Your Kind of Spa Town

Q Three friends and I plan to celebrate our 65th birthdays in the Chicago area. We'd like to spend two nights at a hotel on the Near North Side that has spa facilities or go to a resort hotel within 30 miles that features spa treatments. Can you point us in the right direction?

Mary Jo Furgal

Arlington

A I don't know your budget, but just about every luxury hotel in Chicago has extensive spa facilities. The Four Seasons, for example, has an 8,000-square-foot spa with five treatment rooms, a spa lounge and options such as an elixir paraffin wrap and a caviar facial. A spa package with two treatments starts at $485 per night per room. Info: 312-280-8800, www.fourseasons.com/chicagofs. Or you could stay at a cheaper hotel, such as the nearby Whitehall Hotel, and use the Four Seasons spa, which is open to non-guests Monday-Thursday.

Outside of town, consider the more reasonably priced Herrington Inn & Spa on the Fox River in Geneva, Ill., a 45-minute drive west of downtown Chicago. The resort has a full spa, with treatments such as a 90-minute signature massage with buttermilk, honey and chamomile oil for $140. Rooms start at $185 a night on weekends, and spa packages are available. Info: 630-208-7433, www.herringtoninn.com. Other possibilities include Pheasant Run Resort & Spa (800-4-PHEASANT, www.pheasantrun.com) in St. Charles, Ill., about 34 miles west of downtown Chicago, and Indian Lakes Resort (800-334-3417, www.indianlakesresort.com) in Bloomingdale, Ill., about 24 miles west of Chicago.

I am 13, and my aunt and I would like to go on an overnight trip to a place that has theatrical productions and great shopping. Could you recommend a local place and a place a little farther away? I enjoyed New York when I went there.

C. Wist

Silver Spring

Any large city you can easily get to on a nonstop flight, such as Boston or Chicago, will offer enough to keep you busy overnight. Or you could drive south to smaller cities, such as Richmond or Charlottesville.

Boston, a bustling city with lots to offer, is easier to manage than New York, and you can walk to many of its neighborhoods. I recently stayed near Faneuil Hall, which has shopping, restaurants and a lively street scene. There's often a magician or a live band performing outdoors, and the North End, with its great Italian pastry shops and restaurants, is within easy walking distance. There are dozens of professional theater groups, plus performances at many local colleges and universities. Broadway in Boston performs critically acclaimed plays, including "Oklahoma!," "Stomp" and "Evita." Info: Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, 888-SEE-BOSTON, www.bostonusa.com.