Newbury Street's side-by-side storefronts typically do not imply interior spaciousness, and yet Bella Sante spa manages to eek out 3500 square feet of pampering space. Head up to the second-floor day spa and you enter into a luxurious realm where it would be easy to lose track of the hours. Don a plush robe, sip a cup of tea, and pick from an extensive list of services: facials, acupuncture, massages, pedicures, and manicures. Or try something even more exotic, like a hot-stone Reiki massage or a relaxing session in a hydrotherapy room. The hardest thing you'll do all day is leave.

Across the river, Le Pli, Cambridge's premier day spa, is no slouch in the luxury department. Leave the hordes of Harvard Square behind and enter fabulously stylish surroundings. Le Pli's top-of-the-line services include an array of massage options (hot stone, Swedish, aromatherapy, pregnancy, deep tissue, and foot), as well as invigorating facials, restorative peels, and makeup consultation. And if you need a professional recommendation, consider this: Le Pli has been praised by the bible of the glamorous lifestyle, Vogue.

Bella Sante, 38 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 424-9930; Le Pli, 5 Bennett Street, Cambridge, (617) 547-4081.