3 relaxing getaways to take this winter from Long Island 

Now that the holiday season stress is over, it's time to recharge with a well deserved day trip or weekend escape. 

Herewith, are three great ways to rejuvenate, rekindle and push restart, whether you’ve only a few hours, a single day or a whole weekend.

A few hours: A hot tub time machine

Wall Street Bath & Spa 88, 88 Fulton St., Manhattan

Entering Wall Street Bath & Spa 88 in lower Manhattan is like stepping into another world, several of them. First, there’s the wondrous, sobering Dostoyevskian one represented by the spa itself, as close as most of us will ever get to an Old World Russian banya. It’s a coed bathhouse both meditative and mysterious, featuring a stone sauna composed of 16 tons of rock, another for schvitzing (i.e., pouring a bucket of cold water over your head), a nice-sized Jacuzzi, large indoor pool, cold plunge pool and eucalyptus-tinged steam room where an attendant will gladly introduce you to the healing properties of platza massage, also known as whacking you with a broom made of oak leaves. Don one of those bell-shaped wool banya hats, come game for anything, and you’ll emerge a completely different person. How different? Don’t be surprised if, whatever your background, you find yourself with a distinct craving for Russian and Slavic fare, one easily satisfied by Wall Street’s on-site Matryoshka cafe, which welcomes towel-in-hand swimsuited types with open arms (or you can dress and snag a table at an upstairs restaurant with the same menu).

There are lots of hearty Russian, Ukrainian, even Uzbek and Georgian dishes on offer, including heavenly pots of steamed pelmeni — pork dumplings, which can also be ordered fried, aka "Moscow" style — as well as life-changing bowls of borscht and generous pitchers of kvass. Matryoshka has been called a destination for the soul, but the same is true of the spa that houses it. Indeed, everything about Wall Street Bath is invigorating, restorative and humane, which is to say that name aside, it’s as far from that other Wall Street as you can get. The entrance, which includes use of all spa facilities, starts at $59.75. Massages and other treatments, as well as food, are extra.

A whole day: Spa-ing the Hudson Valley

The desire to recharge one’s batteries is a recent impulse, or so we tend to think, a consequence of modern man’s overreliance on technology, alienation from the natural world, blah, blah, blah. But if that’s the case, how to explain Albert Smiley, who bought the 300 Hudson Valley acres that would become Mohonk Mountain House way back in 1869 for the express purpose of creating a place to — according to the website — "rejuvenate away from the stresses of work and city life?" Indeed, this Victorian castle in New Paltz, less than two hours north of the city and still owned and operated by the Smiley family, has been a welcoming oasis for dignitaries and celebrities ever since, although anyone with a need for psychic escape (read: all of us) is welcome.

And while an overnight stay is the best way to experience this all-inclusive resort (rooms start at $692 a night in January), it isn’t the only one. Booking a spa treatment (they start at around $250) will grant you access to Mohonk’s outdoor heated mineral pool, steam room, sauna, relaxation area and solarium with a stone fireplace, as well as other amenities besides. Among these is the resort’s 85 miles of hiking trails, gardens, greenhouse, on-site museum and lounge. Need yet another incentive? Tea and cookies are served every afternoon — a Mohonk tradition.

The whole weekend: Snow fun in New England

It’s one of America’s greatest ski destinations and among the rarest — rare in that you needn’t be a snow lover to fall in love with Stowe, Vermont. Yes, you can ski, snowboard, dogsled, fat bike, ice climb, ice fish and ice skate all over the area, but Stowe is also home to a historic village with a varied dining scene, from Harrison’s, whose draws include an American menu and soul-warming fireplace, to the alpine-inspired Swiss Fondue by Heinz. The bustling New England town is also home to nearly 50 shops where you can buy candy (Lake Champlain Chocolates), sample maple goodies (Nebraska Knoll Sugar Farm), get a tattoo (Monkey House Customs), take a tour of the Ben & Jerry’s factory (in nearby Waterbury) and more. Accommodations run a similar gamut from no-frills (Stowe Cabins in the Woods, January rates start at around $169 a night) to boutique hotels (Grey Fox Inn, $211) to the Trapp Family Lodge, still operated by the family that inspired "The Sound of Music" ($265). And as if that weren’t enough, Stowe is home to several much-loved annual events, from its Winter Carnival in late Jan. 22-26, in which master ice carvers create sculptures all over the village, to the Stowe Derby, a popular February ski race.

By Scott Vogel

scott.vogel@newsday.com

Newsday writer and restaurant critic Scott Vogel aims for a refreshing, gimlet-eyed take on the Long Island food scene, often while drinking a refreshing gimlet.