Great Jones Spa   (Photo: Courtesy of Great Jones Spa)

• Great Jones Spa

  29 Great Jones St., 212-505-3185

  Many spas seem more concerned with getting you in and out fairly efficiently. Great Jones Spa takes loitering very seriously. It’s only $50 (if you aren’t having a treatment) to get unlimited access to the pool, sauna, steam room, and the tranquil relaxing room, all blissfully cell-phone-free areas. It’s open till 10 p.m., even on Sunday nights, so you can wrap up your weekend with a late-afternoon thermal bath and some quiet time with a book and some of the free herbal teas or elixirs.

From the 2007 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine