Four Alabama Spas Named in Top 100 for North America by Spas of America By Brian Weis

Four Alabama Spas Named in Top 100 for North America by Spas of America

The Spa at Ross Bridge, Grand National, Battle House & Shoals Awarded Top Spas for 2021

By Brian Weis

North American spa and wellness consumers stayed close to home in 2021 with a partially opened economy and changing travel guidelines. We hope that the following list of best spas will inspire your next luxury spa experience!

Four of the Top 100 spas for 2021 in North America were in Alabama on the RTJ Spa Trail and are owned by the Retirement Systems of Alabama: The Spa at the Battle House, The Spa at Grand National, The Spa at Ross Bridge & The Spa at the Shoals.

The Top 100 Spas of 2021 list includes 84 spas from the United States, 13 spas from Canada, three from Mexico.

"For the North American spa and wellness industry, 2021 was a good, but challenging year. Many resort and hotel spas reported strong revenue, despite having staffing challenges," says Spas of America president Craig Oliver. "Consumers have been affected by a partially opened economy and changing travel guidelines, which created uncertainty. In turn, they responded by supporting regional spa and wellness businesses, especially drive-to destinations. We expect a strong year for the industry, as pent-up demand will bring out consumers seeking spa and wellness experiences with a focus on health and fitness, leading to improved quality of life."

The RTJ Spa Trail has six spas across Alabama. "We are truly honored to have four spas featured on this list and believe all of our spas offer world-class experiences at a time when people really need them," said Taylor Fields, Corporate Director of Spa for PCH Hotels & Resorts. "Our Spas at Ross Bridge, Opelika, Florence, and Mobile make this prestigious international list for 2021." Other spas on the RTJ Spa Trail are at the Grand Hotel and Renaissance Montgomery Hotel.

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Revised: 01/02/2023 - Article Viewed 1,543 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.