San Francisco A California take on the Japanese communal bath, Kabuki Springs & Spa also offers complimentary vanity products and sea salts. $16 to $20; 50-minute massage $75 ($85 for access to communal baths, too). 1750 Geary Blvd., 415/922-6000, kabukisprings.com.

    • Note: This story was accurate when it was published. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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